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20 December 2022
A group of Catholics in Sri Lanka called for a boycott of Christmas events organized by the government to protest the perceived failure of authorities to solve the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
The coordinated suicide bombings on three churches, four hotels, and one housing complex on April 21, 2019, took place while Masses and religious services were held.
A report on AsiaNews said at least 20 Catholic associations have asked the country’s Catholic bishops’ conference to boycott Christmas events organized by the government this year.
“If [the government] really want to show attention to the Catholic community, they should promote independent investigations and assist the survivors,” read a statement issued by the groups.
“We have suggested to the bishops to use this moment as an opportunity to express the pain and displeasure of the Catholic community,” said Thilina Alahakon, coordinator of the group.
Alahakon said the Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim communities in the country “are waiting for justice to be done for the Easter Sunday attack.”
“In fact, alongside a majority of the Catholic faithful, a small number of these communities also suffered the loss of life and injuries in these attacks and therefore, as a country, it is a national issue,” said the Catholic lay leader.
The group urged the government to implement all the recommendations of a commission that was charged to probe killings in the country, resume impartial investigations into several issues that emerged in the wake of the bombings, and allocate funds to help survivors of the attacks.
Earlier, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo described the situation in the country to be “very dangerous.”
Speaking before a gathering of Sunday school teachers, the cardinal called for a simple Christmas observance.
Human Rights Watch earlier warned that the economic crisis in the country is “worse than ever” as the United Nations last month renewed a humanitarian appeal.
In April, Sri Lanka defaulted on over US$50 billion in debts to international creditors, and in September it reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a four-year, US$2.9 billion bailout. #
Source: https://www.licas.news/2022/12/19/catholics-in-sri-lanka-call-for-boycott-of-christmas-events/
