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Sri Lanka stokes Muslim and Christian ire with COVID burial rules

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Rajapaksa’s forced cremations of minority victims worsen human rights record

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent

COLOMBO — Predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka’s ultranationalist government is forcing families of the country’s Muslim and Christian minorities to abandon their faith-based burial rites for relatives who die of COVID-19 — consequently inviting fresh international scrutiny of the nation’s already troubled human rights record.

As the country’s death toll from the pandemic inches toward 200, the government of the hawkish President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is sticking to a policy backed by hard-line allies from the majority Sinhala-Buddhists, the political constituency that helped Rajapaksa secure two thumping electoral mandates over the past year. The official policy is for COVID-19 victims to be swiftly cremated. It has sent religious minorities already grieving for lost kin into deeper anguish.

The youngest victim was a 20-day-old Muslim baby who was forcibly cremated against the parents’ wishes. An estimated 80 Muslims have died of the coronavirus, with their surviving family members suffering the same indignity. The pandemic has infected close to 40,000 people since the first case was detected on the Indian Ocean island early this year.

The policy “has led to so much agony within the community at a time when they have to grieve for someone who has died,” said Shreen Saroor, a leading Muslim women’s rights activist. “The relatives are caught in a dilemma of having to sin and having so much guilt for being part of the sin because of the cremation.”

The anti-burial measures endorsed by Rajapaksa, who enjoys autocratic powers following a constitutional amendment, have been defended on two grounds that have made Sri Lanka an outlier in the global response to the deadly pandemic. One rationale is that burying COVID victims could result in the virus spreading in the soil and contaminating the country’s water table. The other: Muslims will use the dead bodies in graves as a “biological weapon.”

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, left, and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The Rajapaksa government’s forced cremations appear to have touched off a sense of solidarity in a deeply polarized nation. © Reuters

Sri Lanka’s stance flies in the face of the international consensus among medical scientists and virologists regarding the last rites of COVID victims. The World Health Organization, the Geneva-based U.N. body, has shaped international opinion with guidelines that state the choice of cremation or burial of a COVID victim is a cultural decision. Over 180 of its members have endorsed this.

Not surprisingly, there are emerging signs that Sri Lanka will pay a diplomatic price for Rajapaksa’s efforts to weaponize COVID. Colombo-based embassies from the world’s Muslim countries “are monitoring the burial ban closely and gathering information,” said a diplomatic source from an Asian mission in the Sri Lankan capital.

The embassies have taken a cue from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a Saudi Arabia-based 57-member bloc that has issued three statements condemning Sri Lanka’s forced cremation policy.

Likewise, Western diplomatic missions have stood behind statements issued by U.N. officials about the Rajapaksa government hounding religious minorities in their hour of grief. “I fear that not allowing burials is having a negative effect on social cohesion and, more importantly, could also adversely impact the measures for containing the spread of the virus as it may discourage people to access medical care when they have symptoms or history of contact,” wrote Hanaa Singer, the U.N. Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, in a letter to the Rajapaksa government in November.

The international scrutiny Sri Lanka is now under adds to the diplomatic pressure it is expected to face in early 2021, when its postwar record will be in the spotlight at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. “The members of the OIC have traditionally backed Sri Lanka or abstained when there were resolutions critical of the country at the UNHRC,” said Hilmy Ahamed, vice president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, a civil society network. “But Sri Lanka may not be assured of such support in Geneva next year because of the enforced cremations.”

The nearly 30-year civil war, which ended in May 2009, pitted government troops against the separatist Tamil Tigers. The conflict’s grim numbers include more than 100,000 people killed and over 23,000 missing, according to estimates.

For years, an international push for accountability — including in regard to grisly accounts of alleged war crimes committed by government troops and the separatists — has cast a shadow over Sri Lanka. Now the public backlash against the enforced cremations has laid bare a new layer of pain to the still unhealed wounds of Sri Lanka’s fragile, postwar peace.

