Dear Friends, I am forwarding a letter from or Ex Defence Minister and Ex Railway minister, a Samata Party Leader Mangalorean Origin MP George Fernandes. This letter has been addressed to the Yediyurappa the Chief Minister of Karnataka. May be this letter is one of the means that made Karnataka Chief minster to bring back the tense situation to normal with the peace process.
I have continuously given updates of the Attacking Christians by fundamentalists in Mangalore, Orissa and other parts. You will get these postings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MangaloreanCatholics/ If you are interested in receiving continuous latest updates of Mangalorean Catholic Konkani Peoples interest then you may just send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you send a blank email to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I will give you the free subscription to the group provided you us some basic details asked in a questionare just to authenticate you as a Konkani Speaking Catholic. I will respect your privacy with utmost care. For the attacks in Mangalore you may also refer our Mangalorean websites namely http://www.DaijiWorld.com http://www.Mangalorean.com http://www.CanaraWorld.com Also the group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MangaloreanCatholics/ Atleast now my friend Laluram Salvi should know that Christians are always peace loving and law abiding people wherever they may be. Their religion do not allow them have anybody get forcibily converted. The services they render to the society is not with the expectaion that people should be get converted. They believe in the rewards getting in heaven. Almost all allegation made against them (atleast in India) are forged, engineered and brainwashed ideas. Now do not bring the insidences of past centuries. Of course in the past centuries church has made losts of mistakes. But now situation is completely changed. Present Church respects every persons Nation, Language and Culture. Also church gives special encouragement for that. All our religious activities are in our own mother toungue. In Goa it is Konkani Language. This is not even happening with your fellow brothers who do not perform their religious activities in their mother tongues. In that sense Catholic Church has more respect to ones language and culture than some of other religions. My conciousness tells me that something that is happened in Mangalore has also happened in Orissa too. But since Mangaloreans were educated and got recorded all things they could expose the real culprit which is not possible to the poor dalit christians of Orissa. Dev Borem Korum, Ancy Paladka / Salu Soz (Konkani Poet) Moderator of MangaloreanCatholics group. ___________________________________________________________ Mangalore Attack: Letter from George Fernandes to Karnataka Chief Minister George Fernandes Member of Parliment (Lok Sabha) 3, Krishna Menon Marg New Delhi - 110011 Phone: 23017172 / 6035 No. 722/MP/2008 15th Sep 2008 Dear Mr. Yediyurappa Ji, I have kept myself informed of the atrocities taking place from 14 th September 08 against the Catholic-Christian community in my home town of Mangalore and in the surrounding region. I know the community very well and can vouch for their love for peace and harmony with those of other religious persuasions among whom they live. I have reliably learnt that it is the senseless vandalism by miscreants on the morning of Sunday 14th of the Monastery of Perpetual Adoration at Milagres - Hampankatta belonging to the Little Sisters of St. Clare, (a congregation of religious Sisters whose avocation is only of prayer), and the desecration of the Holy Blessed Sacrament kept at the Chapel in the said monastery, was the immediate and grave provocation that led to the spontaneous reaction by the Catholic-Christians over there. For them the Holy Blessed Sacrament is the Holy of Holies. The reaction under the circumstances was without premeditation. One could have hardly anticipated anything else in such a charged atmosphere. Even if the vandals had indeed any grouse with tangible proof, they should not have taken the law in their hands to provoke such a reaction from the people of the Mangalorean-Catholic-Christian community of peace loving and law abiding citizens. Besides the above named monastery, more than a dozen of churches and other places of worship have been simultaneously and systematically attacked and damaged, which only points to preplanning by forces which are hell-bent on creating religious disharmony between communities. This does not augur well for the people of the region and for the state of Karnataka. I also learn that a number of those who spontaneously reacted to the sudden and grave provocation are under arrest and the police are out to deal with them extremely harshly. Instead of arresting miscreants who have vandalized the places of worship of the Catholic, or indeed, any community, the police are chasing and taking into custody indiscriminately the youth and elders belonging to the Catholic community who where only trying to protect their Holy places. This will be nothing but adding insult to injury and the victims of police brutalities are not likely to easily forget such situations. We should remember that lawlessness takes place when the state does not protect what is precious to its citizens. We should provide security to all religious institutions and not allow any individual or groups to vent their anger through destructive means. I request you to please use your authority not only to direct the release of those who have been taken into custody by the police, but also take urgent steps to bring together both communities in a spirit of harmony and reconciliation. With kind regards, Yours sincerely, GEORGE FERNANDES