Source: PR-inside.com
Wire Service: AP
http://www.pr-inside.com/sri-lankan-religious-leaders-condemn-recent-r154310.htm
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Leaders of Sri Lanka's four major religions came together Friday to call for the government to accept responsibility for a recent wave of human rights violations as violence between rebel and military forces has worsened. «The government should not only accept total responsibility but also immediately take all measures to identify and punish the perpetrators according to the laws of our country,» said a statement signed by the prominent Buddhist monk Wimalarathana and Archbishop Oswald Gomis, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Hindu and Muslim leaders said they agreed with the statement, which was issued at a joint press conference by the Congress of Religions. As violence between Tamil separatists and government forces has increased in the past 19 months on this war-torn island, activists have documented a wave of alleged human rights abuses, including the August 2006 killings of 17 employees of the French aid group Action Against Hunger. «We as religious leaders of this country call for accountability from those responsible to maintain law and order in the country,» the statement said. «We are deeply saddened by the displacements, abductions and murder of innocent and helpless civilians. We strongly condemn such irreligious and inhuman actions. The leaders said they welcomed the government's apology for last week's temporary expulsion of hundreds of ethnic Tamils from the capital, but said the issue was not settled.