Christian forum signs memorandum deploring violence in Sri Lanka

A Christian forum consisting of major church denominations has submitted a memorandum to the Sri Lankan government deploring the escalating ethnic violence in the island nation.

The Ecumenical Christian Forum for Human Rights - Madurai (ECFoHR) expressed grave concerns over the tortured innocent civilian victims in Sri Lanka.

The forum consists of the representations from the Church of South India, Roman Catholic Church, Methodist Churches in India, Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church, Salvation Army, Indian Evangelical Lutheran Church and Pentecostal Church Movements.

The memorandum said, "the Christian community strongly believe that killing of the weak and meek is unforgivable sin against GOD the creator and repentance for this is your responsibility."

"In recent days two agonizing pleas regarding these civilians have caused members of the Forum to express an outpouring of grief.

"One, the very recent plea of Red Cross for 35,000 plastic bags for dead bodies; Two, the cry of Archbishop Soundranayagom of Jaffna by narrating the present situation of the civilian victims of the war, in the words "No quarter, no water, no levorotary, no food, No medicine... We lost our homes and houses, lost our lands and nation, We are no human; we are war repatriates in our own land."

So, the Forum renounce in the strongest possible terms this callous, vicious carnage against the innocent minority Tamil civil society in Sri Lanka," it voiced.

The faith-based organisation pleaded with the Central and State governments to continue the humanitarian assistance to the trapped civilian victims with medicine, food, shelter and other supplies.

It also asked the United Nations Organization (UNO) to take up the issue seriously to warn the authorities to stop the "inhuman, unlawful, unjust WAR against the innocent minority civilian victims and to pronounce financial sanctions" against the govt.

"We propose UNO must play a PEACE-BUILDING role by initiating and mediating the peace talks to grant political freedom to the Sri Lankan Tamil minorities and to ensure their freedom," the Christians said.

For the past 30 years, at least 300,000 people in Sri Lanka have undergone suffering as a result of the country's ongoing civil war between the Singhalese government and the extremist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Over 150,000 people so far have been reported killed.