Religions for Peace

 Sri Lankan president meets with religious leaders.

Religious Leaders of Different Faiths Pledge to Work with Sri Lankan Government and Tamil Tigers to Address Humanitarian Crisis

—Civilians trapped in zones of conflict have been facing unbearable conditions—

(COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, 26 November 2008)—Senior religious leaders of Religions for Peace, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, met with Sri Lankan President H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday to discuss the unbearable conditions of civilians trapped in heavy military operations in the north of the country. The religious leaders offered to work with the government, opposition parties and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to address the humanitarian crisis.   

The meeting with the Sri Lankan President was the result of an international multi-religious summit in Anuradhapura organized by Religions for Peace in partnership with Religions for Peace Sri Lanka and the National Peace Council. The summit made a multi-religious commitment to assist vulnerable internally displaced persons.  

The Religions for Peace delegations also met with Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the opposition leader; Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, senior advisor to the President; and Mr. R. Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, to further advance the multi-stakeholder approach to develop the needed humanitarian corridors and non-military zones. 

“The achievement of peace through a political solution that is acceptable to all communities is the goal toward which Sri Lanka should be striving,” the religious leaders said in a statement. “We believe that progress toward peace in the coming period will require an attitudinal shift, an evolution that religious communities are trained to bring about. We also believe that a multi-religious initiative to address the humanitarian crisis would open up new opportunities for change, and change of heart, which is the supreme realm of religion and spirituality.”  [Full text of statement below.]

Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, added that working together to protect the vulnerable may present an unexpected path toward a solution to the long-running conflict agreeable to all parties. “From a religious point of view, war is always a failure, even when it appears to be politically justified as a last resort,” he added.

Venerable Maduluwave Sobitha said, “The government and the opposition leaders must work together to come up with political solutions.” Bishop Norbert Andradi of Anuradhapura noted that, “We have missed many opportunities in the past. We need to seize the opportunities that exist now and move forward.”

His Holiness Venerable Tep Vong, Great Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia Maha Sangha, said, “Buddhism knows that violence can not be resolved by violence. Buddhism’s central tenet is the power of unlimited compassion of loving even enemies.” 

“The peoples of Sri Lanka are deeply spiritual. They share deep moral values. Religious leaders can provide leadership in this time of crisis,” said Bishop Gunnar J. Stålsett, Moderator, Religions for Peace European Council of Religious Leaders.

Among the other international figures, Rev. Norio Sakai, Chairman Emeritus of Rissho Kosei-kai, said, “Japanese Buddhist communities are in support of Sri Lankan religious leaders in building of their country’s most representative multi-religious structure, the Religions for Peace Inter-religious Council of Sri Lanka.” He pledged ongoing solidarity.   

The Sri Lankan religious delegation included Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana, Ven. Maduluwave Sobitha, Ven. Brahmanawatte Seevali, Swami Ramachandra Iyer Veerapandian, Bishop Vianney Fernando, Bishop Rayappu Joseph, Bishop Norbert Andradi, and Moulavi Abudulla Alim. 

The foreign delegation also included Rev. Vebjørn Horsfjord, General Secretary of the Religions for Peace European Council of Religious Leaders, and Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, Director of Inter-religious Council Development and Network Coordination at Religions for Peace.

The Inter-religious Council of Sri Lanka, an affiliate of Religions for Peace, is the country’s most representative multi-religious body with participation of senior Tamil religious leaders from the North such as Bishop of Mannar. The Council is committed to becoming the multi-religious voice of the peoples of Sri Lanka, offering the possibility of mediation, rejecting extremist tendencies, and educating the public about the positive, socially transformative power of religions and their cooperation.   

The National Peace Council is an independent and non-partisan organization that works toward a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The organization aims to build a strong foundation in civil society towards non violent attitudinal and behavioral transformation by programs of peace education and advocacy for a just and sustainable peace in the country.