Bodu Bala Sena, (,) also abbreviated as BBS is a far-right anti-liberalist, and ultranationalist Sinhalese Buddhist organization, and a break-away faction from the right-wing nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya party. The BBS generally opposes pluralist and democratic ideologies, and criticizes non-extremist Buddhist monks for not taking action against the rise of other religions within Sri Lanka.
History
Foundation
The BBS was founded by monks Kirama Wimalajothi and Galagoda Aththe Gnanasaara after they broke away from Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU). Gnanasara had been one of the JHU candidates in Colombo District at the 2004 parliamentary election. One of the earliest campaigns by BBS was in respect of Buddhist Sri Lankans working in the Middle East who, according to BBS, were prevented from practising their religion and punished harshly if found to be doing so.
The BBS held its first national convention at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall on 28 July 2012. The convention passed five resolutions which, amongst other things, called for a ban on vasectomy and tubal ligation in government health facilities, replacement of the various legal systems used in the country with a single legal system, preferential treatment in university admission for students who attended Buddhism classes, use of monks in government schools to teach history and other classes, and the avoidance of any race- or religion-based solution for the country's ethnic problems.
The BBS held a protest at the Bangladeshi High Commission in Colombo on 4 October 2012 against the anti-Buddhist riots in Bangladesh. Some of the protesters threw stones and bottles at the High Commission.
On 14 October 2012 BBS stormed a house in Batakettara, Homagama, Piliyandala where it alleges a Christian pastor called Dinesh and others from an evangelical group called The Name of Lord Jesus were trying to convert Sinhalese Buddhists. The pastor was later released, but seven people were arrested on charges of abduction after complaints were made by the pastor's family. The following day BBS held a protest outside Piliyandala Police Station demanding that the seven arrested be released.
The BBS held a protest rally in Badulla on 25 October 2012 against alleged conversion, vandalism of Buddhist sites and Islamic terrorism. They held a protest at the Department of Archeology on 29 November 2012 urging the authorities to protect archaeological sites in the Eastern Province.
The BBS stormed Sri Lanka Law College in Hultsdorf, Colombo on 7 January 2013, alleging that exam results were being distorted in favour of Muslim students. The allegations were not true but the college was forced to delay new student registration by one week in order to investigate the allegations.
The BBS stormed the Cinnamon Bay Hotel in Moragalla, Beruwala on 21 January 2013, alleging that the premises contained a "Buddha bar" (associating sacred symbols with such places as bars is considered sacrilege). Two hotel managers were arrested by the police for organising the "Buddha bar" event.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa and government ministers met with the BBS on 27 January 2013 at Temple Trees, Colombo. After the meeting the President issued a statement which urged the BBS and other monks to avoid conflicts with other religious communities but this statement was only issued in English, not Sinhala which is the language of most BBS supporters.
The opposition United National Party met with the BBS on 12 February 2013.
The BBS organised a meeting in Maharagama, Colombo on 17 February 2013 which was attended by around 16,000 people including 1,300 monks. At the rally the BBS general secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara stated "This is a government created by Sinhala Buddhists and it must remain Sinhala Buddhist. This is a Sinhala country, Sinhala government. Democratic and pluralistic values are killing the Sinhala race". He also told the crowd at the rally that they "must become an unofficial civilian police force against Muslim extremism. These so-called democrats are destroying the Sinhala race". At the rally the BBS unveiled the "Maharagama Declaration", a ten-point resolution which, other than an end to halal certification, called for a ban on Sri Lankan women going to work in the Middle East; end of mosque building financed by the Middle East; and ban some contraceptives.
In February 2013 former BBS leader Kirama Wimalajothi called for a ban on burqas in the country. The BBS has also campaigned against the abaya.