What happened in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday 2019, the eight suicide attacks on Christian churches and tourist hotels, has caused hundreds of victims, over 300 dead and about 500 wounded persons. We are shocked about this insane cruelty and strongly condemn all forms of violent extremism against other religions or ethnic groups. Sri Lanka is an important country for all Buddhists, and Buddhism has been the main religion there already over 2200 years, since King Asoka. The Finnish Buddhist Union has close memories from 2017, when our member organisations attended the World Buddhist Summit and our representative took part in the United Nations Day of Vesak celebrations in Sri Lanka.
We want to express our sympathy and empathy to the victims and their relatives and to the people in Sri Lanka. We wish that in spite of these horrible acts of hate, there would remain peace and harmony between different cultures and religions in Sri Lanka.
The Finnish Buddhist Union