S. Lankan Archbishop stresses on building nationhood on equal rights for all after war

(May 18, 2009) While expressing satisfaction over the end of the war in the country, the archbishop of Sri Lanka said they all need to forgive and forget the divisions and bitterness of the past and grow into nationhood where the rights of all ethnic, religious and cultural communities of the nation are respected. While complimenting President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the army for the victory, Archbishop Oswald Gomis of Colombo offered his deepest sympathies to those who laid down their lives in battle and those innocent civilians killed, trapped in war. “In a sense we could say that we have won the battle but the war is not ended,” the archbishop said. “The war would end only on the day that we grow in nationhood realizing that we are all one people in one country with equal right.” He said, “We have to realize the fact that we are a multi­ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural community. As such we are now left with the great task of nation- building forgetting our ethnic, political and religious differences.” “It is imperative that there be a political formula that will inspire confidence and promote a sense of belonging among the minority groups in the country. We have to leave the sad and bitter memories of the past three decades and look positively and optimistically towards the future in hope.” He said, “All of us have to share the blame for our division and forgive each other.” “We should have the humility and wisdom to learn from the sad experiences of that past.” “It is then, and only then, that we could build nationhood that will bring true peace and prosperity to our beloved country,” he added.