ASIA/SRI LANKA - The long road towards reconciliation

Colombo (Agenzia Fides) – "The recent elections, considered by many as a turning point for the nation, after 30 years of war, have left the country still hopelessly divided on ethnic grounds. There is an urgent need for a process of profound reconciliation that should point to rebuilding mutual trust between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. This is what Fides has been told by the Assistant General of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) in Sri Lanka, Fr. Oswald Firth.
The situation in Sri Lanka is known: there are 14 million Sinhalese to 4 million Tamil, residing mostly in the North and East of the country. During the war between the army and Tamil rebel groups, the efforts of moderate and non-violent leaders on both sides failed. And once there was defeat of the rebel groups, "the presidential election did not give an answer and a solution to the legitimate requests of the Tamils," notes the missionary. "In fact, the message they were sent from politicians was: a war without witnesses," which meant great atrocities. "In the Spring of 2009 – notes Fr. Oswald - over 350,000 innocent civilians were forcibly crammed into a 'no war zone', where at least 20,000 of them died of starvation. Those who tried to flee were treated as prisoners and kept in camps, where they remained until December 2009. Even medical care was denied them in the camps. This inhumane treatment is still very much alive in the minds of the Tamil people."
Therefore, the missionary tells Fides, "the path of reconciliation will be long and difficult. This is to heal deep wounds. If that occurs, it will be thanks to an effort of both peoples. Then, there was also the policy that has sown divisions for electoral reasons."
The Catholic community has, through small groups of Sinhalese and Tamil religious, a "ministry of presence and service in those camps, showing closeness and helping Tamil families. The Oblate Missionaries, who have been present for 150 years in Sri Lanka, "continue their work to rebuild the relationships and bridges destroyed by war, promoting dialogue and harmony between the two communities," he concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/4/2010)