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Sri Lanka's Genocidal War - '95 to '01 Navali Massacre: St.Peters Church in Navaly bombed with refugees inside
 Having
dropped leaflets asking the people to move to places of worship the Sri Lanka air force
there after attacked the places of worship where Tamil civilians had sought refuge.
St.Peters Church and St.Peters School in Navaly at a great distance away from the line
of battle and where hundreds had sought shelter was deliberately bombed on 9 July 1995. On
the day after the attack, 56 bodies were retrieved from the debris, many of whom were
women and children. The death toll in this incident later increased to 120. 13 babies died
in their mother's arms. Rescue workers reported torn limbs and pieces of human flesh
strewn over the area.
"Thirteen babies were among the 65 dead found under the rubble of a Catholic
church bombed by the Sri Lankan air force, an International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) official said on Tuesday. ICRC field coordinator Dominique Henry said at least
one bomb hit St Peter's Church at Navali, north of Jaffna town, on Sunday, the day the
armed forces launched their ``Operation Leap Forward'' against Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam. The military, which said it was not aware of any church being bombed, had dropped
leaflets warning civilians in the rebel-held peninsula to seek refuge in temples and
churches to minimise the chance of death or injury in air strikes… `This is really a
violation of humanitarian law if a civilian area has been deliberately targeted,'' Henry
said, adding that he had no information on whether the attack was deliberate or an
accident. (Reuter 11 July 1995)
 Bishop of Jaffna,
Thomas Savundranayagam, 10 July 1995
In a letter dated 10 July 1995, the Bishop of Jaffna, Thomas Savundranayagam called
upon President Chandrika Kumaratunga to stop these attacks on churches, temples and
schools. He pointed out that at the time of bombing, displaced Tamil civilians had sought
shelter in these places of worship. He wrote:
"Your Excellency,
St.Peters Church, Navaly
Please allow me to bring the following sad incident to your kind attention.
I very much regret to report to you the tragic killings of innocent civilian
refugees who had gathered at the above Church on the instruction of your Defence Ministry.
A 'Pukkara' Air Craft had dropped a cluster of many bombs on this crowd of refugees who
had taken shelter in the church resulting in the death of over 65 civilians including
women and children and over 150 were seriously injured sustaining the loss of limbs.
Besides many were rendered homeless as many houses were razed to the ground and others
heavily damaged, including our church and priest's house. All the people in this village
have fled to safer areas as refugees.
Therefore we very earnestly appeal to Your Excellency to kindly instruct your forces to
desist from bombing, strafing, artillery rocked attacks on civilian targets like Kovils,
Churches, Schools and Hospitals."
Pope John Paul, Time
Magazine, Humanitarian Law Project
"Pope John Paul said on Wednesday he was suffering along with the families of
people killed when air force bombs hit a church in Sri Lanka. The Red Cross said 65
people died on Sunday when the bombs hit a Catholic church in Navali, north of Jaffna, and
many more had died or fled their homes in the last three days of fighting between Tamil
guerrillas and the Sri Lankan army. "I want to express my deep-felt sharing in the
suffering of so many people involved in the ethnic conflict that is tearing Sri Lanka
apart," he told pilgrims and tourists at his weekly general audience. "I share
the grief of those who lost their loved ones in the bombing of the church and school of
Navali," he added. The Pope, who visited Sri Lanka earlier this year, also called for
negotiation to end the fighting. (Vatican City, July 12 Reuter Report)
"After hundreds of civilians heed the Sri Lankan army's advice to seek refuge
in St.Peter's church at Navali, an airforce plane bombs the building killing more than 120
people... Operation Leap Forward began at dawn on July 9 and the military warned civilians
to clear the south west of its base at Palaly, recommending churches and temples as
shelters. At 4.30 p.m. an Argentine made Pucara fighter flew toward the Navali church, 3
km outside the combat zone, and bombed the sanctuary and adjacent courtyard."
"Most of the people huddled inside were women and children, many of whom were
killed immediately. Others had limbs blown off. Survivors were brought by tractor to the
town of Jaffna 6 km away, but the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and its lone surgeon weren't
prepared. They soon ran out of bandages, antibiotics and beds. "The treatment was
crude", said Subramaniam Jebanesan, the Protestant Bishop of Jaffna, who rushed to
the hospital to help. "Limbs that could have been saved had to be amputated".
