Sri Lanka is tightening the noose on drug peddlers and Islamists. To ensure that Sri Lankan society is kept safe from the threat posed by Islamists from across the world, the island nation’s government has taken a rather unprecedented step.
Now, Sri Lanka has made it mandatory for foreigners to get a clearance from the Defence Ministry if they wish to marry locals.
The new law will come into effect from January 1, 2022. It must be mentioned that Sri Lanka has tied this decision of its unabashedly, and quite openly with national security considerations.
The guideline has reportedly been issued after instructions from Sri Lanka’s defence ministry. According to the circular, relevant officials had discussed “the national security and issues can arise (sic) from the marriages between foreigners and Sri Lankans”.
It said that a decision has been made to register such marriages only through the Additional District Registrars after obtaining a “security clearance report” related to the foreign party.
Currently, a foreign national looking to marry a Sri Lankan citizen is required to show a passport, confirmation of civil status and a birth certificate. Under the new rules, foreign nationals will also have to declare their health status – all of which will ultimately be vetted by the country’s defence ministry. Furthermore, such people will have to prove to the Sri Lankan defence ministry that they have not been convicted of any crime in the past six months.
The “security clearance report” by the country’s defence ministry will now be mandatory to get marriages between Sri Lankans and foreign nationals registered in the country. Registrar General W.M.M.B. Weerasekara told Sunday Times, a Lankan publication, “We have seen some foreigners wanting to marry Sri Lankans here with ulterior motives like engaging in drug trafficking and money laundering. We want to make sure those foreigners who want to marry locals here are not involved in such activities.”
Sri Lanka Steps Up Checks on Islamist and Christian Foreigners
Sri Lanka is a Buddhist majority nation. As of the 2012 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans were Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims (mainly Sunni), 7.4% were Christians. After the serial bomb blasts that rocked Sri Lanka in 2019, a lot has changed on the ground and between communities. The Buddhist community of Sri Lanka is not willing to be taken for a ride any longer. It wants the country to be protected from foreigners, and from enemies within.
The majority is increasingly turning vocal in Sri Lanka, and Islamists are seen as the fundamental reason for all societal wrongs plaguing the country. Apparently, ‘love jihad’ is a thing in Sri Lanka as well, and the new marriage regulation is actually an attempt to curb the same.
Read more: Crackdown on Islamic extremism: Sri Lanka all set to ban Burqa, shut down Madrasas
And then, Christian missionaries have also come to pose a threat to Sri Lankan culture. Most foreign nationals marrying Sri Lankan citizens are Christians, who convert their spouses to the “true faith” after marriage.
There is also the drug trafficking threat that Sri Lanka faces. The Sri Lankan government has taken one decision to address concerns of the country’s majority population on all these three fronts. Whether it will prove successful will only become clear with time.