In his Easter homily, the Archbishop recalled the first anniversary of the start of the protests that led to the fall of President Rajapaksa and began on April 9, 2022. “Young people have shown courage, we cannot resign ourselves to evil.” In an inter-religious celebration, the victims of the repression during the demonstrations were remembered.
Colombo () – The struggle of the Sri Lankan people to defend their rights in the serious situation in which the country finds itself is a testimony to the new life that the Risen One brings. These were the words of the Archbishop of Colombo, Card. Malcolm Ranjith, in his homily at the Easter Mass in the cathedral. The message recalled that in those same hours, Sri Lanka was commemorating the first anniversary of the start of the Aragalaya, the popular uprising that began on April 9, 2022 and that later, in July, would lead to the resignation of then-President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
Card. Ranjith noted that “Christianity is the creed of people who know how to smile even in the midst of problems. This is the resurrection. And this is what Jesus showed on the cross: he challenged negative attitudes towards life.” “Some,” he continued in his homily, “say that you should not try to change, and that you have to let things take their course. On the other hand, the young people who marched in the square in front of Parliament wanted to be the architects of change in this country. They showed bravery. And the resurrection means this.”
“If we allow ourselves to be overcome by force of habit and let things take their course, we are no longer opposed to evil. We are the ones who have to change. As Christians, we must commit ourselves: this is the resurrection.”
The anniversary of the start of the protests was marked on Sunday morning at the Galle Face Green with an event attended by religious leaders, including Buddhist monks, a Methodist priest, a Catholic nun, Muslim representatives and various civil society activists. . Relatives of those killed in the Aragalaya revolt were also present.
During the commemoration, the organizers unveiled a memorial, lit lamps and held religious rites in memory of the victims of the repression. One of the leaders of the protest, Ajantha Perera, affirmed that if progress has been made in the country since 2022 it is thanks to the struggle of the people. “We see that the current government is also working to label the people’s struggle as terrorism, using different laws, but we say that we are not afraid of them. Beyond the threats and obstacles, we will continue this fight to achieve the change we want in this country.”
