Peace Rally in Sri Lanka held by Christian Youths

A three-day peace rally was held in the town of Vavuniya in Sri Lanka last week with hundreds of Christian youths gathering to bring peace to a nation which has seen much division caused by ethnic groups.

“We have assembled here to pray for peace,” said Rev. Rayappu Joseph, Bishop of Mannar as he spoke at the youth conference on Saturday.

In Sri Lanka’s contemporary history, internal divisions have killed over 80,000 people, wounded hundreds of thousands, and displaced nearly one million people. The nation holds conflicts between militant Buddhists and Sinhalese Christians; between militant nationalist Buddhists and Buddhists committed to non-violence; between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Muslim population; and between various Tamil political groups. Ethnic tensions also occur between churches.

Peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka have long been promoted by ecumenical organisations such as the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). The two organisations have called their member churches to bring an end to the conflict by lobbying and advocating with their respective governments.

Efforts to build up relations with the Buddhist clergy have been made by the NCC-Sri Lanka (National Council of Churches in Sri Lanka) and churches. NCC representatives have contacted government officials several times to bring an end to this internal conflict.

The Sinhalese make up 70% of the 20 million population in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese are mainly Buddhists and the Tamils, which make up 15% of the population, are mainly Hindus. Christians constitute 7-8% among the Sinhalese and Tamils.




Jenny Lee
Ecumenical Press