Protest fast held in Pesalai church

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 27 June 2006, 09:19 GMT]
More than five thousand residents participated in the one day fast organized by the Inter-Religious Forum held Monday in the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Pesalai condemning the killing Tamil civilians sought refuge in the church Tuesday, civil society sources from Mannar said. Netherlands Ambassador in Sri Lanka also paid a visit to the site, sources said.

About twenty five Parish Priests in the Mannar district and leaders of all religious faiths participated in the protest fast.

Monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) visited the church and observed the situation.

Mr.V.Visuvalingam, Mannar Government Agent and Ms Stanley de Mel, Mannar District Secretary also attended the concluding event of the fast, sources said.

Five civilians including elderly woman were killed in the attack launched by a group of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Navy following a firefight between the LTTE and SLN in Mannar Sea.