Disappearance of Fr. Selvarajah in Sorikalmunai in 1990

The villagers had assumed Fr. Selva had stayed back in Kalmunai on the night of 11th July. On the next day, a Catholic priest from Kalmunai had come to Sorikalmunai, and only then had villagers as well as the Priest knew that Fr. Selva had disappeared

Today, 11th July 2025, is 35 years since the disappearance of Fr. Saverimuttu Selvarajah, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Batticaloa. Known as Fr. Selva, he was 30 years at that time and serving as the Parish Priest and Administrator of Holy Cross Shrine, in the remote village of Sorikalmunai, in the Ampara district.

A special memorial mass was held this morning at the Holy Cross Shrine, with many villagers including school children attending. The statue of Fr. Selva within the church premises was garlanded and lamps were lit. An alms giving was done by the local Santa Cruz Sports Club. These are annual events that have been happening for a long time. A big event had been held for the 25th year of his disappearance with family members from far away also attending. Parish Priests and Administrators to the Church (Shrine) in Sorikalmunai have come and gone, but Fr. Selva will continue to hold a special place  in the hearts and minds of villagers.

Sorikalmunai remains a rather isolated, remote village even now. In two days, I only saw very few four wheeled vehicles. Most villagers travel around on bicycles, motorcycles and three wheelers. Buses from the village are only available three days a week at 8a.m. Bullock carts are still used. The local school has classes up to Advanced level, but only in the Arts stream, and students who want to do other streams of studies need to go out of the village. Most people are engaged in agriculture, with long stretches of paddy fields. Lack of livelihood opportunities and progress are pushing more and more people to go for overseas for work, especially to the Middle East.

Violence and tensions of 1990

Sorikalmunai is predominantly Tamil and villagers recall a climate of fear from the Army and tensions with Muslims in late 1980s reaching a peak in 1990, the time Fr. Selva disappeared. One man described how he was arrested by the Army with about 50 others, subjected to terrible torture, to the extent he  felt he was dying and his release and survival was like a new birth. His brother was killed in front of him, as were some others. His injuries due to torture were so bad that he is still unable to walk or get up from bed without any aid, unable to use one hand and the other is also very weak. He has been unable to do any work and is totally dependent on his wife and children for survival. He has not received any reparations and has given up taking further medication, but said a specific type of wheelchair customised to his needs may help him in his last few years.

In the adjoining village of Veeramunai, hundreds of Tamils were arrested, few survived after enduring torture, many were disappeared, killed and raped before and after Fr. Selva’s disappearance. Several homes have also been burnt, with eyewitness reports indicating the Army and Muslim “home guards” (an official armed state entity with basic training) being responsible.

In Sorikalmunai, many had disappeared without a trace, some after having being arrested and taken away by the Army. One lady described how her father and two brothers were taken away and never returned, mentioning that several families had lost a number of their family members. She mentioned that even the Tamil militants, specifically the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had harassed her father before he was taken away, asking why he was talking to the Army. 

It was in this context that Fr. Selva, as a community leader, had tried to monitor those being arrested, appealing to the Army not to abuse villagers. He had stopped the Army from coming inside the church. When villagers were restricted from going outside or were not stepping out due to fear, Fr. Selva had taken it upon himself to visit nearby towns and get food provisions for the villagers. On the 11th July 1990, he had been asking people about the food situation and was informed they had only rice. He had then decided to go to the nearby town of Kalmunai, about 10 kilometers away, to bring provisions, despite some villagers advising him that it was not safe. He had left on his motorbike, after having prayed. In Kalmunai, he had been advised to stay back and not to travel to Sorikalmunai, but he had said he had to take food back to his people and left Kalmunai. He had never returned.

The villagers had assumed Fr. Selva had stayed back in Kalmunai on the night of 11th July. On the next day, a Catholic priest from Kalmunai had come to Sorikalmunai, and only then had villagers as well as the Priest knew that Fr. Selva had disappeared.

An elderly villager recalls a conversation with another person who had told he had seen Fr. Selva coming towards Sorikalmunai near a bridge, before an Army checkpoint in Chavalakadai. Unfortunately, this person had died. No one had heard from Fr. Selva again, neither had anyone heard about his whereabouts or seen his body. His motorbike had never been found either.

After Fr. Selva’s disappearance, the villagers had taken out a revered and historical statue of Jesus in the Shrine and prayed earnestly for Fr. Selva’s safe return. But as more people were arrested and taken away by the Army and with the priest not around, villagers  felt more insecure and abandoned the village. They had to live as displaced persons for about three years before returning back to the village.

University Teachers for Human Rights – Jaffna (UTHR-J), in their report no. 8 of 4th November 1991, had described Fr. Selva as a vulnerable priest, travelling long and lonely roads on motorcycle serving isolated communities.

His family remember him as very attached to the family and being on the verge of going for studies to India. Before coming to Sorikalmunai, he was assigned to a church in Trincomalee and there, and he had been sharing with his family how he was protecting youth in fear of their lives. His family also said he was very generous and always tried find money and materials to help people in need. In Sorikalmunai, a boy who had been with Fr. Selva had disappeared after being taken away by the Army and boy’s father had been inquiring about his son even from Fr. Selva’s family.

Fr. Selva is amongst  several Tamil Catholic Priests who  disappeared or were killed during the war. In the diocese of Batticaloa (at that time covering the Eastern province), Fr. Chandra Fernando had been killed in 1988 and few weeks after Fr. Selva disappeared, another Catholic Priest, Fr. Eugene John Herbier, also disappeared. At least 6 other Catholic Priests have been killed of disappeared from the North in the context of the war. Two Sinhalese Catholic Priests have also been killed in context of southern insurgency and a Catholic Sister has also been killed in the aftermath of July 1983 pogrom. But they are warmly remembered by those they served. No one has been held criminally accountable for any of these crimes. It’s late, but never too late to remember and appreciate them and demand truth and accountability.