The media spokesman of the Catholic Church, Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini Fernando, said today (01) that the Cardinal or any bishop of the Catholic Church would not participate in this independence day ceremony and that the Catholic Church has decided to boycott the same.
In a country that is economically bankrupt due to being unable to pay foreign debt installments, in a country where nearly thirty percent of the people are starving, in a country where thirty-three percent of children under the age of five are malnourished, in a country where many people are losing their jobs, in a country where small industries are collapsing, in a country where the law and order has collapsed, where human rights are being blatantly violated without restraint, where the liberties of the people have been severely restricted by the misuse of laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act to suppress the fundamental rights of free speech and peaceful protest of the people, in a country that has failed to provide 24-hours of uninterrupted electricity even during the A/L examination period, and that has put the lives of patients in danger by not being able to provide necessary medicines and other health facilities, the Catholic Church is questioning the government as to what freedom can be proudly celebrated at an initial cost of 200 million rupees.
