Nuncio in Sri Lanka: a forgotten country at war
On the fifth anniversary of the ceasefire between Colombo and the Tamil Tigers, now valid only on paper, Mgr Zenari draws attention to the tragic situation in a country which seems to be forgotten by the rest of the world, after receiving so much solidarity in the wake of the tsunami.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – On the fifth anniversary of the signing of a ceasefire between the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), peace is very far from Sri Lanka. Yesterday in Batticaloa, in the east of the island, an attack on a police patrol killed three people, including an officer, and injured 16. The Catholic Church frequently draws attention to the tragedy of the people, which however does not seem to touch the international community in the same way as the tsunami catastrophe.
The Nuncio of Sri Lanka, Mgr Mario Zenari, told AsiaNews that the war was building barriers in Sri Lanka, a tragic reality made all the more poignant by the generous support which poured into the island from abroad in the wake of the Tsunami tragedy in 2004. “After the Tsunami, the people of Sri Lanka experienced an unprecedented wave of solidarity all over the world,” he said.
“Still today many delegations come from all over the world, from thousands of miles away, to show their solidarity and to inaugurate projects of reconstruction and development, while we, on this small island, cannot move from one part to another, cannot move from relatives to relatives, from friends to friends, from one parish to the next because of the increasingly strict and impenetrable barriers imposed by the conflict.” In the midst of this sad and humbling scenario, continued Mgr Zenari, “it is consoling to see that the people keep praying trusting in the merciful love of God”.
Civil war erupted in Sri Lanka in 1983, when movements within the Tamil minority took extreme action following systematic pogroms that claimed the lives of thousands of people. The Tigers, who are aiming for the creation of an autonomous, self-governing state in the north and north-east, have taken control of entire swathes of land. On 22 February 2002, thanks to international mediation, especially from Norway, a cease-fire in force since Christmas 2001 was signed. Today the ceasefire is valid only on paper. More than two decades of war have claimed the lives of between 60,000 to 80,000 people. Since December 2005, the country has seen a resurgence of hostilities between the rebels and military that has claimed the lives of 4,000 people including 660 since the beginning of 2007. (DV)
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See also
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