Mary Bastian (1948 – 6 January 1985) was a

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 activist and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest. He was shot and killed along with 10 other civilians on January 6, 1985, during the Sri Lankan Civil War, allegedly 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 ...

Biography

Mary Bastian born in Ilavalai in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

district was ordained as a priest in the year 1975. He served as

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

first at

Manipay Manipay or Maanippaai () is a town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. The original name of Manipay is Periyapulam. It was a mission location when the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) came to Sri Lanka in the 19th century. Dr. Samuel Fisk ...

and later in Murunkan and

Madhu Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/médʰu, ''*médʰu'', whenc ...

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district ** Mannar Bridge, a bridge conne ...

district.

Background

During military offensives by the

in 1984 as part of the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war in

region, Bastian and

George Jeyarajasingham George Jeyarajasingham (died 13 December 1984) 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 13 December 1984 when they were traveling ...

became the focal point of

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 ...

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 was also the local contact for the Sri Lankan government appointed presidential committee to investigate Human Rights violations in the Mannar district. Jeyarajasingham of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

was shot dead on December 13, 1984, when he was traveling in his vehicle. Later his body was burnt along with his vehicle. Bastian had collected the remains of victims including Jeyarajasingham and handed them to the Jeevothayam Methodist Centre.

Death

On 6 January 1985, Bastian along with 10 others were shot allegedly by the

personnel, point blank range in front of the local

St. Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's na ...

's church.

Reactions

Sri Lankan Government

The National Security Minister denied that his forces had killed Bastian. The spokesperson was quoted as saying On January 9, the government owned Daily News reported that, according to the Minister of National Security

Lalith Athulathmudali Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC (; 26 November 1936 – 23 April 1993), known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Sh ...

, Bastian's body had not been found and arms and ammunition were found in the church, which the government alleged was used as a terrorist base. The minister was quoted as saying that the police had spied on Bastian getting into a boat and going across to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Later in a report to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, the Sri Lankan government claimed that the body of Bastian was found but the state was not involved in his murder.

Catholic Church

In a statement, reported in the Sun on January 8, Marcus Fernando, then Bishop of Chillaw and the president of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka is the episcopal conference of Sri Lanka. As of June 2022 the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka is Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurunega ...

, said that reports reaching the Catholic Bishops' Conference indicated that the shooting was an unprovoked

attack on the church and the incumbent. On January 8, Thomas Savundranayagam, the then Bishop of Mannar, in a statement to the strongly protested the insinuation by the government that arms were found in the church and he also accused the military of complicity in the murder of Father Mary Bastian. He was quoted as saying

Amnesty International

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

human rights watchdog, in its report stated,

Memorial

The people of Vankalai later erected a statue of Mary Bastian in the compound of St Anne's Church in his memory.

Notes

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

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest and is a member of

Pax Christi Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global insecurity". History ...

, 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 Lanka

References

External links

Another family wiped out in Vankalai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastian, Mary 1948 births 1985 deaths Sri Lankan Tamil people Minority rights activists Assassinated Sri Lankan activists Deaths by firearm in Sri Lanka 20th-century Sri Lankan Roman Catholic priests People murdered in Sri Lanka 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs