Sri Lanka imposes state of emergency over communal violence

Sri Lanka's government has imposed a nation-wide state of emergency to "take stern action" against people instigating communal violence, a government spokesman has said.

The measure comes after a local curfew was imposed on Monday in the central city Kandy, after days of unrest between religious communities with a Buddhist man killed and Muslim businesses set ablaze.

Police said on Monday there had been riots and arson attacks since the weekend in Kandy district, while sources told Al Jazeera the violence was spreading throughout the South Asian island nation.

In the past, religious and ethnic violence had turned deadly in Sri Lanka, where Muslims account for 10 percent of the 21 million population, and Buddhists Sinhalese make up nearly 75 percent. Another 13 percent of the population are Hindus. 

Some observers blame the nationalist Buddhist organisation Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) group for the ongoing violence.

In February 2018, five people were wounded and several shops and a mosque were damaged during a clash between Buddhist and Muslim groups.

In June 2014, an anti-Muslim campaign was launched following the deadly Aluthgama riots.

Some hardline Buddhist groups have also accused Muslim groups of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.

President Maithripala Siresena had vowed to investigate anti-Muslim crimes after assuming power in 2015, but no significant progress has been reported.

citation: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/sri-lanka-imposes-state-emergency-communal-violence-180306080251131.html

Response: 

Audience: I think that the audience for this article is mainly consisted of those involved in these religious groups. I also think that the people around Kandy or in Kandy are also part of the intended audience.

Bias: I detected a slight bias against President Maithripala Sirisena, the leader of Sri Lanka. There seems to be some disappointment in how the president isn't carrying out the actions that he promised when he was assuming power. Also, there is a slight bias against the Buddhists' actions against Muslims in that there are more examples of what the Buddhist's did rather than the Muslims. 

Purpose: The purpose of this article was mainly to inform the people of Sri Lanka and also the followers of both religions about the ongoing actions and tensions that have been arising.