Colombo, Jan 20: Sri Lanka's Christian clergy was conspicuously absent from today's official launch of a new alliance between President Chandrika Kumaratunga's party and the Marxist JVP. The ceremony at the tightly-guarded Bandaranaike International Memorial Conference Hall was launched with religious services by Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim clergy, but the Christians were absent.
Organisers said the Christian priests had been invited and were delayed for some reason.
However, their absence was more pronounced in the backdrop of stepped up attacks against Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations by radical groups. Hard-line nationalists have been accused of attacking churches in the past two months.
The new alliance of President Kumaratunga is espousing the cause of the "patriotic forces" of the island.
Bureau Report