2009-05-28 12:56:52

Priest Dies on Last Day of Sri Lankan War


(May 28, 2009) One of the seven priests who remained with trapped Sri Lankan refugees through the end of the fighting between government forces and separatists rebels, died on the battle's last day, and was buried Tuesday. Forty one year old Father Mariampillai Sarathjeevan, opted to stay with the people trapped in the "safe zone" until the May 18 end of the civil war between Sri Lanka's military and the rebel Tamil Tigers, despite the danger as the conflict moved into the zone. He died as the battle ended, struck by a heart attack as he left the war zone with the last refugees, reported a press release on the Web site of the Archdiocese of Colombo. The Tamil priest, a missionary oblate of Mary Immaculate, was a pastor in Kilinochchi and had been with the civilians since the start of the combat. The report stated that he died on the road due to exhaustion from the months of deprivation, constant air strikes and bombing. He was taken to a hospital in Vavuniya, where many of the war's 280,000 refugees have made their temporary home. In the final days that led to his demise, he expressed his concern about not being able to celebrate mass as he had to spend a few days in the bunker without food and drink. Archbishop Oswald Gomis, at the conclusion of the conflict, stated, "We are indeed very happy that the war is ended and that the government's security forces have been able to release all the innocent civilians who were trapped in battle." He added, "We could say that we have won the battle, but the war is not ended." This war will end only when we realise we are all one people in one country with equal right, he added.







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