15 years after disappearance; No truth, No justice

Allaipiddy Catholic Church after the August 2006 attacks

15 years have shown that there can be no truth and justice even for the disappearance of the priest. Less than three years after he disappeared, on the last day of the war in May 2009, another Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Francis Joseph too had had gone missing after he was last seen surrendering to the Army and taken away in a bus

His disappearance and the May 2006 massacre in Allaipiddy (together with the killing of four others in two nearby villages) was amongst 16 high profile incidents of serious violations of human rights that a Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed in 2006 was asked to investigate

15 years ago, on August 20, 2006, Rev. Fr. Jim Brown, a Catholic Priest and Wimalathas, an associate of Fr. Brown, disappeared. They were last seen at a Navy check point in Allaipiddy in the Jaffna district, as they were going to visit displaced civilians, in the Navy controlled village. 

August was a tragic month for Allaipiddy. On the night of August 12, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Jim Brown had welcomed the civilians flocking to the local Catholic Church, seeking refuge from the raging war. But the church was also attacked and 36 people reported to have been killed in and around the church and many more injured. Fr. Brown was reported to have pleaded with Navy officers to allow the injured to be taken away. In May, nine civilians were killed in the village, including a 4-month-old infant and 4-year-old child.

2006 was a time many Tamils were being subject to enforced disappearances, in the highly militarized Jaffna and other parts of the country. But due to the fact that he was a Catholic priest, Fr. Brown’s disappearance became well known. But 15 years have shown that there can be no truth and justice even for the disappearance of the priest. Less than three years after he disappeared, on the last day of the war in May 2009, another Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Francis Joseph too had had gone missing after he was last seen surrendering to the Army and taken away in a bus. There have been other Catholic priests who had disappeared and been killed, and they have all been persons who had opted to provide support to oppressed civilians and raised their voices against injustices. Statistics have indicated more than 65,000 complaints had been received to state institutions about Sri Lankans who have disappeared. 

In an article written five years ago, veteran journalist D. B. S. Jeyaraj had stated that the Navy had refused handing over the log book of the checkpoint where Fr. Brown was last seen by the police, despite an order from the Acting Magistrate who had personally visited the area. He had also reported that the Navy had fired gun shots in the air as the Magistrate and the police were leaving Allaipiddy. A 2007 report by University Teachers for Human Rights – Jaffna (UTHR – Jaffna) also has a similar narrative. Both explain that the Navy has been hostile to Fr. Brown and that Navy’s version of the time he had reported to the check point defers from that by an eyewitness, a Catholic priest. 

Parents of Fr.Jim Brown

His disappearance and the May 2006 massacre in Allaipiddy (together with the killing of four others in two nearby villages) was amongst 16 high profile incidents of serious violations of human rights that a Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed in 2006 was asked to investigate. Their report in May 2009 said that Fr. Brown’s case was not investigated due to lack of evidence and as the body of the “alleged deceased” was not found. The Commission said they didn’t have time to investigate the Allaipiddy massacre in May 2006.  

Fr. Brown’s mother passed away without knowing what happened to him. Whenever I visit, his elderly father always wondered whether he will know what happened before he closes his eyes.  

Attacks on churches 
Allaipiddy Catholic church is not the only church in the Jaffna diocese that had seen civilians being killed inside a church during the war. The July 1995 aerial attack on Navaly Catholic church and surrounding village resulted in about 147 civilians being killed, many of them being displaced who had sought refuge at the church. Several civilians have also been killed in the aerial attack on the Gurunagar Catholic church in 1993. 

And then in 2019, in quite a different context, on Easter Sunday, suicide bombers attacked two Catholic churches in the Colombo Archdiocese and Zion Church in Batticaloa, resulting in deaths of over 300 in these three churches. Simultaneous attacks in hotels had resulted in about 70 more deaths. About 600 are estimated to have been injured. 

Tomorrow, August 21, two years and four months after the Easter Sunday attacks, the Archdiocese of Colombo had called for a campaign to demand truth and justice, by raising black flags at home, ringing church bells etc. Similar to “Black Sunday” protest in March this year demanding justice for Easter Sunday victims, the call to raise black flags has already received wide publicity in the media. The Archbishop of Colombo and many Catholics have expressed lack of hope and trust in domestic processes for truth and justice, and called for international justice.

These demands and sentiments echoed those of Tamils (including Catholics) for decades, including a incidents such as the disappearance of Fr. Jim Brown. Irrespective of whether it is domestic or international, joint efforts by different ethnic groups will strengthen struggles for justice as well as solidarity and co-existence.