HRCSL Report Finds Digana Violence of 2018 Was Premeditated, Calls for Stronger Action Against Hate Speech
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has released its long-awaited final report on the 2018 Digana violence, concluding that the unrest was not a spontaneous outburst but a premeditated series of attacks against the Muslim community orchestrated by organised groups.
The report, delayed for years due to the Easter Sunday bombings, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic crisis, compiles testimonies from survivors, officials, and human rights advocates. It highlights how hate speech, disinformation, and extremist organisations fueled the violence, while failures in policing and intelligence allowed it to escalate.
According to HRCSL’s findings, at least three deaths, 27 injuries, and nearly 600 cases of property damage were recorded across Kandy District during the violence. Much of the destruction targeted Muslim-owned homes, shops, and places of worship, with evidence of organised mobs using petrol bombs
The Commission noted that:
- The attacks were instigated by extremist groups like the Mahason Balakaya, which spread anti-Muslim hate speech on social media
- False rumours, including claims of Buddhist monks being killed and Muslim suspects being released on bail, were deliberately circulated to incite mobs
- Police forces were overwhelmed and ill-prepared, with the violence only brought under control after the deployment of the Army under emergency powers
- Although a few officers acted improperly, HRCSL found no evidence that law enforcement institutions as a whole supported the attacks
Crucially, the report criticises the lack of accountability: despite arrests under the ICCPR Act, no one has been convicted for incitement to violence seven years later, creating what HRCSL calls a “culture of impunity”
The Commission issued wide-ranging recommendations, including:
- Strengthening intelligence and police capacity to prevent communal unrest.
- Monitoring and regulating extremist organisations and hate speech.
- Introducing human rights education in schools and reducing ethnic segregation in education
- Providing psychosocial support for children traumatised by the attacks
- Creating inclusive community committees to build reconciliation at the local level
The HRCSL also warned that cycles of discrimination and violence against Muslims risk feeding into radicalisation and further polarisation, urging the government to treat anti-Muslim sentiment as a national security concern.
The release of this report marks a significant step in documenting one of Sri Lanka’s most serious episodes of post-war communal violence. Whether its recommendations will be implemented remains uncertain, but HRCSL stresses that failure to act risks repeating the mistakes of Digana.
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