(March 28, 2012) In Sri Lanka, Caritas on Monday dismissed allegations from a senior
cabinet minister accusing the Church’s social arm of involvement in a major conspiracy
to create anarchy within the country. Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said Caritas
members had organized recent farmers’ protests and had gone to the UN Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, to speak against the government, ahead of
the war crimes resolution made last week. “Caritas provided buses for the farmers
to go to the protests and gave them food as well,” said Sirisena, who is also the
ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s general secretary. “Trade union leaders do not know
who is running these protests. It is Caritas Sri Lanka, who also went to Geneva to
speak against the country,” the minister said at a public meeting at the weekend in
Colombo. Farmers groups and Caritas said the allegations are completely groundless. Church
officials also called Sirisena’s UNHRC allegation an “absolute lie.”“We did not send
anybody to the UNHRC meeting in Geneva. Instead, the Church worked closely with the
government to support the cause of the country,” said Bishop Harold Anthony Perera,
Chairman of the Catholic National Commission for Justice, Peace and Human Development.
Nihal Winadhipathi, a farmer’s representative said “Farmers and workers made several
demands including an increase in the price of paddy rice because of diesel and kerosene
oil price hikes, not to overthrow the government.” Winadhipathi said. “Caritas or
any other organization did not provide buses or meals. Many priests and Buddhist monks
came to offer moral support,” he added..