Pilgrim recalls TN attack

They were carrying LTTE flags and pictures of the late LTTE leader Prabhakaran

Warnakulasuriya Chamin Sumith, a resident of Chilaw, was one of the pilgrims who were attacked in Tamil Nadu yesterday. He said they had had a narrow escape from the proLTTE elements.

Describing his ordeal from the Trichy Airport, Sumith said they had first gone to the Poondi Matha

Church in Trichi where the attackers had first approached them. He said the police had prevented the attack. The priest in charge had then advised the pilgrims to leave.

They had then proceeded to the famous Velankanni Church. However they had not been able to worship there either as the authorities at the Church had also advised them to leave as they could not guarantee their safety.

He said around 60 protesters had approached them when they were returning from Trichiy. ‘They were carrying LTTE flags and pictures of the late LTTE leader Prabhakaran,’ he said.

He said five of the eight buses they were traveling in were smashed by the protesters.

Sumith said that Lakshman, one of the pilgrims, had three fingers cut off when he used his hand to fend off a knife thrust through the bus window. Several others had received minor injuries when the protesters stoned the buses.

However, he said, they were glad to get back the airport. There were a total of 180 pilgrims according to him. Meanwhile, Daily Mirror learns that a protest has been planned to be held on Saturday in Colombo to ask for a sum of Rs 100 million as compensation from the Tamil Nadu Government, to be paid to the pilgrims.