The Jubilee Campaign has united with partner organisations in Sri Lanka to call for Christians around the world to join them in prayer for religious freedom of the country today.
Christians from across the country from diverse backgrounds and denominational faiths will gather in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, to take part in a prayer walk to protest against recent violations of religious liberties. Throughout the event there will be calls for God to bring justice and peace to the land.Jebamoney Ratnam from the National Christian Fellowship of Sri Lanka release the following notice:
As you are aware, the organised attacks against Christians in Sri Lanka are moving forward and the government, along with other anti- Christian organisations, are working hard trying to bring the anti-conversion bill into action. We therefore request all brethren who love the Lord to join us in prayer as we are organising a peace march against the above anti-conversion bill on the 17th of this month. The said peace march will be held from Katunayaka Junction to the Negomber Town Hall, where there will be an open-air prayer meeting.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Jebamoney Ratnam
The prayer walk has been timed to take place at a crucial time in Sri Lanka’s social and political history, tell the Jubilee Campaign. Presidential elections are approaching in the country, as well as a number of legal proposals being laid down that may threaten religious freedom in the country.
Two Anti-Conversion measures have been brought out for discussions; one being introduced by the radical Buddhist monks (The JHU – Jathika Hela Urumayu, National Heritage Party), and the other by the Minister of Buddhist Affairs. They hope to make amendments to the Sri Lankan constitution making Buddhism the state religion.
Currently, the constitution does give Buddhism the leading position among religions in the country, but also guarantees that other religious groups are able to worship freely, according to Jubilee Campaign.
A majority of those opposed to the 19th Amendment have feared that if the proposals are passed it would severely restrict the minority groups’ rights to freedom of expression.
As the build-up to the elections continue, attacks against churches have also be unrelenting. The NCFSL has documented more than 200 cases of vandalism, violence, arson and harassment against the churches and Christians in Sri Lanka over the past two years.
The Jubilee Campaign and the NCFSL ask for continued prayers for the harassed Christians in Sri Lanka, and for prayers that they may stand firm in faith, love and non-violent resistance to their persecutions.
