We the Heads of Churches of The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) are deeply shocked
at the attack and arrest of peaceful protestors at the Galle Face – Gota Go Gama, by the Army and
Police.
We are equally disturbed that the attack against the peaceful protestors was planned and executed
in the early hours of Friday 22 July 2022, while preparations were in place to peacefully withdraw
from the protest venues.
Therefore, in the light of this dangerous trend of political violence, we unequivocally condemn this
dastardly act and call upon the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to uphold
and respect the right of peaceful protest and for democratic governance.
Signed:
Heads of Constituent Churches:
Rev. Ebenezer Joseph, Chairperson-NCCSL, President, Methodist Church of SL
Rt. Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo, Bishop of Colombo, Church of Ceylon
Rt. Rev. Keerthisiri Fernando, Bishop of Kurunegala, Church of Ceylon
Rt. Rev. Dr. Daniel Thiagarajah, Bishop of Jaffna, Church of South India
Rev. Heshan De Silva, President, Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya
Rev. Shirley Faber, President, Christian Reformed Church
Rev. Saman Perera, Moderator/President, Presbytery of Lanka
Col. Nihal Hettiarachchi, Territorial Commander, Salvation Army SL
Rev. Chrisso Handy, Superintendent/Chairperson, Assemblies of God
Rev. Harim Peiris, Acting President, Church of the Foursquare Gospel SL
Constituent Ecumenical Organizations:
Young Men’s Christian Association
Student Christian Movement
Young Women’s Christian Association
The Ceylon Bible Society
Christian Literature Society
Lanka Theological College
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Sinhala Statement : http://nccsl.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/NCCSL-Statement-22-7-2022-sinhala-new.pdf
Tamil Statement : http://nccsl.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Tamil-Statment-22.07.2022-pdf.pdf