Church supporting Sri Lankan Militancy

Posted September 12, 2003
Reference article by Susantha Goonatilake in The Island International (December 1).

I see that the role of the NGOs and the role of the Church in the ethnic conflict is of deep concern to many. The role of NGOs need investigation because of their growth (nearly 70) without any mandate from the public. But in the name of the people they are attempting to influence government decisions, editorial policy of newspapers and the electronic media and play a greater public role than some of the more established political parties and public welfare organisations. Perhaps the time has now come for a public investigation into their operations, sources of funding and the background of people involved in the NGO movement in Sri Lanka.

Secondly, the role of the Christian church in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka is coming under increasing scrutiny. Some perceptive observers have publicly accused the Christian Church of being the invisible hand behind the LTTE’s violent campaign to destroy the unitary state of Sri Lanka, establish another sovereign state called "Eelam" and in turn reduce the power of the majority Sinhalese and that of the Buddhists. The fact that the militant Tamil organisations including the LTTE and Christian Peace Activists who are sympathetic to the LTTE’s position, are receiving both moral and financial support from Christian institutions is no longer a public secret.

It is a matter of public knowledge that Christian clerics from Western countries have come to Sri Lanka for short visits, to study the ground situation and then have written adverse reports heavily tilted in favour of the LTTE and damaging the image of the country. Much of the blame in their reports is on alleged human right abuses by the security forces with hardly any mention of the planned and pre-meditated acts of inhumanity by the LTTE. It is this policy of blatant one sidedness of pointing the finger only at the Sri Lankan army and the Sinhala Buddhist majority and painting Prabhakaran and the LTTE as "freedom fighters" that has eroded the credibility of the Christian church as neutral bystanders in this conflict.
Recently, it was reported that the Catholic Bishop of Jaffna had requested all Tamil political parties to cease functioning so that the LTTE could act as the sole representative of the Tamil people. Their position is confirmed by Mr. S. N. Dixit, the former High Commissioner for India, who stated in his book, ("Assignment Colombo" P. 228) that, "what was fascinating was that the Tamil Catholic clergy kept arguing in favour of the LTTE throughout my tenure in Sri Lanka". However, it is heartening to note the emergence of Nationalist Christian movements which are at odds with the churches official policy of accommodating Prabhakaran and the LTTE as crusaders, despite the overwhelming evidence of crimes against humanity on LTTE’s part. In this connection, I am referring to the Patriotic Christian Movement which in a letter to The Island September 23, 1999, condemned the Christian clerics for attempting to demoralise the army and legitimise the killings of innocent civilians by the LTTE. They asked the public to reject the businessmen, clerics and NGO beneficiaries who are campaigning for the government to accede to the demands of the LTTE.

For nearly two decades, the Christian Church has taken the stand that the ethnic crisis is a conflict between the Sinhala Buddhists and the Tamils and that it is not an issue between the state and the terrorists. The LTTE has targeted the Buddhists to gain sympathy and support of the church. The long-term plan of the church and NGO’s as well is conversion of people to Christianity. For example, the Pope recently ran into a storm in India when he referred to conversion as a human right, with his call for greater evangelisation in Asia and when he declared his sinister design to target Asia for the third millennium. Followed by this declaration, the Hindu groups and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad proposed that legislation be passed in Nepal and India to prevent conversion.

For the Christian Church and the NGO’s, Prabhakaran is a "humanist" and for the UNP he is another "Angulimala" who could be reformed whereas to the great majority he is Asia’s new Pol Pot. The Sinhalese are in this plight at this critical time because of their disunity and due to their antagonism among themselves. As a result some have emerged as "King-makers". Our leaders have to be patriotic enough to put the country before their parties.