Anniversary of church bombing

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The third anniversary of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombing of St. Peter's Church, Navaly, in Jaffna, in which almost 150 people died and 200 were injured, was commemorated today, said sources in Jaffna.

The memorial service at the church took place at around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon and coincided with the time that the bombardment took place three years ago. The service was attended by a huge congregation, which consisted of members of all faiths, said sources.

Delivering the sermon, the celebrant said that aerial bombing was common during times of war, but to deliberately bomb civilian targets constituted uncivilised behaviour. The sombre gathering gave the occasion the air of a funeral, said sources.

When the SLAF bomb attack, that took place on July 9 1995, first became public, the Sri Lanka Government denied it. It also vehemently refuted statements by international human rights organisations condemning the attack.