Sri Lanka: Catholics' demands to presidential candidates
A message from the bishops' Conference, the archbishop's appeal to Colombo and official websites all express hope that the next head of state will face the "burning" issues of separatist war, freedom of worship and poverty.
Colombo (AsiaNews) Ethnic conflict, freedom of worship and poverty: the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is urging citizens to give these issues serious thought in view of the upcoming presidential election on 17 November, and it is calling on candidates to deliver precise answers.
In an official statement, the Bishops' Conference said the next head of state "must be committed" to stopping "the cycle of violence and counter-violence which affects the north-east" of the country and offer "all religious and ethnic communities" the possibility of "participating in the peace process".
Archbishop Oswald Gomis has broadcast a message on the website of the Colombo archdiocese, inviting "the Christian community" to vote "without fear or favouritism". "In exercising the vote we should be deeply conscious of the issues that face the country and the Christian community in the present time," wrote the bishop.
The imminent presidential election pits the current prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse against Ranil Wickremasinghe, former premier and leader of the Opposition United National Party. The outgoing president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, cannot contest the vote: she has brought her second term to a close, the maximum permitted by law.
The diocesan site also published an article highlighting the most "burning" questions which presidential candidates have the "moral obligation" to tackle without "false promises".
Ethnic conflict
War between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and government forces has dragged on in the north-east of the country for more than 20 years; peace talks between the government and the Tigers started in April 2003 under Norwegian mediation have been stalled for some time. According to the presidency, the peace accord is obstructed by the People's Liberation Front, a Marxist Party and government ally which has threatened to quit the coalition.
The diocese invites candidates to "analyse" the question and to speak out clearly: "Politicians are shy to come out with their comments because they are more concerned about winning votes rather than losing them." The proposal is to "listen" because "there is a series of discriminations at the core of what is defined as an ethnic conflict". The message of the diocese closes by saying: "Often, the authorities are indifferent to the needs of the Tamil population in the north".
Anti-conversion law
Freedom of worship in Sri Lanka is threatened by two bills of law: the Bill on Prohibition of Forcible Conversion and the Act for the Protection of Religious Freedom. Both are directed at punishing those who "facilitate" conversion through "fraudulent means or rather at stemming presumed Christian proselytism". The diocesan website said the government has thus far remained too "silent" on the issue and it asked itself what the future holds. "This proposed Bill concerns us all irrespective of whatever religion we believe in. We are a multi-national, multi-racial nation. How can we implement such lop-sided Bills?"
Poverty
About poverty, the Colombo diocesan website had this to say: "We know that the country is developing but around 70% of the population is poor. The poor have not been helped to overcome their poverty: what has been done through the various poverty alleviation programs? The poor do not need false and baseless promises. What they need is concrete solutions to their problems and the problems are many: children's education, health, and nutrition."
The Catholics' requests are obliging candidates to take a stand on these issues. At a meeting held by Caritas Sri Lanka on 31 October, Rajapakse said: "I will defend freedom of worship". For his part, Wickremasinghe said that "people are free to practice their own religion and credo. There are however practices (proselytizing ed.note) which are checked through the Inter-religious Council."
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24/11/2005
