The Hon Mahinda Rajapakse
President  of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo.

Your Excellency

Humble but Urgent Request to
stop shelling and aerial Bombings on Civilian Places in Vanni.

The Internally Displaced as well as the local civilians have taken refuge on the Paranthan Mulaithivu  A35 road and are heavily concentrated between Dharmapuram and Puthukudiyiruppu .Owing to  the on-going shelling  and aerial bombings by SL Security Forces  on the above places ,the people are getting killed and many sustain injuries daily.  The displaced innocent people don't know where to go for their safety. They are in terrible plight. We have asked them  to gather in the churches and temples .And the priests are also with the people. Churches and temples are traditionally places of refuge  in time of danger in our country.

         Hence I am pleading with the Government to desist from firing mortar shells at the places of worship and stop aerial bombings at civilian places. It is the duty of the Government to open a safe corridor for the safety of the civilians. Please stop all shelling and aerial bombings at civilian places.

Yours truly,

Rt.Rev.Dr.Thomas Savundaranayagam
Bishop of  Jaffna

10-01-2009.

Copy to :

1. Hon Prime Minister
2. Gothabey Rajapakse, Secretary  to the Ministry of Defense
3. S.F.Commander Jagath Jayasuriya, Vavuniya.
4. Apostolic Nuncio
5. Ambassador  US.Embassy
6. High Commissioner, UK

His Excellency  The President
Mahinde Rajapakse,
Presidential  Secretariat
Colombo.

Your Excellency,

           Requesting the Extension of the Safety Zone in the Mulaithivu District.

We are very grateful to you for your concern for the civilians who have taken refuge in Vanni  in the on-going War. We thank you sincerely for declaring  a part of the west of Mulaithivu as Safety Zone. The area indicated is small and uninhabitable considering the large number of people

who are congregating in this area. Some of the Priests and the Sisters who are with the displaced people have informed me that they  are with the people who have assembled  in the Churches which are in the Eastern part of  Mulaithivi  ( Mathalan,  Valiayarmadam , Mulivaikal , Iranaipalai and eastern sector  of  Puthukudiyiruppu ).I had requested to treat them also as Safety area for the thousands of people gathered in this places and thus assuring the safety of the priests and religious also. As the Bishop responsible for these areas they have made this urgent request to me. The G.A. of Mulaithivu also has made this proposal to the ICRC requesting them to explore the possibility of declaring the above areas as Safety Zone with the permission of SL Security Forces.

Our only motive in requesting your Excellency for the extension of the Safety Zone is to preserve as much as possible the  lives of the civilians in these areas. My Priests and Sisters have told me that they will not abandon the people but move along wherever the people are going.  Having lived with them always and suffering with them. they will not leave them at this time crisis. This has been always the practice of the Catholic priests to be among the people even in time of danger.

We are also urgently requesting the Tamil Tigers not to station themselves among the people in the safety zone and fire their artillery- shells and rockets at the Army This will only increase  more and more the death of  civilians thus endangering the safety of the people. I insist that both parties must observe the Safety zone strictly.

Therefore I am pleading  with your Excellency to consider declaring the Western portion of  Mulaithivu also a Safety Zone for the sake of the innocent civilians.

We are not against the War but our priority is the safety of every innocent civilian in those areas of War.

Yours truly,

Rt.Rev.Dr.Thomas Savundaranayagam
Bishop of  Jaffna

25-01-2009.