The Diocese of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon adopted a Resolution unanimously on Friday condemning the recent incidents of human rights violations while expressing severe concern on the state of human rights in the country and the liberty of citizens. “We are saddened by the deterioration of democratic norms such as the denial of [...]

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Sri Lanka’s Anglican Church condemns human rights violations

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The Diocese of Colombo of the Church of Ceylon adopted a Resolution unanimously on Friday condemning the recent incidents of human rights violations while expressing severe concern on the state of human rights in the country and the liberty of citizens.

“We are saddened by the deterioration of democratic norms such as the denial of

Islamic burial rights, the massacre at the Mahara Prison, the increasing centralization of power in the Executive and the weakening of Parliament, the large budgetary allocation for defence, questionable appointments to important public positions in Sri Lanka, and the trend towards the undermining of civil administration and increased militarization, where the liberty of citizens and communities and their aspirations are not respected,” the resolution, which was put to the floor by Rev. S.D.P. Selvan and Rev. M. Sathivel during a virtual gathering of the Church members states.

Marking Human Rights Day on Thursday (December 10), the Bishops of the Church of Ceylon noted that protection of human rights is inextricably linked with Constitutionalism, Democracy and the Rule of Law.

The statement issued by Presiding Bishop of the Church of Ceylon Rev Keerthsiri Fernando and Bishop of Colombo Rev Dushantha Rodrigo stressed that a recent example of the inter-relationship that exists between the COVID-19 pandemic, human rights, constitutionalism and the Rule of Law is the fundamental rights application filed by 11 petitioners representing the Christian and Muslim communities challenging the policy of enforcing the cremation of persons who died of COVID-19 despite WHO guidelines and international best practice indicating that there is no evidence to suggest that burial constitutes a public health risk.

“One would have thought that the issues raised a prima facie case that warranted closer examination and judicial review. It is surprising and disappointing that the Supreme Court thought otherwise. Another example that highlights the existence of serious human rights concerns in the context of the pandemic is the recent use of lethal force on prisoners at the Bogambara and Mahara prisons. The State has both a moral and legal obligation to protect the rights of

prisoners, including their right to health and safety while they are incarcerated,” the statement issued from the Church said.

“We are particularly concerned about the human rights of two distinguished professionals who have been unacceptably deprived of their freedom and dignity. Hejaaz Hisbullah, a leading young lawyer and alumnus of one of our leading church schools, was arrested on April 14 2020 and is detained without charges or trial and no judicial supervision. Shani Abeysekera, the former Director CID, was arrested in August and detained at the Mahara prison. Despite him contracting COVID-19 and suffering a heart attack and other medical conditions, there is no compliance with the directives of the Human Rights Commission that he be transferred to a hospital for much needed treatment. These two examples demonstrate that there are serious human rights concernsin the country. We request the authorities to address these concerns as a matter of urgency.” the statement added.

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