Hindu priest injured

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Nandhakumar Shanmuhanaathan, 31, the assistant of the Hindu priest of the Neervely Kandasamy temple in Jaffna was seriously wounded when the SLA shot him while he was on his way to open the temple this morning around 5.30 a.m. Sources in Jaffna said that his condition is serious as bullets had ripped through his abdomen.

Over 1800 Hindu temples in the Tamil areas have been destroyed in the fighting (Nachchimar Kovil in Jaffna)

Meanwhile the Voice of Tigers (VoT) said in its night news broadcast today that the Union of Hindu Priests from the Northeast of Sri Lanka has sent a memorandum to the UNESCO and the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India, charging that more than 1800 Hindu temples in the Tamil areas have been completely or partially destroyed by the Sri Lankan security forces.

The statement, according to the radio, says that Hinduism was gradually destroyed since the time the British left the island under Sinhala rule which represented only Buddhism in the national flag of the country and that in 1972 Buddhism was made the sole official religion.

The statement has charged that Hindu priests are being indiscriminately arrested by the SLA and are treated with contempt and disrespect at military checkpoints in the north-eastern parts of the island.

It said that Hindu temples and places of worship have been pillaged of their holy statues and valuables.

It asserts that Hindu temples are defiled by the Sri Lankan forces which are using them as sentry points and camps.

The Hindu priests, according to the VoT have called on the UNESCO to prevail upon the SL government to stop the indiscriminate attacks on Hindu temples.

A list of the Hindu temples which have been destroyed or damaged by the Sri Lankan security forces is annexed to the statement, the radio said.