Church in Sri Lanka: Politics Must Serve the People, Not Government
by Melani Manel Perera
An awareness seminar for candidates for the next election (October 8) in 23 local authorities, including Colombo. Improvement and city development are the central campaign themes. The priests of the Centre for Social and Religion to the candidates: "Use the voting power of citizens to improve their condition, not for your purposes."
Colombo (AsiaNews) - On 8 October the elections for 23 local authorities will be held in Sri Lanka, including the capital of Colombo. City-beautifying and development are the central themes of every candidate's election campaign, regardless of their political party. However, according to the priests of the Centre for Social and Religion (CSR), these are only empty words and candidates must not use the power of the citizens' votes for their own purposes, but to improve the condition of the population. For this reason, the CSR has organized an awareness-raising seminar, which was attended by nine candidates from the ruling party, the opposition and other independent groups.
Fr. Ashok Steevan explained to AsiaNews: "We wanted to see what is really their goal, if they are serious about the promises they are making people. We invited them in order to get to know their slogans, their worldview and their programs, and to raise awareness of their responsibilities." Because "they must serve the people", the priest continues, "correctly. Not only beautifing the city and playing with the central government, but reminding them that they also have a duty towards the poor. Even small-time vendors and beggars have the right to be under their care and guidance. All are citizens."
During the seminar, the UPF candidate (United People's Freedom Alliance, the ruling party) praised the city's development initiatives taken by President Mahinda Rajapksa, denying that he wanted to exclude the poorest people from their projects. However, several participants at the Conference citizens challenged the candidate, claiming to have problems precisely because of the the projects desired by the government.
Priyan Gunarathna, a candidate of the Democratic People's Front (the party of well-known politician Tamil Mano Ganeshan), indicated the points on which to work, in case of victory: “providing a comfortable home for those living in slums, showing the government and the international community how to live with ethnic groups, cultures and religions; stoping the militarization of the country in favor of a civil administration."
The first phase of elections took place in July: the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) - the majority coalition - won in 45 of 65 local bodies.But the triumph went to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest Tamil party in the country, elected in all18 bodies of the north and east provinces of the country, which are former war zones.
Fr. Ashok Steevan explained to AsiaNews: "We wanted to see what is really their goal, if they are serious about the promises they are making people. We invited them in order to get to know their slogans, their worldview and their programs, and to raise awareness of their responsibilities." Because "they must serve the people", the priest continues, "correctly. Not only beautifing the city and playing with the central government, but reminding them that they also have a duty towards the poor. Even small-time vendors and beggars have the right to be under their care and guidance. All are citizens."
During the seminar, the UPF candidate (United People's Freedom Alliance, the ruling party) praised the city's development initiatives taken by President Mahinda Rajapksa, denying that he wanted to exclude the poorest people from their projects. However, several participants at the Conference citizens challenged the candidate, claiming to have problems precisely because of the the projects desired by the government.
Priyan Gunarathna, a candidate of the Democratic People's Front (the party of well-known politician Tamil Mano Ganeshan), indicated the points on which to work, in case of victory: “providing a comfortable home for those living in slums, showing the government and the international community how to live with ethnic groups, cultures and religions; stoping the militarization of the country in favor of a civil administration."
The first phase of elections took place in July: the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) - the majority coalition - won in 45 of 65 local bodies.But the triumph went to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest Tamil party in the country, elected in all18 bodies of the north and east provinces of the country, which are former war zones.
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