Catholic leaders visit Vanni

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 September 1999, 11:56 GMT]
The Catholic Bishops of Jaffna, Mannar and Batticaloa who are visiting the Vanni region are planning to meet senior leaders of the Liberation Tigers to discuss the island's ongoing conflict, sources said.

Sources said that they may meet V.Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers.

Rt.Rev.Thomas Soundaranayagam the Bishop of Jaffna, Rt.Rev.Kingsley Swampillai Bishop of Batticaloa and Rt.Rev.Rayappu Joseph Bishop of Mannar went to the Vanni on Monday.

They visited Puthukudiyiruppu and other parts of the Vanni to see the condition of civilians there.

22 civilians were killed and 41 wounded in Puthukukiyiruppu during an air raid by Sri Lanka Air Force jets last week.

The religious leaders met the relatives of the victims and visited the injured at the Puthukudiyiruppu hospital, according to the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio last night.

The radio further said the priests had consoled the victims and had told them that they will let know the world what had happened and inform concerned parties about the real ground situation in the Vanni.

The Bishops condemned the killing of innocent civilians, the radio added.