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| Thursday, 1 July 2004 |
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Minister allays fears of traditional religions' followers : Conciliatory Council for religious harmony The Government plans to appoint a Conciliatory Council for ensuring religious harmony and foster closer ties among followers of various religions. Buddha Sasana, Public Security, Law and Order Minister and Deputy Minister of Defence Ratnasiri Wickremanayake says that the Conciliatory Council will settle any issue that may come up among the followers of various traditional religions. In a letter to Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham, Director, Law and Public Policy, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Wickremanayake says the proposed legislation on unethical conversions will safeguard all religions and foster unity among all ethnic and religious followers in Sri Lanka. These measures were based on the recommendations of a Presidential Commission representing members from all religions, he wrote. Wickremanayake assures that the followers of traditional religions in Sri Lanka may not have any fear whatsoever regarding the enactment of legislation to prohibit unethical conversions by fundamentalists. His letter was in response to the letter by Dr. Buckingham expressing concern regarding the proposed legislation to be introduced in Parliament prohibiting unethical conversions. The Minister stated the Government proposed to enact legislation to prohibit unethical conversions by fundamentalists in compliance with requests by the clergy and religious organisations. The followers of traditional religions in Sri Lanka may not have any fear regarding this legislation. "Therefore I wish to categorically state that those professing the Christian religion should not be afraid as this legislation is only against the misdeeds of those whose only ambition is to convert people of other religions by force to their evangelical faiths," the Minister stated in the letter. |
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