By Norman Palihawadane

Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has called on the country’s youth to rise against injustice and change the current system, which, he says, has become the cause of misery.

Addressing a gathering at the premiere of the movie, titled ‘Prana’, at Colombo City Centre, recently, the Cardinal said: “The youth must rise up and fulfil their obligations; they must work hard to bring about true freedom to the country and the future generations. We must come together for the sake of the future and to save the country. We have descended to a situation where our freedom is now being limited. We know that the youth who stood up for democratic rights are either in jail or in the courts. This is not democracy. It is clear that we need a new vision so that we can put aside our differences and come together as brothers to create a new Sri Lanka. That is what the girls and boys who engaged in the protests asked for – a change to the current system. I think it is a reasonable request. We need to go for a new system with a new way of thinking.”

“For 74 years, political leaders thought only of themselves and their safety, without thinking about the people. Having destroyed the political and economic freedom we received, we have become an impoverished nation.

“Are we the people truly experiencing the freedom we gained 74 years back? Freedom means the ability to live one’s life according to one’s beliefs. What is important for Sri Lankan society is having respect for others, recognizing our differences and coming together as one,” he said.

The Cardinal said that rulers cannot break people by incarcerating them. People in the 20th century witnessed World War II. A tyrant by the name of Adolf Hitler incarcerated and then killed millions of people by gassing them because they belonged to another race. Then in Russia a ruler by the name of Joseph Stalin jailed millions of people and banished them to work camps in Siberia. They did not win. You cannot defeat humanity and win. You cannot imprison people and break them,” the Cardinal said.Among those present were President of the Catholic Bishops Conference and Bishop of Kurunegala Rt Rev Dr Harold Anthony, Ven Rambukkana Siddhartha Thera and members of the Maha Sangha.