– President tells SDA conference

The church has a vital role to play in peaceful co-existence of the Caribbean region where cultural complexities can present challenges, says President David Granger.
The President related these sentiments on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the four-day Religious Liberty Congress being hosted by the Caribbean Union Conference (CARU) of Seventh-Day Adventists.

Congregating at the Central SDA on Church and Oronoque Streets, several representatives mainly from the Caribbean gathered for the sessions being held under the theme ‘Peaceful Co-existence: The Challenge of Diversity’.

The congress is aimed at stimulating discussions on matters relating to religious freedom, religious tolerance, liberty of conscience and other religious issues influenced by the plural society. It includes presentations from different religious groups such as Hindus, Muslims and other Christian denominations and will utilized the input of lawyers and other specialists for discussions on matters of human rights.

In his address at the opening ceremony, President Granger said that the theme of the congress reminds that even in the cultural complexity of the Caribbean, which can present challenges; there must be safe place for differing opinions.

“Left unattended, those differences could threaten mutual trust, could weaken people’s sense of belonging and could degenerate into antagonism and hostility. We cannot allow those [climates] to fester,” he stated.

He attributed the diversity of the region to its colonial past but added that while some nations are plagued with widespread of conflicts and shattered societies, the Caribbean has managed to remain relatively peaceful.

Speaking to Guyana’s own make up of six ethnic races and to the ease of travel in the region, the President acknowledged that the terriroty will forever be one which is multi-religious, multicultural and multi-ethnic.

As such, he stated that liberty among diversity is a fundamental right and one which coincides with the Government’s interest in social cohesion.
“The Christian church by recognising all races, all religions, all cultures…can contribute to the quality of life and become the champion of social cohesion,” he said.

Remarks also came from President of CARU, Dr. Kern Tobias who said that even in the 21st century; peaceful co-existence remains one of the world’s greatest challenges. He stated that for this to change, religions must cease fighting amongst themselves, assume peaceful negotiations and promote respect for all members of society especially the most vulnerable of groups.

“It will not be easy to tear down religious walls that have stood for thousands of years but these walls must come down if we are to advance into a world of peace.
“Religions and their factions must stop their meaningless fighting, find a middle ground for their differing opinions and develop concrete ways to advance to a world of peace,” he remarked.

Present at the ceremony were also Junior Minister of Public Health, Karen Cummings; Executive Directors of CARU; Directors of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department of the Caribbean Religious Liberty Association and Executive Members of the Guyana Conference of SDA.

The congress will end on Saturday with a grand Festival of Liberty and Parade proceeding through the streets of Georgetown.