RSSAs the government military push against Tamil rebels in the north intensifies, the bishop of Jaffna has called on the Sri Lankan president to end attacks on civilians in his diocese.
Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa after government troops captured Kilinochchi on Jan. 2. The rebels had long used the town as their administrative center.
In his Dec. 31 letter, a copy of which was furnished to UCA News on Jan. 7, he wrote, “Our earnest appeal to your Excellency is to save the poor civilians from further slaughter by aerial bombings and mortar shelling.”
Writing from his diocese on the northern tip of the island, the 70-year-old Tamil bishop said aerial bombing of civilian targets has taken place. He said four people had been killed on Dec. 1 and five on Jan. 1, and many injured.
Government troops are now reported to be moving toward Mullaitivu, the last rebel stronghold. Both this town and Kilinochchi are in the territory of Jaffna diocese.
Bishop Savundaranayagam says the northern area is densely populated, with 250,000 people recently displaced including large numbers of children.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched an armed struggle in 1983 to create an independent state for minority Tamils, claiming decades of systemic discrimination under a government dominated by the Sinhalese majority. The conflict has claimed around 80,000 lives.
According to Father S. Ainsley Roshan, secretary to the Jaffna bishop, people are on the run for their life. He told UCA News by telephone that the bishop had met both government and LTTE leaders in search of peace.
In December, the bishop visited Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, meeting LTTE leaders and speaking with people suffering from the fighting.
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