PROTESTANT and Catholic bishops got together to stage a sit-in protest against a report that had given a clean chit to fundamentalists belonging to some Hindu organizations behind a series of attacks on the Christian community in Karnataka in 2008.
Close to 500 church leaders joined as many as 19 Catholic and Protestant bishops to stage the protest on Feb 20.
The gathering criticized the findings of a commission by Justice B K Somashekhara. In its report, the Somasekara report had not identified the attackers behind as many as 57 incidents involving Christian churches and other sites.
Organised by the Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights and the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ Council, the church leaders said the report was biased and that it ‘whitewashed’ the incidents.
The gathering also renewed its call for an enquiry into the incidents by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Church leaders also called for the withdrawal of more than 150 cases lodged against Christians who were injured in the attacks.
Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore said the report was politically motivated.
The report was ‘completely one-sided, biased, propagandist’, he said and added that it was ‘totally unfair to all Christians.’
“The Christians who were the target of attacks and the victims of the organized mayhem and vandalism have been converted into the perpetrators, while the real attackers and all forces and elements that had directly or indirectly supported have been given a clean chit,” Archbishop Moras said.
The bishop also criticized the report’s ‘shocking recommendations’ that called for establishing a registrar to manage Church properties and monitor the working of the churches, pastors and their sources of income.
“This seems to be a step to introduce an anti-conversion law,” he said.
A one-page memorandum addressed to Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has been submitted through R Ramesh, DCP (Law and Order).
“The report gives only district-wise incidents of church attacks; it has failed to give a statewide picture. There were systematic attacks at the same time in an organised manner in Karnataka, which is not explained by the commission. The report was silent on this aspect and therefore we reject it,” the memorandum stated.
Speaking during the rally, advocate and human rights activist Mariamma Thomas said if Christians were held guilty of conversion then they should also be accused of “converting the uneducated in to educated, sick to the healthy, the unhappy to the happy and the poor to rich.”
Editor’s Blog: Justice Somasekhara report biased, mischievous and funny!
