Tragedy and the Trauma of Lebanon

COLOMBO: The spiral of violence and destruction that has engulfed Lebanon is horrendous. Lebanon is a country that is home to both Muslims and Christians, and which has had an amicable power sharing arrangement and an admirable neutral foreign policy, said Bishop of Colombo Rt. Revd Duleep de Chickera in a statement

The statement: In both, they resembled Switzerland model with co-existence between different linguistic groups and political neutrality. But unfortunately the country became the victim of the geo-politics of the region leading to a 15 year civil war that ended in 1990.

The post-war reconstruction programme went well and the country was just re-emerging on the road to prosperity. All that has now again been destroyed in a week of senseless violence against this helpless country.

In southern Lebanon and across the border in northern Israel, there have been constant skirmishes and provocations from both sides over many years. The Hezbollah and the Israeli military have both been guilty of violence and killings of innocent civilians.

But the level of violence unleashed by the government of Israel on Lebanon over the past ten days is clearly untenable. The bombings have killed or maimed several hundreds and targeted and destroyed the civil infrastructure of Israel.

Whatever the rationale, the Israeli action remains totally unacceptable and deserves our unequivocal condemnation.

It is unbelievable that this can be done by a responsible government and it is equally unbelievable that the governments of countries like the USA and UK are unwilling to call for a halt to Israel's belligerent action that, apart from destroying a helpless country, is threatening the peace and stability not only of the Middle East but also of regions beyond.

I urge our Government to ensure that our own expatriate workers in Lebanon are given adequate safety and protection.

I also urge the Government and the world Anglican Communion to take note of the UN General Secretary's appeal and to raise their voices in calling for Israel to stop its aerial bombardment of its neighbours, to withdraw its troops to within her borders and to begin negotiations as a civilised state to resolve any issues regarding the safety and security of its citizens.