DUBAI: The Consulate General of Sri Lanka organized a special programme in coordination with the Sri Lankan community living in Dubai and the Northern Emirates to showcase the solidarity of Sri Lankans towards the family members of Sri Lankan citizens, who lost their lives and properties in the wake of the recent extremist activities in Kandy.
A press statement said that the event held at the premises of the Consulate General on March 11 helped apprise Sri Lankans in Dubai and the Northern Emirates on the cohesive measures that the Government of Sri Lanka has taken towards eradicating extremism and reinstating the harmony between all communities in Sri Lanka. The programme also focused on enhancing the inter-community dialogue with a view to averting recurrences of similar incidents.
The Consul General Mr. Charitha Yattogoda, addressing the audience, reiterated the Sri Lankan Government’s commitment to create a society in which all the communities can live blissfully, sharing the equal dividends of economic development. Whilst also offering his profound condolences to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones, the Consul General also highlighted the importance of creating a peaceful Sri Lanka, with the cornerstone being unity in diversity. He further called upon all the communities to act responsibly and stand together to fight against extremism and work towards a bright future.
“The incident that happened in Sri Lanka is not a community against another community but just the acts of a group of extremists — which is unacceptable. But the government has taken action and the situation is [somehow] back to normal,” Gulf News, a leading UAE newspaper quoted the Consul General as saying.
“The community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates is very united — all of them. We have all the major communities of Sri Lanka living here in full harmony. Our gathering in Dubai is to show that none of them — irrespective of their religion — approves of this type of violence. We don’t want this to continue under any circumstances.”, he said. There are more than 250,000 Sri Lankan expatriates living in the UAE.
The venerable priests and religious leaders representing four major religions of Sri Lanka participated at the event. In their respective sermons they stressed on the importance of tolerance, and respect for all religions, ethnic groups and individuals.
