Protesters calling for an end to recent violence in Sri Lanka found themselves brawling with Some more moderate Buddhist monks, protesting for peace, were already on the stage when punches were thrown. Soon, monks' robes and fists were flying, although no one was badly hurt, witnesses said. “They were saying we should go to war,” said pro-peace monk Madampawe Assagee. “We like to listen to other opinions so we let them do that, but then they started fighting and we couldn't control some of our people. They tried to make it a big fight but we settled it in a few minutes.”
Hardline monks - allies of President Mahinda Rajapakse - say the government is too soft on the rebels and want military action. The island is dominated by the Buddhist Sinhalese majority, but is also home to Muslims as well as minority Tamils - some Hindu, some Christian. The hardline monks are violently opposed to Tiger demands for a separate Tamil homeland.