Religious leaders from Buddhist, Hindu, Islam and Christian faiths, VVIPS, antiwar and social justice activists from across the country will be gathering in Colombo to consider what they can do together to restore lasting peace in the island nation.
A unique National Conference on Peace, Harmony and Coexistence will be held on 30 July from 4 p.m. at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Colombo 7 will see a plethora of political VVIPs given its significance.
President Maithripala Sirisena will be the Chief Guest at the event. It will be attended by leaders of all four major religions in Sri Lanka, intellectuals and scholars who have been involved in promoting peace and coexistence.
The event is to be attended by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of Opposition and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former President Madam Chandrika Kumaratunga, Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sampanthan, several other ministers, political party leaders, legislators and diplomats.
Organiser of the conference Western Province Governor A.J. Muzzamil said the purpose of this conference was to promote the values of interfaith, peace, harmony, coexistence and tolerance among the people of Sri Lanka.
He expressed the hope to convey a message to the world that the people of Sri Lanka live in harmony and that the people of Sri Lanka reject all forms of religious extremism in the country
He added that the conference was also aimed at encouraging the people of all communities in Sri Lanka to adopt and live according to the Sri Lankan culture, traditions and make sure that Sri Lanka is the most peaceful country for all communities to live in harmony.
“The conference will project an image to the world that Sri Lanka is a country with a majority of Buddhists and people of other religions live in harmony and respect one another’s cultures, traditions and social values,” Muzzamil added.
Muslim World League Secretary General Dr. Mohammad Ibn Abdulkarim Alissa will be attending the conference at the Governor’s invitation as a special guest.
Alissa has been actively involved in promoting world peace and coexistence among people of all faiths for the good of the global community. He is also an ardent campaigner against religious extremism and terrorism in all forms and believes in resolving problems peacefully through mutual understanding and dialogues.
He is also a recipient of several awards for his outstanding services towards world peace in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and several African countries.
He has also won the Galileo International Award for his efforts in promoting peace and harmony and he is also a recipient of the Moderation Prize in 2018.
(LI)