Jaffna Bishop seeks release of 6 Catholic priests held in Vavuniyaa
Posted on Thursday, June 4, 2009
Jaffna Bishop Rt. Rev. Joseph Saundaranayagam in a letter has requested Defence Secretary to release six Catholic parish priests who are held in an undisclosed Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camp in Vavuniyaa, sources in Jaffna said.
The six Catholic priests were serving as parish priests in Vanni and had sought refuge in Puthumaaththalan when Sri Lankan military intensified its offensive on Vanni.
They had moved to Vavuniyaa along with the last group of Vanni civilians and are now held in an internment camp.
The priests are: Francis Gnanarasa Crooz, Edward Selvarasa Mariyathas, Alfred Vijaya Kamalan, Anthonipillai Anton Amalraj, Anton Stephen and Edmond Reginald.
