09-15-2005, 05:40 AM
<b>Hindu priest shot dead in northern Sri Lanka
Associated Press, Wed September 14, 2005 08:05 EDT . </b>J
AFFNA: Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead a Hindu priest in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday as he returned to his car after finishing temple rituals, the military said.
Swaminatha Sharma, believed to be aged around 30, was gunned down in Jaffna, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, Colombo.
``We know that he has been killed by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam),'' said Military Spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake. [b]He said Sharma and his father, also a Hindu priest, were close to the military hierarchy in the area.
Rebel officials could not be contacted immediately for comment.
Tamil Tiger rebels have fought the government military since 1983 to create a separate state for the country's 3.2 million minority Tamils - mostly Hindus.
The rebels claim Tamils are discriminated against by the majority Sinhalese-dominated state in education and jobs.
More than 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before the two sides agreed to a Norway-brokered cease-fire in 2002.
Peace talks broke down a year later and the truce itself is now undergoing a severe test with frequent violence in the Tamil-majority north and east.
Associated Press, Wed September 14, 2005 08:05 EDT . </b>J
AFFNA: Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead a Hindu priest in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday as he returned to his car after finishing temple rituals, the military said.
Swaminatha Sharma, believed to be aged around 30, was gunned down in Jaffna, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) north of the capital, Colombo.
``We know that he has been killed by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam),'' said Military Spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake. [b]He said Sharma and his father, also a Hindu priest, were close to the military hierarchy in the area.
Rebel officials could not be contacted immediately for comment.
Tamil Tiger rebels have fought the government military since 1983 to create a separate state for the country's 3.2 million minority Tamils - mostly Hindus.
The rebels claim Tamils are discriminated against by the majority Sinhalese-dominated state in education and jobs.
More than 65,000 people were killed in the conflict before the two sides agreed to a Norway-brokered cease-fire in 2002.
Peace talks broke down a year later and the truce itself is now undergoing a severe test with frequent violence in the Tamil-majority north and east.