Thursday, December 20, 2007

Church plea for political solution to Sri Lanka crisis

CHURCH groups in Sri Lanka have united to issue a plea for a political solution to the conflict that has claimed more than 70,000 lives on the strife-torn island.
Church plea for political solution to Sri Lanka crisis

The call from the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka comes as fresh fighting in the north claimed the lives of 13 rebels and two government soldiers.

And it was reported that the body of a Red Cross worker who was abducted last Friday was found on Sunday.

"Fighting will not lead us anywhere," the Rev WP Ebenezer Joseph, president of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka told Ecumenical News International on 17 December from Colombo following the issue of a joint church statement.

Fighting has been raging since the collapse of a 2002 ceasefire between the Government and Tamil rebels, LTTE, who want autonomy. Repeated efforts to restart the peace process have foundered.

The Sri Lankan Red Cross confirmed yesterday that Sooriyakanthy Thavarajah, a 40-year-old volunteer, had been killed after being abducted by gunmen. He was the third Red Cross worker to be killed this year.

"We are shocked by another senseless and brutal murder of one of our volunteers," the president of the Sri Lankan Red Cross, Jagath Abeysinghe, said, while calling for an investigation into the killing.

(http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk)

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