Melani Manel Perera

After the wave of attacks and bombings against civilians, the bishop of Colombo, Duleep de Chickera, appeals to the parties in conflict to spare the civilians, especially the children. A call to the population for calm, and for peaceful coexistence.

In his message for Lent, Bishop Perera, president of the justice and peace commission, invites the population to bear the sufferings of war and natural disasters with the awareness that their hope is the sacrifice of Christ for the victory of the innocent. An invitation to perform acts of charity toward all the oppressed, "because God is in them".

While anniversary celebrations were held in Colombo yesterday, attacks against civilians continued. Strong security measures are in place all over the island out of fear of rebel attacks. The population is at the breaking point: the politicians don't care about our lives, we have no freedom to celebrate, only misery.

The organisation offers care and shelter to the poor and abandoned of all ethnic and religious groups. Rita, the founder, 73 years old, recalls the evolution of this important outreach, which after 25 years of activity now houses 800 patients in 23 homes at all over the country.

An inter-party committee has presented to the president a proposed agreement with the rebels, involving the devolution of powers in the contested zones in the north and east. But the rebels are rejecting it. Meanwhile, the military offensive continues: yesterday clashes between the army and separatists claimed at least 37 victims.

Fr Nicholas Batepola is the founder of the Saravasi Seth Sevana Centre for Higher Education in the Archdiocese of Colombo. Hundreds of young people, who might not otherwise get an education, can graduate and hope for a better future. The school, which is appreciated by local Buddhists, needs however more financial aid to continue.

Two fishermen organisations, the World Forum for Fisher People and the National Fisheries Solidarity, are pushing for changes. For the past month they have been trying to locate three fishermen who went missing out at sea. The latter’s families say the situation is due to the authorities’ failure to act and their continued indifference vis-à-vis the men’s fate.

Sri Lanka’s Bishops’ Conference and the Anglican bishop of Colombo express concern over last Wednesday’s bombing in Buttala that killed 27, al civilians. They call on both government and rebels to put a stop to the violence and go back to talks. Instead President Rajapakse asks for patience in order to launch a final offensive.

The Catholic organisation is committed to raise awareness among women about abortion techniques and its traumatic consequences. Every year some 250,000 abortions are performed in the former Ceylon, mostly by married women. "Limited understanding of the issue” is one its causes.

Sri Lankan Catholics are set to celebrate the ‘Apostle of Sri Lanka.’ Three years of preparation for his tricentennial are scheduled to begin in a few days. Bishops invite the faithful to follow Vaz and renew their commitment to mission.

Nation-Building Minister D.M. Dassanayake is killed in a roadside bombing. Meanwhile international criticism of the country’s deteriorating human rights situation pushes Supreme Court to slap restrictions on night time arrests and searches by the army.

Adviser Dhanapala’s resignation is officially due to “personal reasons” but it comes right after the government announces its intention to pull out of ceasefire agreed with the rebels. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is also set to be shut down. For years it monitored violations in the country’s war-torn regions. A Tamil MP says the government wants “to rid the North-East of any witnesses of the carnage that it intends” to carry out.