Jacobite Syrian Church cautions against politicising protest

KOCHI: Even as the protest staged by the Jacobite Syrian Church in front of the Secretariat entered its sixth week, the Church authorities in a statement cautioned against politicising the protest which shouldn’t be construed as an agitation against the government.

​In the last couple of days, a day-and-night protest has been staged.

The Church expressed the hope that an amicable solution to the issue could be found during the tenure of the current government.

“The intervention made by the government for successfully resolving the issue is commendable. The government’s intervention as well as discussions by other Church heads have given rise to optimism. The Church has taken note of the positive approach of the government and the chief minister and is thankful for the support including passage of the Cemetery Bill and also attempts to resolve the dispute between the Churches,”  Metropolitan Trustee Joseph Mar Gregorios said in a statement.

“It is not the culture of the Church to forget the good deeds of the past. The aim of the protest  is survival and it is not against the government. The Church has no political agenda. The protest is for getting justice which was denied to this historic Church. Statements and actions which are odds with this have nothing to do with us and the Church has not entrusted anyone to issue such statements,” the metropolitan trustee added.

Meanwhile, JSC News,  official news portal of the Jacobite Church, had come out with a statement that rival factions are spreading fake news using their logo and name to create confusion among its members. This Sunday also,  prayer protests were held at all churches  taken over from the faction.

A minor clash was reported at Piravom and police registered a case after Orthodox faction complained that a priest along with other faithful entered the church cemetery.

A case has been registered under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) and 447 (criminal trespass) of the IPC, apart from Epidemic Diseases Act.