Mannar Methodist Church farm youth killed

[TamilNet, Monday, 10 September 2001, 16:44 GMT]
The body of a youth shot by the Sri Lanka army on 8 September in Murunkan in Mannar was identified by his father Monday. The SLA claimed that the youth was a member of the Liberation Tigers and that some banned items such as matchboxes and bicycle spare parts were found near his body. However, the boy’s father, Mr. Peduduru Velichchore told the Mannar Hospital authorities that his son, Vincent Roy, 19, had gone to guard their field in the Jeevothayam farm late that night. Mr. Velichchore said he had heard about the shooting over a foreign Tamil radio broadcast.

He added that his son works on the farm. The Jeevothayam Pannai is a farm and minor settlement in the interior village of Pariyaarikandal in the general area of Murunkan. It is owned and managed by the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka.

Another youth from the Church farm was shot dead by Special Task (STF) commandos on 26 August while he was loading sand onto a tractor in Murunkan. The STF claimed he was a member of the Liberation Tigers and that a grenade was found near him.

However, Mr. Nadarasa Selvarasa of the Jeevothayam farm identified the body as that of his nephew, Kannuchchamy Ganesh, 19. He said that his son was working in the farm.

Meanwhile, the STF cordoned off and searched the eastern town of Kaluwanchikudy for three hours from 10 a.m. Monday. More than hundred civilians were arrested during the search and were taken to the Kaluwanchikudy STF camp for interrogation. All were released later in the afternoon. Pallimunai, a coastal suburb of the Mannar town was also searched by the army and Police Sunday from 5.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. No one was arrested.