Sri Lanka: No parishes, no priests and no churches

(June 6, 2009) Bishop of Jaffna in Sri Lanka has given a dramatic account of the people’s suffering and described how his priests were determined to stay with them "to the last". In an emotional message sent to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna told how one priest died of "exhaustion" as he tried to minister to the people trapped as the final battle raged between the Sri Lankan government and the rebel Tamil Tigers. The bishop, who in January went under cover to deliver aid in the conflict zone, claims that in the final battle ending on 19th May, 20,000 people died and 40,000 were injured as a "small space of land" fell victim to heavy artillery and shell fire. He attributes the high number of deaths and casualties to both sides using heavy artillery and rockets. Criticising Sri Lankan President Mahinde Rajapakse for initiating a final push which "brought so much suffering", the bishop went on to speak out against the Tamil Tigers. He says that the [Tamil] Tigers used the people – civilians – as shields. He had pleaded with them to allow the civilians to go to any place of safety in the Government side but they did not listen to it. He adds that there are more than 200,000 refugees and that 18 parishes in Kilinochy and Mullaitivu were now totally destroyed. Some of the priests were staying till the last with the people and were rescued by the Army. They are still in the refugee camps said the Bishop.