collateral damage waiting to happen- a woman forced to dig trenches with kitchen utensils The bodies were brought by the Army to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital last evening. They are presently lying in the hospital morgue. The Army also seized six (6) T-56 automatic rifles from the dead tigers.
Meanwhile Task Force I Commander Major General Jagath Jayasuriya has recently informed Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph that the Church should take full responsibility for any artillery or other attacks emanating from the Madhu Church premises.
He told the Bishop that in future, the sacredness of the Madhu Church would be of little significance to the Army and that the next occasion LTTE fires from the church premises, the Army would use all force necessary to retaliate. Immediately after this notice, all artillery attacks from Madhu Church premises ceased completely.
The SLA is confident of taking Madhu, including the Our Lady of Madhu Church premises, within the next week.
15 comments:
"He told the Bishop that in future, the sacredness of the Madhu Church would be of little significance to the Army and that the next occasion LTTE fires from the church premises, the Army would use all force necessary to retaliate."
Whether he meant it or not (I don't really think he did), this was the right way to go.
With all due respect to Bishop Rayappu, securing Mother Lanka from LTTE terrorists is a job entrusted to SL Armed Forces without unduly sacrificing the best and the bravest of Mother Lanka. Personally to me, if LTTE uses a religious place whether it is Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, or Christian place of significance to kill our soldiers with no impunity, significance of that religious place becomes next to nothing.
Bless our best and the bravest.
The SLAF can reduce any amount of churches to ash if used as a shield,but SLA by same logic must not use religious premises as it did in manaar.
The pictures of infants snuffed out at a tender age before seeing the world is indeed heart-rending: be it Tamil(as yesterday) or Singala( previously).
***
Re photo I doubt your caption is true.The shot is a still from a tamil channel if you watch closely. I would imagine the exercise was to build trenches precisely to avoid being a collateral damage?
"I would imagine the exercise was to build trenches precisely to avoid being a collateral damage?"
Wouldn't have mattered anyway... Those people will be forced to join someday and fight for the LTTE. They would be in those trenches by now
chamal,
The cynical callousness of both sides of this civil war is astounding.Both sides happily cheering and egging each other on to kill more or avenge it.
I believe there is some truth in LTTE coercing some people to join service( it is not exactly illegal from a legal viewpoint-- it is called DRAFT in established states, though morally wrong).However I am sure the overwhelming majority of LTTE must be volunteers, why?
A drafted army will never fight to the death or defeat a volunteer army(SLDF) which dwarfs it 20:1.
Same goes for 'brainwashing'.
sun tzu's disciple,
It is a still from NTT (Vitharsanam). To us this is LTTE propaganda. But it unfortunately indicates the predicament of the Tamils. They are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea!
Defencewire,
agree with you there.
Anyway good job-- your posts does not look for applause or affirmation from both sides--you post what you need to post.And leave the judgement to either party.Nice.
Terrorists have on many occassions used places of religious worship for their advantage. What the forces must do is not to refrain from retaliation. If they do that THAT WILL ONLY FURTHER ENCOURAGE THE TERRORISTS TO EXPLOIT PLACES OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP MORE AND MORE.
1. the golden temple in India (1984?).
2. Iraq in 1990, 2003 and many times therefafter
3. SL - churches in 1986/7 in Jaffna. 1995 in Vanni.
4. red mosque - Pakistan - 2007
5. hezbollah always hiding around mosques, etc and fire Katyusha rockets into peaceful Israeli settlements.
etc, etc.
In most cases above, security forces of India, US, SL, Pakistan, Israel, etc. etc. have violently RETALIATED. As a result these acts stopped then and there.
There is absolutely no need to sacrifice soldeirs, etc. for a church or any other place of religious worship. Even the Inetrnational law permits attacking such a place if used by the enemy to attack.
I'm a catholic and i have no problem bombing the church into dust if required. RC is not about worshiping clay statues and holy shrines. Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament endorsed this type of nonsense. God is omnipresent in each of us and there is NO SPECIAL GOD in the church of Madhu. Jesus himself said that the "God's house" - church will be exploited by evil forces to advance evil long after his time. It is unfrtunate that at least 2 bishops are ACTUALLY DOING SO IN SL.
The Our Lady of Madhu Church is like the Vatican in Sri Lanka. SLA will NOT bomb it.
""SLA will NOT bomb it""
is directly contradicting your post:
""the sacredness of the Madhu Church would be of little significance to the Army and that the next occasion LTTE fires from the church premises, the Army would use all force necessary to retaliate"" ??
DW-
Firstly thank you again and again for the on going news articles.
As for the below, can you educate us with how far SLA is from the Madhu Church please?
If we can get to the Church premises with out much distrubtions to church, could be a big win for SLA. More importantly could win lots of hearts from locals.
More importantly sooner we get to Church premises would be better for us.
"The SLA is confident of taking Madhu, including the Our Lady of Madhu Church premises, within the next week."
//He told the Bishop that in future, the sacredness of the Madhu Church would be of little significance to the Army and that the next occasion LTTE fires from the church premises, the Army would use all force necessary to retaliate.//
The risk is LTTE might attack the church with some well set propaganda/ international media etc and blame on SLA using above notice.
About the picture - possibilities;
1) Civilains themselevs do that to avoid casualties in any case
2) Civilians do that under LTTE instructions to aviod civilian casualties
3) Civilians do that under LTTE instructions for LTTE to fight
4) Just an activity for propaganda purposes-for a photograph
SLA my or may not bomb it, to put it right, isn't it?
It all depends on the conduct of the LTTE and the SLA. If the LTTE uses its usual stubbornenous and uses it as a artileray position and hammer the advancing troops (which is likely) and cause reasonable damage to SLA, it is most foolish not to attack it.
Looking at a map, the SLA is NOT after Madhu merely for the sake of capturing it. Madhu area can be very successfully used by the tigers to shell many SLA positions in and around the region.
BTW it is NOT equavalent to the VATICAN of SL.
Simply SL doesn't have a Vatican
sun tzu,
I think its a warning. I don't think Gen Jayasuriya would be allowed to do that even if he wanted. Our Army is a state Army. It has a duty to protect. But the message Gen Jayasuriya gave is given by me in whole and it is clear. SLA won't stand for any BS from he Bishop over this.
moshe,
It is the holiest shrine for Catholics in Sri Lanka. The site is 400 years old if I'm not mistaken and has some quality to it if you ask me. Go and experience it for yourself. I am not a Catholic myself, but a religious site is a religious site.
Yes, a religious site is a religious site UNTIL IT IS DESECRATED TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT IT LOOSES ITS SANCTITY.
There are many such places throughout the Christian world.
However, it is better for all if EVERYONE vacate religious sites.
We also don't need SLA keeping MBRLs near churches as they did near the St. Sebastian Church in Thalladi and then cry foul when tigers successfully attacked the SLA hiding there.
If tigers leave Madhu, SLA MUST FOLLOW SUIT and find alternative ways to counter them without hiding their MBRLs there!!!
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