Ecumenical Advocacy Days: Asia-Pacific track to focus on Sri Lanka peace negotiations and the effects of climate change on the Pacific
Speaking at last year's Ecumenical Advocacy Days is Bishop Solito Toquero, United Methodist Bishop of the Manila Episcopal Area, in the Philippines. |
January 14, 2008
This year’s Ecumenical Advocacy Days, “Claiming a Vision of True Security” gives participants eight track options to choose from. The Asia- Pacific track will focus on Sri Lankan peace negotiations and will partner with the Eco-Justice track to explore the effect climate change is having on the Pacific region.
For 24 years the people of Sri Lanka have been searching for security. On January 2 of this year the Sri Lanka government announced its intent to pull out of a ceasefire with warring Tamil Tigers, putting up another roadblock on the way to peace. This move is just another tragic episode in the long war between Sri Lanka’s majority, the Sinhalese, and Tamil separatists.
In 2002, with the help of Norway, a peace agreement was signed, which called for a ceasefire. Violence has been mounting since 2006. Just days ago government minister DM Dassanayake died of injuries sustained in a roadside bombing. The Asia- Pacific track’s focus on peace negotiations will explore the history and future of much-needed peace and security in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is not only battleing human conflicts, but also nature's conflicts we now know as climate change.
Asia-Pacific track organizers write “In the Pacific, with its low-lying atolls, climate change could become the number one threat to peace and development. The Pacific Conference of Churches has called for a regional immigration policy giving rights to resettle in any Pacific Island nation to citizens most affected by climate change. It has also urged major companies in the region to support efforts to transition to less carbon-intensive economies fueled by renewable energy sources.”
Much of the Asia- Pacific track’s sessions will be spent on causes and effects of climate change on the region. Participants will explore ways to combat the problem and possibilities for resolving current conditions.
The track will also devote a short amount of time to updates on the human rights situation in the Philippines. For more information on the Asia-Pacific track and all other Ecumenical Advocacy Days tracks visit www.advocacydays.org.
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