Religioni per la Pace Italia

PROTEGGERE GLI INNOCENTI IN SRI LANKA

La popolazione civile in Sri Lanka sta pagando prezzi enormi in termini di sofferenza e di morte, schiacciata nello scontro tra i militari governativi e il movimento insurrezionale delle Tigri del Tamili; invitiamo responsabili politici, leaders religiosi, operatori dei media,associazioni umanitarie presenti in Italia ad impegnarsi perché non sia ignorata tale tragedia in atto e sia sollecitata una mediazione internazionale per proteggere queste vite umane in serio pericolo ed avviare una composizione del conflitto.

I membri di Religions for Peace dello Sri Lanka stanno lavorando con leaders buddhisti, hinduisti, cristiani ed islamici per rafforzare la propria cooperazione per la pace. Queste comunità hanno un grande patrimonio morale e seguaci che possono aiutare a costruire un clima di pace, una volta che questa crisi umanitaria venga affrontata.

Di seguito l’appello dei leaders religiosi dello Sri Lanka per la Pace e la Coesistenza nel dopoguerra, pubblicato il 27 Aprile scorso

Appeal by Sri Lanka Religious Leaders for Peace and Coexistence in the Aftermath of War

(OSLO/COLOMBO 27 April 2009) The Sri Lanka Council of Religions for Peace met in Colombo 24 April 2009 and issued a statement for peace and coexistence in Sri Lanka. The Council was formally established at a public meeting in Kandy in April 2008. In May this year the chairman of the council, Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana, and one of the council members, Bishop Vianney Fernando, president of the Bishops’ Conference in Sri Lanka, will participate in European Council of Religious Leaders’ annual meeting in Lille, France where the main theme will be “The Role of Religions within a Culture of Peace in Europe”.

For nearly three decades Sri Lanka was a country trapped in the terror of war. Thousands of people in the north and east, and also outside of those areas, suffered the destruction of their lives. Now there is a major effort being made to end the war and to obtain peace. Thousands of people have been released from LTTE control and come over to the government controlled areas. These displaced people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. They also need to be resettled in the areas in which they lived.

The Government together with all sections the people need to rally together without any ethnic or religious differentiation to work for the upliftment of the displaced people. We believe that the Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian leaders have a special role to play in this noble endeavour. We also affirm that uniting the people in creating a peaceful country after war, in which each community is able to protect its identity and its rights, is the profound responsibility of the Government and all parties in the country.

Signed

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana, Bellanwila, Chairman
Ven. Maduluwave Sobhita, Kotte
Ven. Brahmanawatte Seevali, Colombo
Bishop Vianney Fernando, Kandy
Bishop Thomas Savundranayagam, Jaffna
Bishop Norbert Andradi, Anuradhapura
Swami Ramachandran Veerapandiyan, Colombo
Ms Sivanandini Doraisamy, Colombo
Moulavi Athambawa Hameed, Kalmunai


SRI LANKA COUNCIL OF RELIGIONS FOR PEACE
12/3, Robert Gunawardena Mawatha, Colombo 06