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Two Priests
and Two Youths Arrested for 'Subversive Activities' in Jaffna/Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Police officials produced two catholic
priests and two youths before Additional Magistrate M. Thirunavukarasu
on Wednesday, accusing the four of indulging in activities defaming both
the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Sri Lanka Military, legal
sources in Jaffna said. The magistrate however, instructed the police to
contact the Attorney General and submit a report concerning the
feasibility of filing charges against the accused.
The youths, Allen Vinoja and
Marianayagam Godfrey Morris Gnanageethan, were arrested on Friday in
Passayoor by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops and were later handed over to
the police. On the same day two catholic priests
Fr. Francis Xavier
Jeyasegaram, and Fr. Jesuratnam Bernard, OMI were
arrested by police.
All four were released on bail
on the same day. The priests and the two youths belong to
Commission Justice of Peace (CJP), an organization directly under Rt.
Rev. Dr. Thomas Savundaranayagam, Bishop of Jaffna, and were
arrested for possessing pre-printed post cards to be distributed to the
public. These post cards detailed the current situation prevailing in
the peninsula, including atrocities of the Sri Lanka Military, the
closure of A9 Highway, and disappearance of youths, legal sources said.
The four were planning to
obtain signatures and opinions from 5000 members of the general public
and forward them to the Secretary General of United Nations requesting
early action to bring back normalcy to the Northeast. These arrests were
intended to stop the activities of the peace group, civil society
sources in Jaffna said.
We are all saddened by these
activities of these arrests and killings in SL. Let us be united in
prayer and Peace activities.
Fr.
Atputharajah_,___ |
