Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown

Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown
Thiruchchelvam Nihal Jim Brown

Father Thiruchchelvam Nihal Jim Brown
Born 1972
Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Occupation Parish Priest of St. Philip Neri Church, Sri Lanka

Fr.Thiruchchelvam Nihal Jim Brown (1972 -2006) was a minority Sri Lankan Tamil, Roman Catholic parish priest who disappeared during the Sri Lankan civil war. He was active helping his parishioners during the bombing of his church in northern Sri Lanka. He went missing with Wenceslaus Vinces Vimalathas on August 20, 2006 and is presumed dead.

Contents

Background

Allaipiddy village falls within the government-controlled territory in northern Sri Lanka. It is a prominent minority Sri Lankan Tamil but Roman Catholic dominant village in the Jaffna peninsula. The Sri Lankan Navy has security jurisdiction in the surrounding area. Father Brown took over the role of parish priest after his predecessor, Father Amal Raj, requested a transfer from St. Philip Neri Church after having allegedly received death threats from a local Sri Lankan Navy officer.[1][2] As part of ongoing military operations, the Sri Lankan Army shelled the St. Philip Neri's Church in Allaipiddy on August 13, 2006 killing 15 refugees sheltering there.[3]

Father Brown was publicly rebuked by navy officials for having moved all 300, mostly Catholic, Allaipiddy families to a safer Catholic church at Kayts eight miles away during military operations.[4] Brown was also accused by the Sri Lankan Navy commanding officer of Allaipiddy of helping the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to dig bunkers.[5][6]

Disappearance

According to an Amnesty International report, on the day they went missing, Father Brown and Wenceslaus Vinces Vimalathas were travelling by motorbike to Allaipiddy village, when they met a friend who accompanied them to the Allaipiddy Sri Lankan Navy checkpoint. The friend left the two men standing at the checkpoint at approximately 2.10pm. An eyewitness confirmed that they saw the two men shortly after this, travelling through Allaipiddy on a motorbike. The eyewitness then saw two motorbikes each carrying three armed men wearing bulletproof vests, following Father Brown and Vimalathas along the road. The six armed men then stopped outside St. Mary’s Church in Allaipiddy and following some discussion, one of the motorbikes turned back in the direction of the SLN Allaipiddy checkpoint. When the eyewitness reached the SLN Navy checkpoint in order to leave Allaipiddy, they saw the same three armed men who had turned back from St. Mary’s Church talking to the SLN personnel and pointing in the direction of Allaipiddy. The armed men then allegedly rode back to Allaipiddy village, taking a different route than they had before.

Inquiries about the whereabouts of Father Brown and Vimalathas were made at a number of churches across the Jaffna peninsula and in surrounding areas. Rear Admiral Upali Ranaweera, Commander of the SLN's Northern Region, denied that the two men were arrested. Navy personnel at the Allaipiddy checkpoint stated that Father Brown and Vimalathas passed through the Allaipiddy checkpoint and returned soon after, travelling in the direction of Jaffna town. However, local police have been unable to process their request to the Navy to produce the evidence of their return back to the Jaffna city.[7] A complaint was lodged with local police as well as the Human Rights Commission regarding their disappearance and investigations took place into their whereabouts.[5][6]

Controversy over found body

According to local newspapers a "mutilated torso" packed in a sand bag found off the coast of the Jaffna peninsula, near Pungudutheevu, on March 14, 2007 was identified as the dead priest.[8] However, the Sri Lankan government announced in June 2007 that subsequent DNA analyses had proved that the remains were not those of either man.[9][10]

See also

Other notable clergy killed during the Sri Lankan civil war

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • List of assassinations of the Sri Lankan Civil War — Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) Background Sri Lanka · History of Sri Lanka Origins of the Civil War Origins of the Civil War · Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism  …   Wikipedia

  • List of Tamils of Sri Lanka — This is a List of Tamils of Sri Lanka by their country of domicile or origin. All communities that speak Tamil or spoke Tamil and originally came from Sri Lanka are included. Tamils of Sri Lanka today are a trans national minority and are found… …   Wikipedia

  • St. Philip Neri Church shelling — [ Roman Catholic church which provided shelter to the refugees after the Allaipiddy massacre and during the subsequent shelling.] The St. Philip Neri Church bombing occurred when St. Philip Neri Church in Allaipiddy village, off the coast of Sri… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Trinity College, Kandy alumni — Trinity College, Kandy is an Independent elite private school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka. It is widely considered to be the premier private boys school in Sri Lanka. This list of eminent Old Trinitians is by no means… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”