Oblate Father Michael Rodrigo was 60 when an unknown gunman shot him from close range while he was offering a Holy Mass at Buttala in Uva province.
The call for the fresh probe came as Catholics, Buddhists, and rights activists gathered at the spot of the priest’s murder on his 38th death anniversary.
They said the successive governments in the past four decades had ignored the demand for a probe that would identify the murderer for political reasons.
The political atmosphere has changed, and the first communist-led government coming to power in September 2024 has a duty to reinvestigate the murder, they said.
The then government accused the priest, who advocated for the rights of villager farmers, of supporting the banned leftist political party — Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (National People’s Power or JVP) — which now rules the country, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
“Nothing prevents the present government from tracking down those responsible for this assassination and punishing them, which would also be a lesson and deterrent against recurrence in the future,” Mary Welgama, secretary of rights group Stand Together.
The military was behind the killing of the priest, Welgama, 54, told UCA News.
According to her, a military officer threatened the priest, accusing him of being involved with the young wing of the banned JVP and warned of consequences, she alleged.
Ruwan Attapattu, a Buddhist from Badulla, said his father and relatives had worked closely with the priest on farmers’ struggles.
“This was a political murder because the priest defended poor farmers, and all responsible must be brought to court, punished, and fresh investigations started immediately to set an example,” Attapattu told UCA News.
Welgama said the priest drew the ire of a sugar company in Buttala after he organized people against the factory, which destroyed the trees and streams and deprived local farmers of their farmland.
The JVP, following an armed insurrection to overthrow the government, was banned and moved underground to avoid a security crackdown. Both the JVP armed cadres and security forces accused each other of arbitrary killings and rights violations during the bloody fighting that lasted for about two years.
Rodrigo’s murder site has now become a pilgrimage spot with hundreds visiting it on his death anniversary, Nov. 10.
Ajith Hadly Perera, a Catholic who joined the commemoration, said the priest chose to “live among the poor, making their mud house his humble residence," he told UCA News.