Peace and minority rights are illusory even two years after the end of a 30-year civil war, the secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference said September 3.

“Minority rights were not respected by the majority of the people. Most of them do not like to accept the multi-language, multi-religion and multicultural solution even after three decades of war,” said Bishop Norbert Andradi.

He was speaking at the Oblate priests-run Center for Society and Religion (CSR) in Colombo.

“We cannot simply bury the past and then expect to find true peace,” he said.

“We have to learn to deal with our past and our hurt. We need to learn from our mistakes. As a result, it has become a challenge to work for a sustainable peace in the country.

“The attitude of welcoming different opinions and thinking of others is decreasing now.”

He said: “We should question the relationship between the security forces and the politicians. Politicians try to take the law and order into their hands. So we should create a society beyond the political influences,” Andradi said in front of more than 250 rights activists, Christian priests and nuns celebrating the 40th anniversary of CSR.