Bishop of Jaffna raises Madhu issue

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 1999, 09:35 GMT]
The Bishop of Jaffna, Rev. Thomas Soundranayagam, will arrive in Colombo today to discuss with government officials the problems faced by refugees in Madhu, due to the presence of Sri Lanka security forces there, said sources at Bishop House in the northern town.

Meanwhile the Bishop of Mannar, Rev. Rayappu Joseph, is currently in Jaffna where he had discussions with the Jaffna Bishop regarding situation in Madhu, the sources added.

The Mannar Bishop had earlier protested to the Sri Lankan President at the presence of Sri Lankan Army personnel in Madhu church area, home to almost 20,000 refugees.

In a letter to the President he accused the Sri Lankan Army of using the refugees as a human shield and appealed the President to remove the Army from the areas of church land surrounding Our Lady of Madhu.

Meanwhile hospital sources in the Vanni said that there has been a sharp increase in the number of patients seeking treatment at hospitals in Akkarayan, Mallavi and Puthukkudiyirppu during recent days.

They said that number the number of patients seeking medical care has increased by up to 25-30 percent due to a viral fever in the area.

The sources said that the hospitals that have already been affected by a shortage of medicines and medical personnel are struggling to cope with the situation.

Yesterday an 11-year-old girl died at the Mallavi hospital due to diarrhoea, the sources said.