Colombo (AsiaNews/UCAN) A week of prayer held by inter-faith leaders in Sri Lanka will close tomorrow as negotiations between the government and Tamil rebels founder in Oslo.
The Inter-Religious Association for Peace in Batticaloa, in the north-east, organized services and times of prayer in local churches, mosques and temples from 5 to 11 June.
Mgr Kingsley Swampillai, bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, president of the association, said prayer was essential for lasting peace. "It is necessary that we remove all thoughts of violence from our hearts and minds, and give up all acts of violence."
Fr Dominic Saminathan, an association member, said organizers of the initiative had urged all people "to try to avoid all kinds of violent activities during this week of prayer for peace, and to keep sentiments and thoughts of peace in your hearts and minds."
Throughout these seven days, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim leaders chose a place where to meet and pray each day. On 5 June, for example, they gathered in a compound of a Methodist church. Association secretary K. Ganesh, a Hindu, said about 700 people attended the prayers services every day, which started around 4:30 p.m. and ended at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, the situation is not improving on the political front. After the failure of negotiations on 8 June in Oslo, Norway yesterday announced its intention to reconsider its role as mediator in a conflict that has dragged on for some 30 years between the government of Sri Lanka and Tamil rebels in the north-east. The Norwegian government, in a statement sent to Colombo, said it had taken the "unprecedented" decision to write to the Sri Lankan authorities and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (separatist LTTE) asking five questions about their commitment to Norway's peace mediation, now at an impasse for some years. "The responses by the parties... will determine which steps will next have to be taken by the Norwegian government," said the statement.
The talks were called on 8 and 9 June by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that is charged with overseeing the 2002 cease-fire, to ascertain conditions under which its observers will operate. This follows a recent attack against a Navy ship carrying a SLMM member. Seventeen naval troops were killed in the 11 May attack off Jaffna, which was attributed to the Tigers.
