Sri Lanka's religious ask President: to free Tamil refugees

(Oct.10,2009): The religious of Sri Lanka committed to helping Tamil refugees, have demanded that President Mahinda Rajapaksa release the over 200 thousand Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from refugee camps in the North of the Country, where they are suffering intensely. The Center for Society & Religion – CSR, and the Conference of Major Religious Superiors (CMRS), promoters of the so-called "ministry of presence" among IDPs, sent the Sri Lankan President a letter, in which they show their appreciation for the government’s work to assist refugees, but in which they also demand a fast solution to the refugee emergency, and reiterate the extreme conditions of stress and frustration in which the people are forced to live.
Fr. Rohan Silva, Director of CSR, hopes that "the president responds positively to the request" sent on September 30. The priest explained that the two sponsoring organizations appealed to the authorities "as religious and as citizens of Sri Lanka" who want to give "voice to the voiceless and defend" their rights and their freedom. The CSR Director told AsiaNews that priests and nuns are working tirelessly g to alleviate the suffering of the refugees and working to ensure an education for children living in refugee camps”. The religious cite the country's constitution, and Article 14 that guarantees all citizens "freedom of movement and residence in Sri Lanka."