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Friday 7 March 2014

Investigate the role played by some of the Bishops


The Geneva circus has begun. Some people would like it to be the Geneva spring after many a springs, including the academic spring and the Aluthkade spring have failed for two reasons. The UPFA led by the SLFP and by the President is nationalistic in the sense that it is anti colonialist, and it has stood up to all the pressure applied by the anti national forces in the country instigated by the west led by England. Secondly none of the leaders of the parties in the opposition is nationalistic and the majority of the Sinhala people have realised that Tamil racism survives even after the defeat at the Nandikadal lagoon for the simple reason that it is being used by the western forces. However, the Tamil racist leaders cannot lead a spring in Sri Lanka the way some forces have done and are doing in some other countries, and it has fallen on Cameron and his friends to give leadership to the expected Geneva spring. The Geneva circus has become the anticipated Geneva spring as well but even if some of the western countries impose indirect economic sanctions after Geneva it would not be effective as far as the majority of people are concerned, and all the reports by Darusman on behalf of the Secretary General of the UN, and Pillai and others would not produce any results for the west and the anti nationalistic forces.

The fact that the west is prepared to withdraw the so called violation of human rights during and after the last two weeks of the humanitarian operations if the demands of Tamil racism are met, has exposed the anti nationalistic forces operating here and abroad. It is in this context that one has to consider the letter written by Bishop Rayappu Joseph and the other Tamil Christian priests in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. It was Bishop Rayappu Joseph that allowed the LTTE to take the statue of Mother Mary outside the Madhu Church premises thus depriving the Sinhala Catholics to worship Mother Mary in that particular Church. Most recently the Bishop together with the Bishop of Jaffna claimed that splinter bombs and chemical weapons had been used against the civilians by the Sri Lankan armed forces, without producing an iota of evidence.  

It is clear that Bishop Rayappu Joseph is helping Tamil racism, with the connivance of the west. He is against any “reconciliation” in a nationalistic way, and the reconciliation he is after is one worse than that of  South African style where the minority rules over the majority except in theory. The so called reconciliation that people such as Bishop Rayappu Joseph wants is one that leads to an Eelam in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and ultimately a greater Eelam with Tamil Nadu being the major partner.

It is clear that Tamil racism functions even after the defeat at Nandikadal due to the fact that the west is behind the entire problem that has its beginnings in the seventeenth century when the Dutch imported Vellalas from present South India to Jaffna for their tobacco cultivation. People such as Bishop Rayappu Joseph work hand in hand with the west, I am afraid, against Sinhala Buddhist culture being considered as the significant culture of the country.  They want to maintain the dominance of the western Judaic Christian culture, and it is clear from the letter written by the Tamil Christian priests in the Northern and Eastern provinces to the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Though the priests and others who support Tamil racism write on behalf of the Eastern Province as well, the Tamils are not even in a majority in that province, and even among the Tamils in the province there are some who would oppose an amalgamation with the Northern Province. Would the Muslims in the province agree with the contents of the letter written by the Tamil Christian/Catholic priests to the members of the UNHRC?

Sinhala Buddhist culture is presented to the world as a “pariah” culture intolerant of the other cultures by the Christian west and their associates in Sri Lanka ignoring the fact that there have been no intolerance of Muslims in the country for more than six centuries. The Veddas until recently were not disturbed by the Sinhala Buddhists and the Vedda culture began to deteriorate only after the English came to the country. It is the western Judaic Christian culture that does not tolerate the other cultures but through the hegemony of the knowledge created in that culture they are able to pretend that the western culture is the most tolerant culture that has seen the lght of the day.

I will cite two examples how the western culture dominates in this country, without the people realizing it. The free education and the free health service that prevail in the country, using the money of the taxpayer cater only for western education and western medicine. There are no schools or universities teaching indigenous knowledge free to the students. In any event the students and the parents have been brainwashed and conditioned to think that the knowledge created by the people in the past is myth.  

The same is true in the health sector. Though there may be one or two centers where Ayurveda medicine is provided free of charge there is hardly any institute created to treat patients free of charge according to  Sinhala traditional medicine (Sinhala paramparika vedakama). It is because through the western education provided free of charge the people have been mystified by the “ashcharya” of the western medicine with the imposing gadgets of western technology. In China western medicine is practiced side by side with traditional Chinese medicine in the same hospitals and I am told that there are instances where the western medical practitioners refer patients officially to those of traditional Chinese medicines.

Bishop Rayappu Joseph and others can write letters and letters to their Godfathers in the west accusing the Sri Lankan government (very often referred to as the Sinhala government) and the so called Sinhala army of violation of human rights. Bishop Joseph knows very well that he is protected by the western forces, and if the government takes any action against him that would be considered as another violation of human rights and adverse publicity would be given to the steps taken  by the government.

However, the country is reaching a point where it would become difficult to ignore the anti nationalistic behavior of the Bishop and some other priests. In this respect we have to question the silence of the Catholic Church. The Church cannot merely state that the views are those expressed by particular Bishops and turn a Nelsonian eye to them. Does the Church agree with the statements made by the Bishops? If not what action is envisaged?


The Bishops come out with charges against the government (the state) and the armed forces without an iota of evidence. All that they say is that they know eyewitnesses to the events but not prepared to name the witnesses. Do they think the witnesses are not protected? If that is the case under the assumption that the witnesses are not protected the Bishops can come out with unsubstantiated wild charges against . The reports by the Bishops fall into the same category as those of Darusman, Navi Pillai and Calum Macrae of Channel Four. While the latter are not citizens of the country the Bishops are citizens who are not acting in the interests of the country to say the least. Irrespective of what the human rights vendors have to say the government should investigate the role played by Bishop Rayappu Joseph and other Bishops.


Nalin De Silva

07-03-2014