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Jaffna bishop wants India to pressurize LTTE

The Catholic Bishop of Jaffna, Rev Thomas Savundaranayagam, wants India to pressurize the LTTE to release the lakhs of Tamil civilians who are held captive in the north Sri Lankan war zones of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. Rev Savundaranayagam, whose diocese extends to areas in the current war zone in the Wanni region said that he had asked Members of Parliament belonging to the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to ask the Indian government to put pressure on the LTTE to release the civilians it had been holding captive for military purposes.
Rev. Savundaranayagam said in the districts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, apart from the local population, there are 250,000 refugees from the western parts of the Wanni who had been driven out of their homes and hearths by the government’s military operations since 2006.‘The people are anxious to flee the war zone for their own survival. But they are unable to do so for two reasons.

One is that the LTTE is not allowing them to go. The second reason is the fear that the government and the security forces may suspect them of being LTTE cadre or LTTE sympathisers, and detain or imprison them.

“Many of the Wanni people have had something to do with the LTTE. Many have worked for the LTTE either as volunteers or as conscripts. Many have given their children to the LTTE either voluntarily or otherwise,” the Bishop explained.

The massive earth bund defences erected by the LTTE were products of forced labour, he said.

“The church and I are very concerned about the sufferings of the people. The people have no shelter and no security whatso ever. The current torrential rains have made life unbearable. Many of the displaced persons had moved several times in the past few months,” he said.

(Express Buzz)