by Buddhika Samaraweera in The Morning, Feb 2, 2023
While emphasising that there is no freedom to celebrate Independence when the people are suffering from many social and economic issues, and the Government is working to suppress the people’s fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and the right to protest, the Catholic Church stated that it completely rejects the Independence Day celebrations which are to be held on 4 February, and that no one representing the Catholic Church, including Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith will participate in the same.
Speaking to the media yesterday (1), National Catholic Social Communications Centre Director Reverend Cyril Gamini Fernando said: “In a country that is economically bankrupt because it cannot pay its foreign debt, where more than 30% of its people are suffering from hunger, where 33.4% of children under five years of age are malnourished, where many are losing their jobs, where small- and medium-scale industries are collapsing, where the rule of law has collapsed, where laws like the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act are being grossly misused to suppress the people’s fundamental rights such as the rights to speech, expression and peaceful protest, where there is no 24-hour electricity supply even during the Advanced Level Exam, and where the patients are at risk due to the lack of drugs, what is the freedom that we have to proudly celebrate by spending more than Rs. 200 million?
“At such a time when the country is economically bankrupt, it is a great crime and waste to hold an Independence Day celebration at such a huge cost. What should have happened is that all the political parties that have ruled this country for the last 75 years should have admitted their mistakes and publicly apologised to the people. All those who plundered and squandered the country’s resources should have been brought before the law regardless of rank in order to recover the people’s money. Tax money should have been collected from corrupt businessmen who have not paid taxes on a large scale so far. If that is done, we can take comfort that at least the first step in creating a country where people can live freely, has been taken. However, nothing of the sort has been done and therefore, we are boycotting this event. No one representing the Catholic Church will participate in it.”…..
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The ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of independence from the British empire is scheduled to be held on 4 February at the Galle Face Green in Colombo with the participation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and several others. It was reported that a sum of Rs. 200 million will be spent on the event. …..
https://www.themorning.lk/articles/b0sUjeknpukk7krOzQnJ
