George Jeyarajasingham (died 13 December 1984) was a minority

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist and a

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missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

from the

Mannar district Mannar District ( ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Governm ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He and three others were shot dead on 13 December 1984 when they were traveling in his vehicle. Later their bodies were burnt along with his vehicle. Speaking truth to power: the human rights situation in Sri Lanka
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Background

He was of minority

origin. He was born in the city of Komari in the eastern part of

. He was attached to the northwestern Mannar district Methodist church. He was in charge of a big Methodist farm known as Jeevothayam Methodist Center in a nearby village called Murunkan in the Mannar district. He was engaged in social and pastoral work with the families of victims of the many disappearances and killings which were taking place in that area. He was known to help the civilians by interceding on their behalf with the local military authorities. During military offensives by the

Sri Lankan Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...

in 1984 as part of the ongoing Sri Lankan Civil War in Mannar region, a local Roman Catholic priest Fr. Mary Bastian and George Jeyarajasingham became the focal point of

activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

on behalf of the local people. He and Mary Bastian became the local contact for the Sri Lankan government appointed presidential committee to investigate Human Rights violations in the Mannar district.

Murder

According to Pax Christi, on 13 December 1984 he was requested by the army to give evidence on some of the matters he was reporting. Along with his driver Abdul Cader Sulaiman, his Sinhalese wife Brigette Jeyarajasingham and a

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

named Jesuthasan Roche attached to the Murunkan police station, he was allegedly stopped by

personnel while traveling from Mannar to Murunkan. The victims were shot dead at point blank range. The perpetrators later burnt the car and the victims' bodies along with the vehicle. Mary Bastian collected the remains of victims including Jeyarajasingham and handed them over to the Jeevothayam Methodist Center.

Notes

* The author of Speaking truth to power: the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, Fr. Pancras Jordan an

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priest and is a member of Pax Christi A non-profit, non-governmental Catholic peace movement working on a global scale on a wide variety of issues in the fields of human rights, security and peace. *The author of Sri Lanka: Untold Story, K.T.Rajasingham is a senior journalist from Sri LankaAsia Times Sri Lanka the untold story
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeyarajasingham, George 1984 deaths Assassinated Sri Lankan activists Deaths by firearm in Sri Lanka Methodist missionaries in Asia Minority rights activists People murdered in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Christian missionaries Sri Lankan Methodists Sri Lankan Tamil activists Year of birth missing Sri Lankan Tamil people 20th-century Methodist ministers Sri Lankan Christian clergy

Background

Murder

See also

Notes

References

External links