Invigorate inter-religious dialogue and

reconciliation

By Fr. Augustine Fernando-February 22, 2017,

8:22 pm

Diocese of Badullahttp://www.island.lk/index.php?
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The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka held the National Inter-
Religious Symposium at the BMICH on Monday, 20th March. The
programme lasted the whole day.

FORMER PRESIDENT &

MINISTER GANESHAN
The former President Chandrika Kumaratunge who spoke recalling
how a united people succeeded in gaining Independence made a
frank, bold and challenging speech encouraging the participants
to continue determinedly on the path of reconciliation among all
our people in Sri Lanka and not be discouraged by even that
monk who causes misunderstanding, confusion and disturbances.
She said that religious leaders could do much in bringing about
reconciliation and peace to Sri Lanka.

Mano Ganeshan, Minister of National Coexistence, Dialogue and

Official Languages spoke of the importance of coexistence and
the acceptance of people of different languages, religions and
cultures and about being united as one people upholding equality
and justice for all and never entrusting power to those who have
no respect for these values. He said he is conversant with all
three languages spoken in Sri Lanka and that parliamentarians
should be at least bilingual. He further said that he communicates
the thinking of the Sinhala people in the South to the Tamil people
in the North and convey Tamil peoples thinking to the people of
the South.

Dr. Andrew Sisson, Director of the USAID Mission in Sri Lanka said
that USAID was glad to support Inter-Religious Dialogue in Sri
Lanka and underlined its importance. He said that the United
States of America had a civil war for five years 150 years ago and
its negative effects were felt even today 150 years later. He urged
those participating in the Symposium to keep sharing their
experiences and to exercise pressure on the National Leaders to
bring about reconciliation which requires long and hard work.

TRUTH COMMISSSION
Besides USAID, MISEREOR and OXFAM have also supported this
initiative of the National Peace Conference whose Director, Dr.
Jehan Perera said that the government was intent on bringing
about reconciliation and that a Truth Commission is to search for
the truth of what happened in the past causing suffering to the
people. Though in 1988-89 many killings took place, we do not
know what exactly happened. The people have a right to know
what has happened. The victimized need to speak about what
happened to them and they should get answers to their questions
and solutions to their problems resulting from those
victimizations. There should be investigations about those who
disappeared not only under the LTTE but also under the JVP. The
suffering that people underwent under the JVP may be smaller in
proportion to that of the LTTE, but still many people suffered and
many were killed. Yet all those innocent who were adversely
affected and suffered immeasurably need to be compensated
even though they cannot be compensated adequately.

VERY OLD RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS

We, of different religions, need to reflect sufficiently. Though we

are not enemies, consciously or unconsciously some of us do
things inimical to others. Though we could speak to one another
courteously and without causing hurt, as rational beings,
unconsciously or purposefully, our speech, tone of voice and
manner of speaking cause hurt and estrangement. These things
happen in many instances.

We are a people guilty of self-centred, self-absorbed and partial

irrational judgments and unjust verdicts in our public life as well
as in our less public relationships. We slander and denigrate our
own people; we undermine and jeopardize the future of one
another. We bear hatred and nurse grudges and wait for an
opportunity to take revenge. We do not openly tell our neighbor of
his offence nor fraternally correct him. We live on pretense. We
act very foolishly like people walking in the darkness of ignorance.
We like to say we are a civilized people with an ancient culture yet
act as uncultured people.

Though religious teachings were taught and human beings

enlightened on justice and reconciliation more than even 3,000
years ago, we still seem to have not learnt the lessons that lead
to wholesome living. We still seem to be groping in the dark.

UNITED AT INDEPENDENCE

At the time of gaining Independence, Sri Lankans may have

argued on matters hinging on religious themes, but it did not
descend to the level of disparaging and insulting each other.. In
fact, we were taught the true meaning of patriotism which begins
with a love for all people of the Countryas children of One
Mother Lanka, in which people of different identities live side by
side, Our landscapes, plants, flowers and scenic beauty are many
and varied as expressed also in the National Anthem itself. We do
not seem to accept and live according to what is sung in the
National Anthem. Some, quite against its spirit even object to it
being sung in Tamil.

When these things happen and unpleasant initiatives are taken

and prejudiced traditions get entrenched, they obstruct building
good relationships and inter religious reconciliation. Not only that.
The harassments that children experience take hold of their
minds; those responsible are considered by them as unjust and
evil persons. Attitudes and actions of such adults darken the
minds of children and persist in their lives.
EXAMPLES OF DISCRIMINATION

Some simple day to day examples of what happens concrete and

routinely illustrate the many hindrances to reconciliation and
peace.

