Six priests held prisoner and in solitary confinement in Sri Lanka

(June 26, 2009) The Catholic bishop of Jaffna, in northern Sri Lanka, has called for the release of six Catholic priests who are kept in isolation in refugee camps but has not yet received any response from the government’s defence ministry. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a humanitarian volunteer working among 300 thousand displaced persons, spoke to AsiaNews about the fate of the priests. Four of them are from the diocese of Jaffna, and two belong to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). He said these priests selflessly helped the displaced Tamil people during the war and stayed with them till the last hours of the military campaign. The Sri Lankan government has put them in isolation in the camps for the displaced where no one is allowed to have contact with them. There are fears for their safety, their emotional and psychological conditions, as also for their physical health. Bishop Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna has asked the Secretary of Defense for the release of the six priests, but so far there has been no response. The volunteer also noted that conditions in the displacement camps are on the verge of collapse and humanitarian organizations are helpless. The Sri Lankan army oversees the refugees in order to search and weed out possible Tamil Tigers.