Colombo, July 4 (newsin.asia) – The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, on Tuesday requested a group Sri Lankan doctors attached to the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) to refrain from launching a country wide strike on Wednesday at a time when the country was facing a dengue epidemic.
Cardinal Ranjith told reporters in the capital that he requested those in the GMOA committee and the doctors to reconsider their decision and instead focus on treating the patients affected by the epidemic and assist their families for the sake of humanity.
“I am not commenting on the issues what the GMOA is facing but I am requesting them not to strike at this moment especially at a time when the people have fallen into difficulty and there are patients who need medical care,” the Archbishop said.
The GMOA, on Monday said it would resort to a continuous countrywide strike once again, starting July 5, to urge the government to shut down the SAITM College – Sri Lanka’s only private medical university.
The strike, will be staged at a time when over 200 people have died and over 70,000 affected by a dengue epidemic.
The GMOA has been staging indefinite strikes in recent months calling on the government to nationalize SAITM or shut it down.
The strike have inconvenienced thousands of patients who turn t Sri Lanka’s state hospitals for free medication.