(Time Magazine 31 July 1995)
"St.Peters Church in Navaly and the adjoining St.Peter's School where hundreds had
sought shelter were badly gutted. 56 bodies were retrieved from the debris, many of whom
were women and children. The final death toll in Navaly was about 120. Rescue workers have
reported that torn limbs and pieces of human flesh were strewn over the area."
(Press
Release by Humanitarian Law Project, International Educational Development, 12 July 1995)
Condemnation by 21 Non
Governmental Organisations at UN Sub Commission
"The Sri Lanka government, initially denied the
bombing of the St.Peters Church. Then it criticised the ICRC
representative for reporting the incident to the world media
without consulting the Government. Later the government
promised to hold an inquiry into the incident…The aerial
bombardment of civilian population centres and places of
worship follow a pattern set by the Sri Lanka armed forces
over the past several years and President Kumaratunga's
belated promise to investigate the recent violations, must
ring hollow in the ears of the Tamil people whose kith and
kin have lost their lives or their limbs in the bomb
outrage." (Joint written
statement submitted at the 47th Sessions of the UN Sub
Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities on 9 August 1995, by International
Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations and World
Federation of Democratic Youth, non governmental
organisations in consultative status (category I), African
Association of Education for Development, American
Association of Jurists, Indigenous World Association,
International Association against Torture, International
Association of Democratic Lawyers, International Federation
of Human Rights, International Indian Treaty Council,
International Islamic Federation of Student Organisations,
International League for Human Rights, Pax Romana and World
Society of Victimology, non governmental organisations in
consultative status (category II) and Centre Europe-Tiers
Monde, International Association of Educators for World
Peace, International Educational Development, International
Federation of Free Journalists, International Movement
against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Liberation
and Movement against Racism, For Friendship Among Peoples and
Regional Council on Human Rights in Asia, non governmental
organisations on the roster.)
International Red Cross expresses concern at Navali bombing
The International Red Cross issued a Statement on 11 July 1995
on the Navali massacre: " On 9 July the Sri Lankan armed forces launched
a large scale military offensive against the positions of
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) north of the
city of Jaffna. The operation involving intensive
artillery shelling and air strikes, immediately forced
tens of thousands of civilians to leave the area. Many of
the displaced sought shelter in churches and temples,
including several hundred people who took refuge in the
Church of St.Peter and Paul in Navaly.
"According
to eye witness accounts, this church and several adjacent
buildings were hit by further air force strikes at 4.30
p.m. the same day. During the attack 65 people were
killed and 150 wounded, including women and children.
That evening and into the night Sri Lanka Red Cross staff
evacuated most of the wounded by ambulance to the Jaffna
Teaching Hospital. Delegates of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) present the next
morning at the scene of the attack noted the widespread
damage and measured the extent of the tragedy. Many of
the bodies had not yet been removed from the
rubble."
"Deeply concerned by the series of violent acts
that have claimed innocent victims, the ICRC call on the
parties involved to respect civilian lives, property and
places of refuge. It also urges them to respect the
protected zone around the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and to
refrain from attacking any other medical
facilities."
In a later report dated 18 August 1995, Marco Altherr, head
of the ICRC delegation to Sri Lanka added:
"It is not quite sure how many bombs fell, as only one
hit the ground (a crater), the others hitting concrete, but six
is a fair estimate. The church itself was not directly hit, but
damaged by the blasts and shrapnel. More than 1000 people were
gathered in the compound, busy to prepare food for dinner and
accommodation for the night. These people were hit by bombs 3,1
and 5 but more specially by bomb 4 which was the only one to hit
the ground. Mr.Altherr also sent the testimonies of some
civilians. This is what they said:
"Pragasam Rajendran (M) 73 years - was just
at the entrance of his house which is adjacent to
the church premises. Had seen the plane. His wife
Nageswary stayed next to him and saw 'the bombs
rolling in the air like pamphlets'. He had
started shouting and alerted the others to lie
down. As the wife laid down, she heard the first
explosion and continuously some more.'
Anthony Manuelpillai (M) 73 years - who came to
the church premises to fetch water from the well
had seen the plane at a very low altitude and saw
the bombs falling 'like rolling papers'.
