austraLasia #3219
Archbishop Bo's personal appeal
to his
Muslim and Buddhist brothers and sisters
MELBOURNE
9
May 2013
-- On 3 May, Archbishop Bo, currently visiting
Australia, made a
personal appeal to people of all religions and none in Myanmar
to seek
peace and overcome their differences:
To my brothers and sisters of all religions and none,
It breaks my heart to see the rising hatred and religious
intolerance
in Myanmar, and even more so to see waves of horrific violence
and
destruction. I am therefore writing this personal appeal to my
Buddhist
and Muslim brothers and sisters, to call for voices of peace
and
harmony to speak out loudly, to urge the Government to take
urgent
action to protect vulnerable communities and stop those who
incite or
perpetrate hatred and violence, and to urge all communities to
unite to
build a nation in which people of all religions and
ethnicities can
live with respect for each other, in peace and dignity.
I am gravely concerned that if the violence we have seen this
week in
Oakkan and elsewhere, and previously in Meikhtila and in
Rakhine State,
continues, our fragile freedom that is just beginning to
emerge could
be snatched from our hands and Myanmar could descend into a
vicious
cycle of hatred, violence and turmoil.
The voices of hatred and intolerance are a minority. Those of
us who
desire peace and harmony and a society of mutual respect are
the
majority. Yet the voices of hatred and intolerance are vocal
and
violent, and the voices for peace are largely silent. It is
time for
the silent majority to join hands and speak up.
I appeal to people of all religions and none to look to what
is best in
their own teachings and philosophies - and live by the
principles of
“Metta” (loving kindness) and “Karuna” (compassion), “Salam”
(peace),
“love your neighbour as yourself” and “love your enemy”, and
to basic
common humanity. The silent majority needs to wake up, unite
and say
“no” to violence and hatred.
Pope Francis recently called on Christians to be a “community
of love”,
“a community of open doors”, and “a community of ‘yes’” –
saying yes to
the positive opportunities that await us. I extend the Pope’s
appeal to
all the people of Myanmar. There are many opportunities facing
us in
Myanmar. After decades of oppression and injustice and
isolation, at
last we have an opportunity to build a nation of freedom, open
to the
world. A nation in which we can be ourselves at last, prosper
and
fulfil the full potential of our Golden Land. We must be a
community of
‘yes’, that seizes this opportunity to end decades of conflict
and
oppression. But in order to be a community of ‘yes’, with a
positive
view of the future for Myanmar, we need to be a people that
says ‘no’
to hatred and violence.
From the depths of my heart, first and foremost as a person
from the
soil of Myanmar, and as a humble religious leader, I cry out
two words
to my brothers and sisters from all communities in my beloved
country:
‘peace’ and ‘love’. These two words can triumph over the words
of
hatred and the acts of violence, if we unclench our fists,
invest in a
serious effort to promote inter-religious dialogue, peace and
harmony,
and work together to rebuild not only the physical structures
of our
country, but the hearts and minds of our people.
May God bless Myanmar and all its people.
Archbishop Charles Bo.
