Kerala expressed profound gratitude to all those who worked for the rescue and release on Tuesday of Catholic priest Fr Tom Uzhunnalil from the captivity of the Islamic State (ISIS) which had abducted him on March 4, 2016 in war-torn Yemen.
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church celebrated Fr Uzhunnalil’s rescue from Yemen with special thanks-giving prayers at its churches. The priest belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church’s Pala Diocese in Kottayam district and hails from Ramapuram in the same district.
“The Catholic Church conveys its gratitude to all those who had taken pains to make Fr Uzhunnalil’s release a reality. I thank the Indian and Oman governments. We also thank External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Yemen authorities,” said Archbishop M Soosapakyam.
Expressing joy over the priest’s release, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Every help would be extended for bringing him back to Kerala and for providing necessary follow-up treatment.” The Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution in May to put pressure on the Centre to enhance efforts for the priest’s release.
Relief and joy filled the atmosphere in Ramapuram, the priest’s native village. “We are immensely happy and relieved. We had spent the past one-and-a-half years in tension. We thank all the parties and people who had worked for the father’s release. External Affairs Minister Sushma had assured us that top priority would be given to this case,” said Mathew Uzhunnalil, the priest’s brother.
Union Minister of State Alphonse Kannanthanam, who also hails from Kottayam, told the media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj had been interacting with all the concerned for making the priest’s release possible.
“Entire Kerala has been waiting for this happy news for the past 18 months,” said former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. PNS
He thanked Minister Swaraj, the Bishop’s House in Abu Dhabi and the Oman Government for their efforts to rescue Fr Uzhunnalil. “We are indebted to the Government of Oman,” he added.
“The BJP shares the joy over the release of Fr Uzhunnalil,” said State BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan. “This is the result of the sincere efforts of the Narendra Modi Government and the External Affairs Minister. I myself had taken up the issue of the priest’s release with Sushma Swaraj several times,” he said.