Jeganathan Jeyakumar (M) 17 years - was at a
junction which is nearly 100 yards from the
church premises. He had seen clusters of white
objects moving towards him. As the plane passed
over him blaring, he said he lied down and heard
a series of explosions around the church area.
Antonythas Arulammah (F) 40 years - who was near
the school building inside the church premises
had seen the plane dropping something without
diving downwards. She said she lied down after
someone nearby alerted her for falling bombs.
Velupillai Arulammah (M) 59 years - he saw the
plane dropping bombs while he was cooking meals
for the displaced people inside the church
compound.
George Theva (F) 45 years - was standing on the
road outside the church premises. She had seen
the plane dropping some objects like 'big
watermelon'.
Father James (M) - was at St.Anthony's Church,
Manipay during the incident. He saw one plane and
about 6 bombs falling one after another."
President Kumaratunga covers up Navali massacre
Sri Lanka initially denied knowledge of the bombing. Later,
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar blamed the Red
Cross for 'not informing the Sri Lanka government before issuing
a statement'! Subsequently, Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister promised
to hold an inquiry. But, later still, President Kumaratunga
denied responsibility and with a callous disregard for the
victims of the attack, declared that inquiries as to the Navaly
attack should be addressed to the Red Cross because it was they
who seem to know about the attack.
"A dispute between the ICRC and the government over
recent statements is to be resolved through talks, ICRC
delegation chief Marco Altherr said. The controversy rose
when Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar accused the ICRC of
not informing the government before issuing a statement on
the attack on bombing of St.Peter's Church at Navali. 'The
accusations came as a shock to us. We would like to meet
government officials and clarify matters. This is important'
Mr.Altherr said. 'Our duty is to work for the welfare of
civilians and victims in war torn areas. Be it the Government
or the LTTE, we condemn any acts against civilians and try to
bring peace' he added. Mr.Altherr said such accusations could
hamper the humanitarian work of the ICRC. 'It is important to
discuss the matter and have a good understanding. Otherwise
it is not possible for us to carry on with our work' he
said." (Sinhala owned Sri Lanka Sunday Times, 16 July
1995)
"President Kumaratunga said it was probably the work
of the LTTE who were firing mortar shells in that direction. 'The
ICRC says all kinds of things," she said. 'There was
fighting three kilometers northwest of Navali, so it was
unlikely any action by the security forces would have
affected the church or its environs.' (Reuter, 4 August,
1995)
On the 4th August, the President, addressing a press
conference, said that the Navaly church was intact and she was
awaiting a message from the Bishop of Jaffna. Rt. Rev. Thomas
Soundranayagam responded with the following letter on the 7th
August 1995.
"Your Excellency,
I am writing to Your
Excellency regarding a news item which appeared in Daily
News of 05.08.95 about the aerial bombing incident on the
9th of July 1995 in the Church premises at Navaly. Your
Excellency had said that you were awaiting a fax message
from me on the above incident.
On the 10th of July itself I wrote a letter and on
the 11th I had requested the UNHCR office to transmit it
to you. I am surprised that it had not reached your
office up to now. In the meantime I had sent also a copy
of it to the Papal Representative in Sri Lanka and to the
President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri
Lanka. This letter also was released in the Colombo
press.
I had written this letter after ascertaining the facts
from the Parish Priest. Our immediate concern was the
killing of the people who had taken refuge in the Church
and its premises. I had mentioned that the Church and
Priest's House were also damaged owing to the blast of
the cluster of bombs released from the Pukkara air craft
on the 9th of July at about 4.45 p.m.
Subsequently I myself visited the site of the
incident and I found the roof of the church damaged all
the doors and windows wrenched from the frames and strewn
about, and the floor was littered with broken glass
pieces. I also found blood stains on the floor and blood
stained clothes still lying about.
By this time the death count had risen to 117 and so
also the number of injured persons. I am enclosing a copy
of the original letter addressed to you on the 10th of
July, just after the incident.
The war in the peninsula is still continuing and the
innocent civilians are living in fear because of the
aerial bombings and artillery shelling. This is a futile
battle and it will only increase the death of innocent
civilians and help to alienate the people from the
government. Hence I am appealing to you not to have
resort to military solution and to resume the peace-
negotiation once again. While appreciating your efforts
at solving the Ethnic problem, we appeal to you to stop
the war which could give us the opportunity to reflect
and discuss your peace proposal. We assure you of our
co-operation in your efforts to find a lasting solution
to our problem. May God bless you."
