Sri Lankan Archbishop hopes for peace and national unity

(Aug.11,2010) In Sri Lanka, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo made a call for dialogue to advance the cause of the still suffering people of the North and East, and take the country on a path towards sustainable peace, reconciliation and national unity. He said difficult attitudes and outlandish statements will not help in this endeavour.”
Archbishop Ranjith made the call during a conference that brought together priests and religious from various regions of the country. Held at the auditorium of Caritas-Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 3, the event was not open to the public. Information about it was only released on Tuesday. Bishop Harold Anthony Perera of Kurunegala - Chairman of Caritas Sri Lanka, Bishop Norbert Andradi of Anuradhapura, and Fr George Sigamoney, Director of Caritas Sri Lanka attended the seminar.
Clergymen and religious from the country’s northern and eastern regions voiced a number of concerns relating to the hardships and suffering that people in their part of the country have to endure. They said that inspite of the outward appearances of development work, many serious grievances still exist. They concern “kidnappings, ransom demands, harassment and abuse of women, decent housing, loss of land, restrictions on movement from one place to another and so on.”
After hearing these facts, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith said “Unfortunately, there are factors in this country, which are not in our control. Anyway, we are not silent, we have been very active,” he said. “Yet, we have to use dialogue as the means to achieve success in restoring normalcy in the North and East,” Archbishop Ranjith added.