The Church of St Peter in Navaly commemorated over 140 Tamil civilians that were killed in its premises by Sri Lankan Air Force bombs 27 years ago.
On July 9 1995, the Sri Lankan Air Force bombed the St Peter’s Church in Navaly and the nearby Sri Kathirgama Murugan Kovil, which were both sheltering displaced Tamils from army bombardment.
A total of 13 bombs were dropped on the sheltering shrines, killing 147 on the spot with many more succumbing to injuries later.
The bombings were part of a Sri Lankan military assault to capture the Jaffna peninsula after negotiations between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the then government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga broke down in contentious circumstances. The government accused the LTTE of rebuffing its peace efforts. The LTTE said the government was insincere about the peace and was playing for time.
The Tamil National People's Front Spokesperson Kanagaratnam Sugash and the party's Secretary Selvarajah Kajendren also paid their respects at the memorial monument yesterday. Speaking to the press, Sugash said the Tamil nation sees the massacre at St Peter's church "as part of the bigger and deliberate ethnic cleansing" of Tamil people.
நவாலி சென்பீற்றேர்ஸ் ஆலயப் படுகொலை நினைவேந்தல்! 09.07.1995 pic.twitter.com/pB9px39IYI
— Kanagaratnam Sugash (@Sugashkanu) July 9, 2022
“While we pray for the lives that were lost that day, we believe that only when an international investigation takes place on the Eelam Tamil genocide that the Tamil nation and the lives that were killed will receive justice,” he added.
“In Colombo, whilst there are ongoing protests being staged against the war criminals by the very people they raised, our efforts to remember those that were killed are being met with disruption and intimidation by the Sri Lankan government and the Criminal Investigation Department.”
“This proves that they have still not learnt from their mistakes, and also shows that they may never change,” he went on.
“By not even allowing for a peaceful remembrance event to take place today, by intimidating us even today without any empathy or compassion, the Sri Lankan government are proving that their racism against Tamils will never end.”
“We stand strong in our core demands, our journey for justice for the Eelam Tamil genocide will continue.”
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