RSSCatholic clergy and Religious, fearing a “great human tragedy” in northern Sri Lanka, have asked U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to call on their government to stop the war and put an end to the suffering of civilians.
In a letter titled “SOS – Agonizing Cry of the People of Vanni,” Father James Pathinathar called for U.N. intervention on behalf of civilians trapped in the government military offensive against Tamil rebels in the Vanni jungle region, 250 kilometers north of Colombo.
The letter, written on behalf of Catholic priests and nuns in Vanni and dated Jan. 13, asks Ban “to take immediate action to stop this senseless war and put an end to the untold sufferings of the innocent civilians in Vanni whose life has become a real struggle for survival.”
Father Pathinathar, parish priest of St. Peter´s Church in Mullaithivu, has been forced to take refuge at another church due to the fighting. He appeals for negotiations and a humane, just and lasting political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.
The conflict erupted in 1983, when rebels of the Tamil ethnic minority launched an armed struggle for a separate state, claiming systemic oppression at the hands of the Sinhalese majority. It has claimed around 80,000 deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands in the predominantly Tamil areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, where the fighting has been concentrated.
In recent months, however, the military overran almost all major rebel bases that remained in the north. Now it is tightening its grip on Vanni and closing in on Mullaithivu, the last rebel stronghold.
According to the diocesan and Religious priests, and nuns trapped in Vanni, more than 491,000 people have been displaced by artillery and aerial bombardment, straining the resources of existing refugee camps.
Father William Charles Collins of the Jaffna Bishop´s House, speaking to UCA News by telephone on Jan. 19, spoke of a “grave situation.” He claimed civilians have been caught up in the fighting and about 20 priests and 40 nuns have been displaced from churches and convents. The military is continuing to make gains in their offensive, he said.
Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna appealed on Jan. 15 in a letter sent to the Sri Lankan president, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to open a safe corridor for the civilians of Vanni to escape the fighting. He said he was “pleading with the government to desist from firing mortar shells at the places of worship and stop aerial bombings of civilian places.”
In the meantime, the government claims civilians fleeing the conflict zones have arrived in state-controlled areas. A military report says an estimated 3,140 civilians have recently settled in temporary camps in Vavuniya, a frontline city. A government spokesman said the state “was prepared to meet any contingency in trying to accommodate people.”
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