Sri Lanka govt sees conspiracy to create communal tensions

A senior Sri Lankan minister today said opposition groups which back former President Mahinda Rajapaksa are out to create communal tensions in the country, including in the Tamil-dominated north, for political gains.
Government spokesman and Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne said the motive was to set the Muslim minority against the current government.
"They will want to create problems both in the north and the rest of the country by flaming communal clashes to try and win the next election through the Sinhala majority vote," Senaratne said.
Last week, police arrested an extremist Sinhala majority activist and a Muslim religious activist for hate speech.

Senaratne said the Sinhalese arrested was a member of the Rajapaksa son Namal's blue brigade. His arrest came as he openly advocated violence against the Muslims.
"Muslims will never vote for the Rajapaksas, so they are trying to stop them voting for the government," Senaratne said.

Senaratne had earlier charged that the Ava Group, a violent group operating in the Tamil-majority Jaffna district, was backed by Rajapaksa's brother Gotabhaya as the Defence Ministry Secretary said the group will carry out violent attacks in the north curbing the people's right to vote freely in a future election.
The current government received an overwhelming support from the Tamil and Muslim minorities in the last presidential election in January 2015 when Rajapaksa was defeated.

Since then the government has launched a series of action to achieve reconciliation with the minorities.
The Sinhala majority nationalist groups have blamed the government for appeasing the minorities at the expense of majority's interests.
They are particularly upset by what they allege government's inaction against the seemingly rising Muslim extremism in the island.