1. Many in government service act with prejudice due to their

ignorance of the language and lack of basic humanity and respect
towards the ethnicity, culture and religion and the poor economic
background of the people. They who are sustained by the
peoples taxes are insensitive to the injustice, maltreatment and
harassment meted out to the people.

2. Government employed public servants who see as criminal

offences the exercise of democratic rights by the people and even
their views do not see their own shirking of duty causing criminal
hurt to people, as a criminal offence.

3. The Department of Education or our educational institution

may send a letter to a Catholic teacher in a State school about a
study day or a seminar. It reaches the Principals office but is
never handed over to the teacher. The Teacher is prevented from
attending a study-day, getting informed and updated about
matters relating to the children he or she teaches due to the
Principal acting in a prejudiced, unprincipled and discourteous
manner. Is such an unprofessional person fit to be a Principal?

4. Catholic and Christian students in State schools face

discrimination by non Christian Teachers and Principals. They
seem to be uninformed or incorrigibly prejudiced. They do not
seem to have been trained or acquired the professional
competence for the school environment in which they are to act
professionally and not cause discrimination and thus national
disharmony. They should know the norms of undiscriminating
discipline. Their attitudes should not go counter to their
professional standing. Teachers, just like other professionals need
moral sensitivity to be considered competent teachers.

5. A teacher of history or civilization gives a lesson to a class. And

very authoritatively and seemingly infallibly teaches that
Christianity and Christians have destroyed and are destroying the
civilization of this Country. And thus plants obnoxious ideas in the
impressionable minds of children. The teacher is completely
ignorant of the fact that the Modern Teaching and university
Tradition in the world and in Sri Lanka today is from Christian
roots.

6. Teachers who are not Christian, who have only a superficial

knowledge of the Bible, refer to the Bible and distort and
misinterpret it and create unnecessary problems for Christian
children and misinform other children. Thereby the teacher who
should enlighten leads all the children astray.

7. The Catholic and Christian vested schools now have Buddhist,

Hindu and Muslim Principals who do not know and do want to
know the Act by which the schools were so vested, even though
we Catholics do not agree with all that is in that Act. They refuse
admission to Catholic and Christian children and are deprived of
education in the schools that Catholics have built! Some time
back, even St. Thomas College, Kotte was called a Buddhist
school. Today, there is a St. Sebastians Muslim School, in
Colombo and St. Marys College, Nawalapitiya, just behind the
Church, is turned into a Muslim school. These are contradictory,
irritable and unacceptable situations forcibly created. (Mr. Bad-Id
Udin Mohammed, a former Principal of Zahira College, Gampola,
who became Minister of Education and handled the take-over of
denominational schools, saw to it that Muslim interests were
promoted though Muslims had not built sufficient schools for
Muslim children, by the time of the schools take-over.)

8. There are allocations of funds for the educational purposes,

competitions or friendly academic contests of school children in
the religious denominations. It so happens that Christians get
disproportionately low allocations. In the first place, it is the
Christians who first initiated these competitions, which now a
government ministry has had reason to patronize and sponsor to
others as well.

If we say we are not adversaries, and therefore we can join hands

for the common good, let us sincerely cooperate and collaborate
and mutually assist one another to come to a better
understanding of the best traditions of our religions and enhance
the lives of all our followers who are fellow citizens in Sri Lanka.
Let us come to a better understanding of the many ways we do
injustice to one another. Doing injustice is no part of any religion
nor part of declared government policy. But followers of religions
and government servants act unjustly. "Do not do unto others
what you would not like others to do unto you" was highlighted by
Dr. Joe William, President of The National Peace Conference who
cited the corresponding statements of that teaching in the various
religious traditions.

We should hand over to our children and the coming generations

a legacy of compassion, loving kindness, love and mutual
forgiveness, unity and peace that is the fruit of truth and justice.

We should rise from the darkness of our ignorance, overcome our

indifference, put away our prejudices, including the deep rooted
problematic malady of caste prejudice not worthy of intelligent
human beings, to transmit to others wholesome relationships
among ourselves: relationships help us to see what attitudes we
need to drop, what new attitudes we have to adopt that will
enhance our identity, self-respect and human dignity. We should
strive to accept every person and everything that is true and
noble, redeemable, good and pure, honourable, virtuous and
worthy of upholding, worthy of preservation and praise wherever
it is found.
Posted by Thavam