Sri Lankan Journalists for Global Justice writes to SL Institute of Architects on famed Israeli arch

The Sri Lankan Journalists for Global Justice has written to the President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects on the decision to invite famous Israeli Architect Moshe Safdie as the keynote speaker at the institute’s National Conference this week.

Following is the full text of the letter sent by Sri Lankan Journalists for Global Justice President Jayatilleke de Silva and General Secretary Mahinda Hattaka.

Sri Lankan Journalists for Global Justice extends its warm felicitations to you on the occasion of your National Conference.

While taking this opportunity to wish you success in your efforts in bringing in the highest professional standards in architecture and thereby contributing to the development of the country, please permit us to express our grave concern over your decision to invite Architect Moshe Safdie as the keynote speaker at the institute’s National Conference this week.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) in a statement issued in July 2009 noted: “The UIA Council condemns development projects and the construction of buildings on land that has been ethnically purified or illegally appropriated, and projects based on regulations that are ethnically or culturally discriminatory, and similarly it condemns all action contravening the fourth Geneva Convention.”

We feel that Mr. Safdie is directly linked to settlement building activities in occupied Palestinian lands in violation of moral principles and international law. As you are aware, the Guardian newspaper in London also corroborates Mr. Safdie’s involvement in illegal settlement building activities.

Across the world, intellectuals and academics have condemned settlement building activities by Israel in occupied Palestinian lands. We would also like to bring to your kind notice that intellectuals, academics and civic rights activists in the West, Asia and other regions have launched a Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) movement to put pressure on Israel to withdraw from occupied Palestinian land. The two greatest freedom fighters of our century – Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela – had strongly condemned Israel’s occupation of the Palestinians’ homeland. 

Gandhi said:  “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs... Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.” Nelson Mandela said: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

While we are glad to note that most intellectuals, academics and civic rights activists all over the world stand for justice and give a voice to the voiceless people, we note with disappointment that pro-justice activism has not caught up among Sri Lanka’s professionals and academics in such a noticeable way that the peace-loving people the world over can be proud of. 

It is in this context that we feel that however strong the credentials of Mr. Safdie as an architectural genius are, if the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects had desisted from inviting Mr. Safdie to the annual sessions, it would have delivered a powerful message in support of justice and stood by Sri Lanka’s policy, since its independence in 1948, of standing together with the Palestinian people in their freedom struggle.  

While we remain critical of your decision to invite Mr. Safdie as the keynote speaker, we also would like to request you to be thoughtful of the campaign for justice for the Palestinian people. Let’s all join hands towards building not merely houses and skyscrapers but a global home where peace and justice will prevail for humanity to reach greater heights for the good of all.