Aid to the Church in Need: Sri Lanka: Give peace a chance

Sri Lanka: Give peace a chance

Posted by Press release on 6/4/2009, 3:15 pm
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ACN News, Monday, 6th April 2009 – SUDAN

Give peace a chance

Archbishop’s hopes for Sri Lanka are undimmed by worsening violence

By John Pontifex

A SENIOR bishop in Sri Lanka has insisted that – even after a new climax in a civil war dating more than 25 years – peace is still achievable and has called on the Church to take the lead in the drive towards reconciliation.

In a passionately-worded interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Oswald Gomis of Colombo highlighted the case for “dialogue and harmony” and an end to the conflict which has dogged relations between the country’s Tamil and Singhalese communities.

The archbishop of the Sri Lankan capital said that, through its good relations with both groups, the Church is uniquely placed to help heal the divisions exacerbated by the civil war between the Colombo-based government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which began in 1983.

Archbishop Gomis said: “Nobody wants this conflict to continue… Among the majority of ordinary people there is goodwill and where there is a lack of goodwill we have to build it.”

His comments come just after some of the fiercest fighting of recent years in which government forces have driven the LTTE – also known as the Tamil Tigers – back to Mullaitivu, a remote corner of north-east Sri Lanka.

(Archbishop Oswald Gomis of Colombo)

Latest reports claim that 50 Tamil Tigers died in a massive land and sea offensive on the Mullaitivu coast. The government claims the LTTE are now restricted to an area of less than 25 sq km.

While admitting the government is in no mood to compromise, Archbishop Gomis underlined that a longer-term political solution is possible taking account of the concerns of both sides in the dispute.

He said: “I don’t believe the government would hear of [a cease-fire] just at the moment. But we have to have a political solution. We have to make people realise that fighting is not the answer.

“We have to ensure that people who belong as nationals in Sri Lanka can live together in harmony. For that, we have to assure them of their fundamental right to equality and justice.”

Speaking of the Church’s role in rebuilding community relations, he said: “There is a great need to move towards reconciliation – so much trauma needs to be treated.

“The Christian community has a particularly strong obligation in this area – we have both Singhalese and Tamil people within our flock. We have to make sure that we play our role bringing these two communities together.”

The violence in northern Sri Lanka escalated dramatically last year as the government mounted a new campaign against the Tamils.

It climaxed in January with the capture of the northern town of Kilinochchi, the LTTE’s headquarters for at least 10 years.

The escalation of violence and the resulting humanitarian crisis prompted Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna to go on hunger strike.

He wrote to Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa about a month ago pleading for the evacuation of up to 100,000 people trapped in a so-called safe area in the war zone. The bishop said they were threatened with “total annihilation”.

Earlier, ACN provided emergency help to the displaced people. The aid was delivered and distributed by Bishop Savundaranayagam on a secret mercy dash.

Editor’s Notes:

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 145 countries throughout the world.

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 45 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

For more information, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org