The protests that have spread locally as well as in Western cities suggest the government’s forced cremations have kindled a sense of solidarity in a deeply polarized country. The participants come from across the country’s religious communities — Buddhists, Hindus, Catholics, other Christians and Muslims. Their banners decry the country for being a graveyard for human rights.

A family member of a soldier who died in Sri Lanka’s civil war cries. The country, still grieving from its long conflict, is now dealing with a new layer of pain inflicted in the name of caution. © Reuters

Symbols of the interreligious solidarity that has taken shape against Rajapaksa are appearing. One is a small white cloth that protesters have begun to tie to the poles that surround the main cemetery in Colombo, where the body of the 20-day-old Muslim baby was forcefully cremated. The white cloths symbolize the white shrouds that the bodies of dead Muslims are buried in. White is also the color of the clothing people wear at non-Muslim funerals.

Some demonstrators wear strips of white cloth around a wrist. The idea of the white-cloth protests was conceived by a Christian and Hindu, both in their 20s.

“This issue has grown beyond Muslim circles,” said Ruki Fernando, a prominent Catholic human rights activist. “There is more solidarity and consciousness, and this discontent will add to the fire the government may face at the U.N. in Geneva.”


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Construction and Concrete waste recycling centre opened in Ekala under the Clean Sri Lanka programme

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2026/05/8

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A recycling centre for the management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste, established in line with the Clean Sri Lanka national programme, was declared open this morning (08) at the Ekala Industrial Zone.

The Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat has allocated Rs. 200 million for this project. Established within the precast yard premises belonging to the State Engineering Corporation under the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, the project marks a significant step towards a sustainable environmental transformation in Sri Lanka’s construction sector.

Globally, the construction industry accounts for 40% of total waste generation and 25% of carbon emissions. In Sri Lanka, nearly 300 tonnes of such waste are collected daily from the Western Province alone.

Until now, the indiscriminate disposal of such debris has contributed to soil pollution, water contamination and increased flood risks. Under this project, however, such waste will be transformed into valuable raw materials through modern technology. This initiative is expected to minimise the depletion of natural resources while significantly reducing construction costs.

The centre, which is being operated with the full involvement of the State Engineering Corporation, has been provided with machinery and land valued at Rs. 350 million. In addition to the recycling plant, which has a capacity of 200 metric tonnes per hour, a modern laboratory and an administrative building have also been constructed. Under the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, Rs. 200 million has been allocated for the project, of which Rs. 150 million has already been released.

There are also plans to expand research activities in the future by engaging engineering faculties of State universities in the programme. The support and contribution of all construction contractors and stakeholders are expected in building a circular economy within the construction sector while safeguarding natural resources for future generations.

Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Dr Susil Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody, Deputy Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply T.B. Sarath, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe, Member of Parliament Najith Indika, Additional Secretary to the President at the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat S.P.C. Sugeeshwara, Additional Director General of the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat Kapila Senarath, Director (Environmental) of the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat Anjula Premarathna, Chairman of the State Engineering Corporation Engineer Neranjan Fernando and Deputy General Manager of the State Engineering Corporation Charuka Hettiarachchi, along with several others, were present at the occasion.

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President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam pays floral tribute to the Ho Chi Minh Statue

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2026/05/8

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President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, who is on a State visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, paid floral tribute this morning (08) to the statue of Ho Chi Minh situated within the premises of the Colombo Public Library.

Upon arriving at the Colombo Public Library, President To Lam was warmly received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, while a group of children holding the national flags of both countries stood along the route to welcome the Vietnamese President.

Following the floral tribute to the Ho Chi Minh statue, President To Lam also viewed a collection of paintings created by schoolchildren.

Thereafter, the Vietnamese President attended the ceremony marking the commencement of the expansion of the “Vietnam–Ho Chi Minh Space” located at the Colombo Public Library, where he also viewed a collection of historical photographs on display.

