Colombo (Fides Service) - “Despite considerable progress in the last three years, Sri Lanka still stands at the crossroads. The interruption of peace talks and recent clashes among the Tamil rebels themselves threaten to undermine the cease-fire agreement. Negotiations have stalled and peace is in danger”, Fr Vinny Joseph SJ, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Sri Lanka told Fides. The assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, himself a Tamil, and ensuing state of emergency declared by the president of Sri Lanka Chandrika Kumaratunga further complicated the situation on the Island.
At this difficult time when some observers fear a new outbreak of civil war, the local Catholic Church is more than ever committed to protecting the peace process and fostering reconciliation and negotiation between the sides.
One field in which Catholics are very active is the distribution of aid to families affected by the tragic tsunami last December 26. At first it seemed the disaster would foster collaboration among the sides in efforts to help the victims, but in recent months accusations of “discriminate distribution of aid” sparked social tension. With the country in partly under government control and partly under the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) distribution of aid is complicated. Catholic priests, religious men and women and laity, all coordinated by Caritas Sri Lanka, are helping to distribute aid and rebuild homes with criteria of absolute fairness, justice and transparency.
On June 24 government and LTTE reached an agreement for the distribution of aid to tsunami victims but one of the extremist parties in the coalition government the JVP took the agreement to court. On July 15 the Supreme Court suspended the agreement pending a ruling expected in September.
All these elements offer little hope of a speedy resuming of talks for peace, even though the Tamil front recently excluded the possibility of returning to the use of armed force. What is more in April a small group within the LTTE broke away and the rebels said the army of played a major part in helping to fracture the Tamil front.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam movement started by Vellupilai Prabahkaran in 1976 controls the north and east of Sri Lanka. In twenty years of civil war between separatist rebel soldiers and army troops 60,000 Islanders were killed. In February 2002 a cease-fire agreement was signed, but the long awaited peace pact is still to be achieved.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 31/8/2005 righe: 34 parole: 383)