CHRISTIANS TO CHALLENGE SRI LANKA’S PROPOSED ANTI-CONVERSION LAWSChristians in Sri Lanka are preparing a legal challenge to a new anti-conversion bill that was debated by the Sri Lankan parliament today, July 22. The private member’s bill, submitted by the Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya party, has been anticipated for months. If enacted, the Prohibition of Forcible Conversions of Religions Bill would require individuals who convert from one religion to another to inform local authorities within a prescribed period. Violators could be imprisoned for up to five years or fined up to 150,000 rupees (US$1,475). Those who “convert or attempt to convert” others by force would face similar sentences. The Minister of Buddhist Affairs is also expected to table a government bill called the Act of Safeguarding Religious Freedom that would not be limited to “forced” conversions. The draft states, “No person shall convert or attempt to convert or aid or abet acts of conversion of another to a different religion.” Violators of this law would face up to seven years in prison and heavy fines. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka and other Christian groups in the country have been campaigning against both proposed laws, and will launch a legal challenge this week in the Supreme Court. The anti-conversion laws were introduced after a period of rising anti-Christian violence in Sri Lanka. More than 45 churches have been attacked since January 2004, and during the past year more than 140 churches have been forced to close due to attacks, intimidation and threats. From the news flow at Intercessors Network
