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COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, March 6, 2001: The Centre for Buddhism International (CBI) in Kandy, the central province hill town where the Temple of the Buddha’s Tooth is the focal point, has accused Christian missionaries of invading rural villages and tea and rubber plantations, using “unethical, coercive and sometimes barbaric methods” to proselytize their faith. The organization said in a statement that at least 73 foreign and local evangelical groups, with names like Campus Crusade for Christ and Christian Literary Crusade, had been studied by the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. CBI asked the government to act according to the country’s constitution and protect the Buddhist faith, charging that other Christian organizations tried to justify the work of the evangelists and decry opposition from Buddhists as “the work of extremists.” The evangelists are from among newly sprung up groups with foreign links who blend religion with relief work, doling out jobs and material aid to converts, said the CBI.

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