COLOMBO, Dec 2: A Sri Lankan bishop has called upon the Indian government to pressure the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam into releasing “thousands of Tamil non-combatants held hostage in the northern region”.

Rev Thomas Savundaranayagam, a Catholic whose diocese extends to the conflict-ridden Wanni region, told a newspaper in an interview that he had sought the help of pro-LTTE legislators of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to persuade the Indian government to use its influence with the LTTE for securing the release of the non-combatants.

Rev Savundaranayagam said that 250,000 people had taken refuge in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu after having been driven out of their homes in Wanni since the military operation began in 2006.

“The people are anxious to flee the war zone for survival. But they are unable to do so for two reasons. One of them is the LTTE is not allowing them to go. The other is the fear that security forces may imprison them on suspicions of links with the LTTE,” the bishop said.

The Sri Lankan government has offered refuge to Tamil civilians in “No Fire Zones” created by it, but only a few hundred civilians have been able to make use of the offer because they have not been permitted by the LTTE to leave their areas.

“The church and I are very concerned about the sufferings of the people. They have no shelter and no security whatsoever. The current torrential rains have made life unbearable. Many of the displaced have left their homes more than once in the past few months,” Thomas Savundaranayagam said.