Civil society in Colombo seeks justice for death of murdered priest
Colombo (AsiaNews) –Sri Lankan civil society will not give in over the murder of Fr. Nicholaspilai Packiyaranjith, who died on September 26th in a bomb attack in Northern Sri Lanka. On October 3rs over 22 civilian organisations published an open letter condemning the brutal killing of this Catholic priest, who dedicated his life to the poor and marginalised in the north of the country, victims of the civil war that has waged for over 20 years.
In the document signatories – among them Caritas-Kandy, National Peace Council and Christian Alliance for Social Action – ask the authorities to consider the case and set up an independent inquiry to bring those responsible to justice. The 22 groups denounce that until now, no-one is being investigated for the crime. The death of Fr. Ranjith, as the murdered priest was known, came just two weeks on from Colombo’s denial that religious leaders or places of worship were under attack in the country. The accusation against the Sinhalese government is being brought by human rights organisations and local and international religious groups.
The text of the letter demands “the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE and all armed actors, to respect international humanitarian law and ensure the security of religious leaders and humanitarian workers so that they are able to carry on their crucial work of assisting and protecting people affected by the conflict” in the north and east of former Ceylon.
40 year old Fr. Packiyaranjith, a native of Jaffna, was Mannar district co-ordinator for Jesuit Refugee Services; he was killed by a land mine as he brought food and humanitarian aid to refugees and orphans in Vidathalvu. No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, while military sources and rebels accuse each other of being behind the episode.
The priest is the fourth religious representative to have been killed or disappeared in Sri Lanka’s north east since August 2006, while he lies 58th in the long and sad list of humanitarian workers to have been killed or disappeared since January 2006.
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