Buddhist temple hit again in 'religious hatred' attacks (From Harrow Times)

Kingsbury temple attacked again in 'suspected Tamil revenge attack'

6:05pm Monday 18th May 2009 in News By Tristan Kirk

A SERIES of attacks on a Buddhist temple in Kingsbury could be motivated by religious hatred, say police.

Officers are linking two attacks in the space of five days on the Sri Saddhatissa International Buddhist Temple, when windows were smashed and a monk attacked.

In the early hours of Sunday, a man wielding a copper pipe tried to hit the monk over the head, while a second man hurled a brick through one of the temple's windows. The monk was uninjured.

The two men ran away from the temple, in Kingsbury Road, towards Slough Lane, at around 2.30am, but returned less than 45 minutes later and smashed a second window.

In the early hours of Wednesday, May 13, a gang of five men attacked the temple smashing six windows and causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

A spokesman for Brent Police said the attacks were linked and were being treated as “faith hate crimes”.

The latest attacks follow a spate of vandalism at the temple, which Buddhist leaders claimed was the work of Tamil Tiger sympathisers seeking retribution for the actions of the Sri Lankan Government.

In the past two years, the temple has been fire-bombed, windows smashed, vehicles vandalised and the Sri Lankan national flag that flies outside the temple has been set on fire.

Monks have also been repeatedly attacked.

A panic alarm with a direct link to police has been installed in the temple and police teams have increased their patrols in Kingsbury, particularly at night.

The civil war in Sri Lanka is widely thought to be coming to an end, after months of intense and increasingly bloody fighting between the two sides.

Thousands of Tamils are reported to have been killed in the crossfire, which has raised tensions in Harrow and Brent where there are substantial Tamil populations.

• Detective Sergeant Martin Flack, of Brent Police community safety unit, is leading the investigation into the temple attacks, and has asked for any witnesses to call her on 0208 733 3754, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

• A 22-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, May 17 in connection with the attacks. He has been bailed pending further investigations.