LTTE attacks on Buddhist sacred sites hardened Sinhalese antipathy

Evidence

Tamil nationalism and the LTTE may be reactive phenomena, but Sinhalese Buddhist antipathy for the LTTE and the determination to preserve the island’s unitary status have been solidified thanks to LTTE attacks on some of Buddhism’s most sacred symbols. For instance, in May 1985 the LTTE attacked monks and worshippers in Anuradhapura around the Shri Maha Bodhi, one of the most sacred sites in all of Buddhism, killing 146 people; in June 1987 Tamil rebels murdered 33 young Buddhist clergy and their mentor, Hegoda Indrasara Thera, at Arantalawa (Amparai); and in January 1998 they bombed the Temple of the Tooth (another of Buddhism’s most sacred sites, which houses a tooth relic of Lord Buddha). — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 231

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Rebel attacks on Buddhist sacred sites hardened Sinhalese enmity; Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 157

Broader Connections

• Rebel attacks on Buddhist sacred sites hardened Sinhalese enmity #corroborates (1.00)
• Extremist Sinhalese parties weaponized Buddhism against Tamil devolution #complicates (0.75) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 157