Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown
Encyclopedia
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.
. 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.
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.
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. 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.
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. A complaint was lodged with local police as well as the Human Rights Commission regarding their disappearance and investigations took place into their whereabouts.
, near Pungudutheevu, on March 14, 2007 was identified as the dead priest. However, the Sri Lankan government announced in June 2007 that subsequent DNA analyses had proved that the remains were not those of either man.
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
priest who disappeared during the Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
. 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.
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 peninsulaJaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...
. 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
Sri Lankan Navy
-The Beginning and World War II:In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilized for war duties...
officer.
As part of ongoing military operations, the Sri Lankan Army
Sri Lankan Army
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...
shelled the St. Philip Neri's Church in Allaipiddy on August 13, 2006 killing 15 refugees sheltering there.
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. Brown was also accused by the Sri Lankan Navy
Sri Lankan Navy
-The Beginning and World War II:In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilized for war duties...
commanding officer of Allaipiddy of helping the rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
(LTTE) to dig bunkers.
Disappearance
According to an Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
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
Sri Lankan Navy
-The Beginning and World War II:In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilized for war duties...
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
Jaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...
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. A complaint was lodged with local police as well as the Human Rights Commission regarding their disappearance and investigations took place into their whereabouts.
Controversy over found body
According to local newspapers a "mutilated torso" packed in a sand bag found off the coast of the Jaffna peninsulaJaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...
, near Pungudutheevu, on March 14, 2007 was identified as the dead priest. However, the Sri Lankan government announced in June 2007 that subsequent DNA analyses had proved that the remains were not those of either man.
See also
Other notable clergy killed during the Sri Lankan civil warSri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
- Mary BastianMary BastianFather Mary Bastian was a minority Tamil Human Rights activist and local Roman Catholic parish priest from Sri Lanka...
- Chandra FernandoChandra FernandoReverend Chandra Fernando was a priest from the town of Baticaloa in minority Tamil-dominated eastern province of Sri Lanka. He was known for his human rights activism. He was assassinated by unknown men on June 6, 1988.-Biography:...
- George JeyarajasinghamGeorge JeyarajasinghamGeorge Jeyarajasingham was a minority Sri Lankan Tamil Human Rights activist and a Methodist missionary from the Mannar district of Sri Lanka. He and three others were shot dead on December 13, 1984 when they were traveling in his vehicle. Later their bodies were burnt along with his...
- Mariampillai Sarathjeevan
- Eugene John HebertEugene John HebertFather Eugene John Hebert was an American born Jesuit missionary in Sri Lanka. He along with his Tamil driver Betram Francis disappeared on August 15, 1990 as part of the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war. He went missing on his way to the eastern city of Batticaloa from a nearby town of Valaichchenai....