Historic Madhu Church under attack in Sri Lanka

By David Sabapathy - TNS

COLOMBO – After a week that Bishop of Mannar Rt. Rev. Rayappu said, there is no LTTE presence in the Madhu church premises or the camping area. He also emphasised that the LTTE wouldn’t be allowed to operate in the area under his purview. He also said that the military top brass in the region had been briefed on this situation.

The motors and artilleries fired by the military are started falling in the Historic Madhu church, according to sources close to the church.

In the capital Colombo, the Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said,   “Catholic priests at Madhu Church confirmed yesterday that LTTE had directed mortar fire to the Church premises twice yesterday.” This is quickly denied by the church sources.

"The catholic priests confirmed that LTTE mortar fell on to the Mission House on Wednesday around 5.30 p.m," the Brigadier added.

"The intention of the LTTE is to evict the priests at the Madhu Church and cause damage to the sacred Madhu Church premises to tarnish the image of the Security Forces," the Brigadier added.

Earlier on the day more than five-thousand people of Mannar city gathered at St. Sebastian's Cathedral Wednesday morning for an special prayer service and staged a peace march towards the District Secretariat and handed over an appeal, urging the warring parties, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) to respect the area of Madu Shrine as a 'Zone of Peace'.

"Shells are falling within the Church premises several times and many of those staying there have been compelled to leave, while priests and the other church workers who are still remaining, live in fear and are being forced to seek shelter in bunkers," an appeal from the Bishop of Mannaar said.

Responding to a question to a news agency that Colombo was accusing the Tigers of using the Madu premises as mortar launch pad, the Tamil Tiger Military spokeperson, Mr. Ilanthirayan, categorically denied the charges said Colombo was engaged in "malicious propaganda".

"We have long-range mortars and there is no need for the LTTE to place mortars near or inside the premises of the holy shrine premises," he said.

Confirming that the clergy had approached the LTTE as early as fighting broke out at Thampanai area, a year ago, with a request to declare the Madhu region as a non-military zone, the Tiger spokesman said that the LTTE was prepared to extend its full support to the request without opposing the idea. But, the GoSL did not honour the repeated requests from the Catholic community and continued to initiate armed attacks targeting the civilians near the premises of the Madu shrine, he said.

In Earlier occasions the artillery shells fired by the armed forces resulted civilians casualties in the Madhu Shrine. Many of the internally displaced people, mostly Catholics took refuge at the shrine and the adjourning camping area, according to relief officials in the area.