On the occasion, Chief Librarian of the Public Library, Mrs Varuni Gangabadarachchi, briefed those present on the architectural plans prepared for the renovation and expansion project of the Ho Chi Minh Space. A donation of US$50,000 for the project was also presented to the Mayor of Colombo, Mrs Vraie Cally Balthazaar, by  Nguyen Huu Nghia, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Auditor General of the State Audit Office of Vietnam.

Minister of Environment, Dr Dhammika Patabendi, Mayor of Colombo Mrs Vraie Cally Balthazaar, Deputy Mayor Hemantha Werakoon and several others were also present at the occasion.

[PMD]

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Urgent reforms needed to eradicate drug menace, says President

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13 hours ago

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2026/05/8

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to swiftly introduce all necessary reforms, including amendments to existing laws, in order to eliminate the drug menace from the country.

The President issued these instructions while attending the meeting of the “Ratama Ekata” National Steering Council convened on Thursday (07) morning at the Presidential Secretariat to discuss efforts aimed at eradicating the drug menace.

He also directed the relevant authorities to take all necessary steps to expedite the process of destroying seized narcotics as quickly as possible under proper legal procedures, thereby preventing them from re-entering society and to accelerate the process of punishing offenders.

The President emphasised the need to speed up this process in order to build public confidence, as well as the confidence of the teams engaged in operations, noting that the successful implementation of the “Ratama Ekata” national initiative would thereby be strengthened through collective participation.

The progress of anti-narcotics operations carried out under the “Ratama Ekata” national initiative, including raids and arrests, was extensively reviewed at the meeting. Officials pointed out that raids related to narcotics had increased by 80% since the launch of the programme.

Since the launch of the “Ratama Ekata” national operation on 30 October 2025, authorities have seized 5,437.457 kilogrammes of cannabis, 1,936.325 kilogrammes of heroin, 1,991.414 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine (“ice”), 271.724 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1,574,895 narcotic pills, and 629,988 illicit cigarettes. A total of 168,460 suspects have also been arrested in connection with these offences.

The current progress of the legal amendments required to eradicate the narcotics menace from the country was reviewed at the meeting, and it was noted that steps had been taken to submit the Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill No. 54 of 2007 to the Cabinet in due course. Discussions were also held regarding the rehabilitation process, the strategies that could be adopted in that regard, and the measures taken to develop related facilities.

It was further revealed that, at Divisional Secretariat level, 25 families most severely affected by narcotics in each division had been selected for attitude development programmes. The President stressed the importance of implementing all such programmes through local religious centres.

The President also made clear that anti-drug awareness programmes should not merely be limited to conducting awareness campaigns, but should include continuous follow-up to assess whether the message had been properly communicated to society and to monitor progress. He highlighted the importance of maintaining this mechanism continuously with the involvement of religious leaders, including members of the Maha Sangha in the respective areas.

The President also inquired into measures being taken to establish a separate court for narcotics-related cases, expedite the receipt of Government Analyst reports, and accelerate the filing of cases.

He also stressed the urgent need for a rapid programme to expedite legal proceedings and rehabilitation processes concerning inmates imprisoned for narcotics-related offences, in order to ease prison overcrowding.

The Inspector General of Police also briefed the meeting on investigations and the current status relating to Buddhist monks who were recently arrested in connection with narcotics offences.

The President was further briefed on the progress of programmes jointly implemented by the Ministry of Education and the Women and Children’s Bureau to curb organised efforts to draw schoolchildren into narcotics use. He was also informed about community-based programmes planned in conjunction with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on 26 June.

Among those present at the meeting were the Anunayaka Theros of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters, senior clergy representing several Buddhist Nikayas, Christian priests, Hindu Kurukkals, Muslim religious leaders, senior government officials including Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, ministry secretaries, senior tri-forces commanders, Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya, heads of relevant institutions, senior security officials, and representatives of the “Ratama Ekata” National Steering Council.

[PMD]

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