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Bishop Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chikera Your Hypocrisy is Conduct Christian Unbecoming!

Nithendra Batuduwage

Yesterday you made an official statement to the media expressing your condolences re. Joseph Pararajasingham who was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen while attending Christmas mass.

Fair enough. However, your statement then goes on to touch on the violence gripped climate of the nation and that is where I see your hypocrisy manifesting like the disappearing mist under the rising sun. Below I note a few excerpts from your media statement and provide my analysis of each to highlight why I consider them to be utterly hypocritical and devoid of rationalistic perspective, and could even be judged as biased in favor of the racist-separatists LTTE:

" It is in this same spirit that we condemn the rape and killing of a young woman at Pungudutivu"

What is the relevance here? Why is it important to mention this incident here? Are you trying to convey a subliminal message here? After all, hundreds of civilians and military intelligence officers have been liquidated by the LTTE since the CFA and I have not seen, or heard, a word from you about those incidents. Even as recent as last week, the LTTE brutally gunned down a woman in Batticcloa when she refused to give her little boy to the LTTE recruiters who came calling on her poor house. I do not recall you condemning that dastardly act. The bottom line - scores of people have been getting killed on a daily basis and gruesome as it is, what is particularly noteworthy about a woman who is alleged to have also been raped and killed and body dumped near a SL Navy installation (how very convenient!) within the context of all the constant and consistent killings by the LTTE? What is the insinuation here? Are you indirectly towing the LTTE's line that the woman's rape and death is the handiwork of the SL Navy? Has it no occurred to you that this woman could be an anti-LTTE civilian, or a LTTE deserter, raped and killed by the LTTE (to teach a "lesson" to other recruits that they are very effective at doing) and body conveniently placed close to a SL Navy camp to discredit the SL Navy and the GOSL and then use that as a pretext to strike at the SL Navy - which the LTTE did with horrific results soon thereafter? I take special note that you have mentioned about this woman's alleged rape + death prior to mentioning about the confirmed 40+ SL Army + SL Navy personnel who were killed by LTTE ambushes. Is this purely coincidental or are you trying to show a cause-effect here - just as how the LTTE rationalized the attacks?

"and the violence against the Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna University"

This is truly a troublesome statement. This is exactly what the LTTE and all its front organizations said as well. It is now known beyond a doubt that this VC and a few other academics, while enjoying a pay cheque from the GOSL, led a LTTE participated and instigated mob and this mob was not into peaceful protests, but brazenly attacking the Police and the Army. This mob burnt state vehicles and detonated hand grenades and even the SLMM took strong exception to that as some grenades went off close to the SLMM personnel. SLMM even went as far as to say that some individuals in the mob were totally unruly and that the Police/Army should have arrested them! So therefore, what do you mean by this statement?

"compromise on the location stalemate is necessary and possible. Such a compromise need not be seen as weakness or damaging to the stare and image of either side."

This is wholly a meddlesome statement. This statement is also wholly in favor of the LTTE agenda as it does not mention that the LTTE must be the part to compromise. Currently the EU has placed a travel ban on the LTTE, the prelude to declaring it as a terrorist organization. The LTTE is today looking mighty high & low how to get around this tough spot and what better way than to say that it is ready for a round (yet another) of "peace talks" and that it must be held in Norway, a member country of the EU? This is so simple that even a child would understand the underlying strategy. Obviously, your usage of "compromise" here is aimed at the GOSL as the flavor of this statement blends well with the others in favor of the LTTE.

Reverend, if I may speak frankly, I must tell you that in the process of appealing for peace, you are now using your good office to promote the agenda of a racist-separatist terrorist organization. This is an abject shame! It is no secret that there are many Tamil Christian clergy in Sri Lanka today who are LTTE sympathetic and they constantly stay vigilant on how to promote the LTTE agenda. Therefore, however a biased clan you may have around you urging towards that end, I would say the onus is still on you to ensure that a well balanced, rationalistic perspective is presented to the media when this critical national issue come up for discourse.

Lest you think that I am another "extremist Buddhist Sinhalese," (the totally abstract and fictitious term constantly used by the LTTE and their sympathizers) I will have you known that I hail from a proud Sinhala Christian family and attended a private Christian school in Colombo. One thing that I am grateful for in my Christian education is the clear definition of "hypocrisy" that was instilled in my brain at an early childhood when learning about Judas!

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