Malcolm Cardinal Rajith: Latest News

COLOMBO (News 1st); The head of Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has strongly condemned the shooting of protestors in Rambukkana by Sri Lankan law enforcement personnel.He also expressed sorrow to all the families for the loss of life and those injured during the unrest in Rambukkana.“The people who are on the streets are people who are affected by the terrible economic disaster that has hit our country, due to mismanagement by the government and its financial operations,” said the Cardinal adding that it is the right of the people to protest, and their right needs to be respected as it is allowed as per the provisions of the constitution.Recalling similar incidents in Rathupaswala, the Free Trade Zone, and Chilaw where people were killed by shooting by the authorities, the Archbishop of Colombo said such incidents should not happen in the country, which is a religious-minded country with principles.He appealed to all those in governance to ensure there is no repeat of such incidents and also called on people who protest not to let their emotions cloud their judgment, and also not to allow unscrupulous parties to set up one against the other, as these plots may be part of the way that the authorities seek to exert control.“Engage in protests in a dignified and a humane fashion. Do not let your emotions carry you and cause you to react violently towards the authorities, and towards others,” he added.His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Rajith said the government must change its ways and listen to the voice of the people to ensure democracy functions in the proper way, and the request by the people for change is implemented.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Head of Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Rajith has called on the support of the UHNRC to intervene to uncover the truth behind the Easter Sunday Attacks of 2019 and mete out justice to the victims.“The Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on the 21st of April 2019 claimed the lives of 269 people including 82 children, and 47 foreign nationals belonging to 14 nations and injured more than 500 others,” said His Eminence to the 49th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.He said the first impression of the massacre was that it was purely the work of a few Islamist extremists. However, subsequent investigations indicate that this massacre was part of a grand political plot, he added.The Head of the Catholic Church said that despite repeated requests the incumbent government of Sri Lanka has failed to mete out justice to the victims.“Instead of uncovering the truth behind the attack and prosecuting those responsible, there are attempts to harass and intimate those who call for justice,” he said.His Eminence also noted that “as a result nearly three years after the horrendous crime were are still in the dark as to what really happened on that Easter Sunday.”“As this is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of the aggrieved victims, we earnestly call upon the UNHRC and its member countries to support the continuation of evidence gathering initiated by the council last year and to devise the means to ensure an impartial investigation to unravel the truth behind the Easter Sunday massacre,” he noted.