Church bells tolled and prayers were chanted at 8:45 a.m., the time when bombs were detonated almost simultaneously at two Roman Catholic churches and a Protestant church during Easter services on April 21, 2019. Bombs were also set off at three top hotels targeting locals and foreigners who were eating breakfast.

More than 260 people, including 171 from the two Catholic churches, were killed in the attacks, which were blamed on two local Islamic extremist groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Read More

Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, said he was urging President Mahinda Rajapakse and the main ethnic Tamil party to hammer out a political settlement or risk an international probe.

"Foreigners should not tell us what to do... We are not a pack of fools," the cardinal said. "But if we do not resolve these issues, then we open ourselves to foreign intervention."

Sri Lanka has resisted international calls to investigate allegations that up to 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed by security forces in the final months of fighting in 2009.

At a Commonwealth summit hosted by Colombo last month, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron warned that he would push for an international inquiry under the auspices of the UN unless Sri Lanka ensures accountability by March.

In a pastoral letter, the Church warned that failure on the part of Colombo to ensure accountability for alleged war crimes could trigger international investigations that will be a "serious threat to the sovereignty of the country".

Christians are a small minority in the mainly Buddhist country, but the Catholic Church wields considerable influence over the government and Ranjith is regarded as close to Rajapakse.

Since the 37-year separatist war ended in May 2009, there have been no attacks blamed on the defeated Tamil Tiger guerrillas who fought for independence for the island's ethnic Tamil minority.

The cardinal said the majority Sinhalese and Tamils should ensure reconciliation and politicians on both sides should be flexible and hammer out a political power sharing deal.

Source

AFP/UCA News
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, condemned "unhesitatingly" the military shooting that killed three people and wounded more than 50 others last week.

"We wish to condemn unhesitatingly the attack that was carried out by some elements of the [armed] forces on people," the archbishop said.

"Such actions cannot be accepted by anyone... We do not accept using one's power in a repressive manner to suppress protests, even if they get out of hand."

The military opened fire on Thursday on thousands of unarmed residents who were protesting against the contamination of their ground water supply, allegedly by chemical waste from a rubber glove factory.

Government ministers said the military was acting in self-defence because protesters threw petrol bombs and shot at them at the instigation of a third party bent on discrediting the government.

On Wednesday, priests and nuns joined hundreds of faithful in staging a candle-light vigil in the capital to protest against the military action.

Sources

Al Jazeera

AFP/Inquirer

AP/The New York Times

Image: AFP/Al Jazeera