Navali and the Tamil Minister
- Rajan Sriskandarajah - Tamil Infonet
1995 Fall
"Aiyo", cried a mother whose child was wounded in
the air-raid. "Please take my child to the hospital"
she begged a cyclist, who looked around first, and then decided
to help. "She was alive just a few minutes ago," cried
a man cradling the dead body of his pretty young wife. "She
just came to help the refugees, and now she is dead," cried
a brother. Wails and cries such as these were heard (and recorded
on video) on July 9th, soon after the Sinhala Airforce decided to
drop, not one but nine bombs, on the Navaly St. Peter's Church,
housing refugees in Tamil Eelam.
Only a few hours earlier, the Sinhala Airforce had dropped
leaflets asking civilians to take shelter in churches and
temples. The poor, unsuspecting Tamil civilians had complied.
This was preceded by a massive propaganda effort initiated in
Colombo, to justify the newest Sinhala army offensive on Tamil
Eelam, code-named "Operation Leap Forward."
Proclamations were made that this was a sacrificial effort made
by the Sinhala people, to "liberate the Tamils from the
clutches of the LTTE."
The fact that most Tamils fled, in the hundreds of thousands
(300,000 people, to be precise), from the so called Liberating
Sinhala Forces didn't matter. The fact that not one able bodied
Tamil, remained in his/her home to be rescued by Chandrika's army
didn't matter either. The Sinhala army was leaping forward
anyway, to "save the Tamils."
The biggest culprit in this macabre episode was a Tamil - who
declared himself to be one at the UN - Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar,
the Foreign Minister of the Sinhala State of Sri Lanka.
When the Church in Navaly was bombed this Tamil Minister of
the Sinhala Sri Lanka became agitated. He became upset and irate
- but ironically, not because of the tragedy experienced by the
innocent refugees, but because the International Red Cross had
leaked the news of the church bombing. The
innocent children who
were killed or maimed by his Sinhala masters didn't matter to
him. The families that were torn asunder so tragically by his
masters' forces, were of no concern at all. All that mattered to
him was that his masters' image was tarnished; and, he had worked
so hard to build it up!
He ranted and raved at the Red Cross. He was joined by the
racist monk Rahula Walpola and his ilk, who demanded that the
ICRC be expelled. The Red Cross, which happens to be the only
international relief organisation in Tamil Eelam got worried, and
its chief in Colombo, Marco Altherr, actually apologised to the
minister - A Galilean apology, no doubt! Mr. Altherr must have
muttered something under his breath, like the Italian astronomer
Galileo Galilei, who in AD 1633 apologised for having said that
the earth is round!
The frogs in the Sri Lankan well celebrated. The Sinhala
media, unashamedly published the ravings of this minister. The
Island headlines read - Foreign Minister Raps ICRC.
There was no condemnation of the airforce for this dastardly
deed. There was no rush to aid the poor victims - more of whom
died due to lack of medical attention, created by the newly
imposed embargo.
President Chandrika, however, got busy phoning the Archbishop
in Colombo, first to disclaim, and then to promise a leisurely
investigation, which is yet to be conducted. She then patted her
Tamil Foreign Minister on his back for a job well done, and sent
him abroad for further damage control and news management.
The message to the airforce pilots was very clear - "do
what you want to do, we will defend you." Guess what?
Another of those pilots decided that some school children in a
remote village were an easy target. No Tigers around, to shoot
his plane down; bomb them! On Sep. 22, he bombed Nagar Kovil Maha
Vidyalayam killing 23 children on the spot, during their lunch
break. In repeated sorties, neighbours who rushed to help the
injured children were also killed.
Regardless, the Tamil Minister of the Sinhala Sri Lanka
Government made his rounds in Australia, U.K., Canada and the US,
advising Sinhala Ambassadors and Sinhala organisations on how to
conduct propaganda. His mission was also to counter Tamil groups
in these countries. The Sangam office bearers were contacted
individually to meet with the Minister. The Ilankai Tamil Sangam,
USA, responded, politely of course, as to why a meeting wasn't
possible with a minister whose hands are tainted with Tamil
blood! |
INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA