Jaffna: Bishop Rayappa Joseph of Mannar joined a Tamil group to decry the delay in the release of report that dealt with accountability issues in Sri Lanka during the war as well as post-conflict period.
The prelate joined a demonstration led by the Tamil National Alliance in Jaffna against the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) delaying the release.
Addressing protesters, Bishop Joseph condemned the postponement of the report consequent to a request by the new Sri Lankan government.
The UNHRC now will unveil its report in September though it had earlier planned to present it during March session. The UN conducted the probe in accordance with resolution 25/1 adopted in March last year.
Alleging that the UNHRC had deceived the Tamil people, the prelate stressed that Tamils had no faith in a domestic war crimes investigation under any government.
Jaffna based sources told The Island that 1,000 to 1,200 persons, mostly Jaffna University undergraduates had joined the protest. The protesters dispersed peacefully after handing over a petition to Bishop Joseph to be submitted to UN.
The Jaffna protest followed Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran’s call for a broader UN investigation into what the retired Supreme Court judge called genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. CM Wigneswaran’s call on Feb. 10, 2015 received the backing of 15 Tamil organizations based in the US, Europe, Australia as well as Scandinavian countries.
Some of the Jaffna protesters displayed pictures of LTTE cadres killed during the conflict, according to sources.
The Diocese of Jaffna yesterday said that Bishop Thomas Savundranayagam of Jaffna had refrained from joining the protest due to the participation of politicians in the event.
A spokesman for the Catholic Church told The Island that priests hadn’t been directed to participate in events meant to highlight social issues, though they weren’t supposed to throw their weight behind political projects.