Safegurad Madhu Shrine from War

April 3rd, 2008

Press Statement by National Peace Council of Sri Lanka

The ongoing military battles in the north are now threatening the security of one of the country’s most sacred religious sites, the Madhu shrine. For more than 400 years the shrine has served the spiritual needs of Sri Lankans from different communities and different parts of the country. For the past two decades the shrine area has also been host to tens of thousands of persons displaced from their homes due to conditions of war.

The Madhu shrine has become locally and internationally recognized as a safe haven and place of refuge to victims of war. The desire to have battles in its close vicinity or capture it cannot be justified by any military or political purpose. The Catholic Church has complained that shells falling within the church premises have compelled many displaced persons to flee while others still remaining are living in fear and forced to seek shelter in bunkers.

The Bishop of Mannar, Rayappu Joseph, has issued an appeal to the government and LTTE to respect the area as a zone of peace and ensure that the Madhu shrine remains solely under the Catholic Church in terms of the Madhu Church Reservation under the Pilgrimage Ordinance of 1982. The National Peace Council joins in this appeal and calls on both the government and LTTE to desist from using the Madhu shrine for their military or political purposes.

National Peace Council of Sri Lanka
12/14 Purana Vihara Road
Colombo 6

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