The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka has organized a Symposium of Religious Leaders for Peace along with National Conference on Religions for Peace and Sri Lankan Movement for Justice, Peace and Reconciliation. It was held at the BMICH (Bandaranaike International Memorial Conference Hall) o June 28th 2007. Religious dignitaries belonging to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity gathered to show their united support for sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.
The following resolution was endorsed by the Religious Leaders for Peace at the symposium
Reverend representatives of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity denominations in Sri Lanka assembled on June 28th 2007 at the Bandaranaike Memorial Conference Hall, Colombo, and guided by the higher principles and ideals of their faith to:
*Urge the Government and the LTTE to take steps towards the initiation of a cessation of hostilities upon giving serious consideration to the immense material and psychological damage caused to innocent and helpless civilians belonging to different ethnic communities of our nation. The religious leaders underscore the futility of war
*Call upon all parties and stakeholders involved in the ethnic conflict to resolve the fundamental issues through concrete negotiations. The religious leaders especially emphasize on the cooperation and cohesion of the various political parties
*Request the international community to exert pressure on both the Government and the LTTE to expedite the languishing peace process in order to achieve a final, irrevocable solution acceptable to all ethnic communities of our country. Both parties should put forward reasonable proposals for a political solution.
Friday, June 29, 2007
“I have proposed to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to have a religious summit in Jaffna with all the religious leaders from all over the country to take part. The committee gladly welcomed the proposal. There are 4.8 million people in the world, who embrace religion. The religious leaders in Sri Lanka can get together and work towards permanent peace” said Kyoichi Sugino, The Director of World Conference of Religions for Peace
“The people live in border villages have suffered severely during war. The war must end. We as human beings understand other communities and their needs and respect them. People are afraid to travel now due to the current security situation” said Valimapothana Piyarathna Thera, a Buddhist monk from Horowapothana
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