Weliweriya priest says army went on rampage
Parish priest of Weliweriya, Rev. Fr. Lakpriya Nonis yesterday told The Island that there were gunshots embedded in a concrete post and a wall of his church. Fr. Lakpriya said: “MP Sudarshani Fernandopulle visited the church yesterday (6) and inquired what had actually happened last Thursday. So, we told her how people had been attacked even after they had run into the church and the adjacent convent premises to seek refuge.”
Condemning the army’s conduct and the way people had been targeted with live bullets and assaulted with poles, the priest added that the assistant parish priest and five other priests who were there at the time had been shocked as soldiers scolded them in raw filth. About 15 soldiers armed with assault rifles and poles had stormed the church and convent premises and attacked the people hiding there, Fr. Nonis said.
A sister had also been held at gunpoint when she tried to save the people, he said.
The Parish priest said that the government should be held responsible for the conduct of the army, attacking civilians and insulting the clergy with obscene words. Therefore, an impartial investigation should be held and the wrongdoers brought to book, he said.
By Madura Ranwala
IS