Melani Manel Perera

After the bombing yesterday, which killed 10, the Buddhist community is afraid of new attacks during celebrations for Vesak. Many are thinking about staying at home in their villages instead of participating in public ceremonies in the capital.

A powerful appeal from the National Peace Council to the authorities, that they safeguard the Tamil minority as well, against violence on the part of unknown groups, but also against abuses by the police. For the important Buddhist feast of Vesak, a call for compassion and respect.

Sri Lanka’s army accepts bishop’s request to demilitarise a 2.5 area around the shrine. In a few weeks, after the area has been cleared of mines and the temple repaired, the statue will come back in time for the Feast of the Assumption, an important moment of unity for both Tamils and Sinhalese.

In the first local elections in the eastern provinces in 20 years the ruling party alliance wins. For Sri Lanka’s president this is a sign of popular support for his anti-terrorism policies. But opposition parties and independent observers complain about irregularities and widespread intimidations.

A report from the justice and peace commission of the diocese of Jaffna denounces the drama of the children driven to enlist by the threats and terror exercised by the army and the rebels. The alarm is over the social repercussions of generations growing up amid violence.

Farmers’ and consumers’ organisations meet to denounce Sri Lanka’s worrisome situation. The island nation is being affected more than other countries’ by the rise in food prices. Alternative economic policies are proposed to encourage small producers rather than private monopolies.

Free Media Movement raises the alarm on the eve of World Press Freedom Day. In a press release it documents the alarming the situation on the island nation, the worse ever. Government and rebels are equally responsible for this deterioration.

As the government and trade unions prepare to celebrate May Day, many ordinary people wonder about the pertinence of the occasion since they work for starvation wages whilst politicians look on indifferent.

Still no claim of responsibility for yesterday's attack at the bus station in Piliyandala. Meanwhile, the army says it has gained control of the area of the shrine of Madhu, previously in the hands of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

A moment of prayer and a peaceful march were held in Colombo yesterday, to ask the Tamil rebels to leave the area of the Marian shrine, and the army to stop its military operations. A new message from the bishops' conference: the statue of Our Lady of Madhu must be returned to the shrine as soon as possible.

A group of Christian and Buddhist clerics manage to visit Mannar, a restricted area where the war rages, to visit refugee camps. A priest describes the daily abuses Tamils endured at the hands of the military, which is bent on winning the war but not avoiding future conflicts.

Father Karunaratnam was killed yesterday right after midday. He was driving home in his well-known car after celebrating Mass. Sri Lanka’s army and Tamil Tiger rebels blame each other. Everyone remembers him as a tireless defender of human rights and as a real bridge between Tamils and Sinhalese.