The lawyers of leading Buddhist and Hindu organisations in the country has prepared a draft Bill, titled, Protection of the Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion Act, seeking the approval of the government for enactment.
The Buddhist-Hindu committee represented by lawyers and key members from more than one hundred Hindu religious organisations and twenty Buddhist associations, last Wednesday disclosing their draft Bill at a press conference, held at the All Ceylon Women's Buddhist Congress, Colombo 7, said that the Bill was expected to strengthen inter religious harmony in the country by ensuring effective enforcement of law to strictly observe the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is guaranteed by Article ten of the Constitution.
General Secretary of All Ceylon Hindu Congress, Attorney-at-law, Kandiah Neelakandan said that the proposed Act prohibits all actions impairing freedom of religion of any person by coercion or allurement.
"Proselytising" which shall mean , to make, persuade or influence a person to renounce his religion or religious belief becomes a punishable offence under the proposed Act. The Act strictly prohibits remitting, holding, or keeping in custody, transferring or using funds or any resources for the purpose of engaging in any activity to incorporate or register body of persons with the object of proselytising persons of other religions.
Gamini Perera, the President of SUCCESS , Colmbo branch said here that a copy of the Draft Bill had been sent to Ministry of Buddha Sasana and the Supreme Sangha Council, presently in the process of drafting legislation against unethical religious conversions.
He said that the Buddhist and Hindu Committee had committed themselves to the act of formulating the present draft bill after considering the rising religious unrest in the country after incidents of unethical and unlawful conversions of the Buddhist and Hindu public to other faiths by certain fundamentalist religious sects.
He charged a number of Non-Governmental Organisations as being behind the unethical conversions, and pointed out the urgency for action by the government to have a grip on those who engage in such activities, to stop their functions.
Representatives from All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, the All Ceylon Women's Buddhist Congress, the All Ceylon Hindu Council, and the Centre for Buddhist Action were present on this occasion. Editor of Buddhist Times, Dr. Hema Gunatilleke, Attorney-at-law Manohara de Silva, and Secretary of the German Dharmaduta Society, Senaka Weeraratne were also present on this occasion.