KEY POINTS:
Auckland's Sri Lankan Tamil community is reeling from shock at news of the killing of Catholic priest Father M.X. Karunaratnam in their home country last week.
This evening, the community will gather at Elim Church in Botany, where most funerals of the Mangatepopo Gorge drowning victims were held, for a memorial service in honour of the man fondly known to the community as Father Kili.
"To many Tamils, he is more than a man, and some even considered him a saint," said Donna Kalpagee, 46, an immigrant from Sri Lanka.
"Those who don't know him would have read about him and his fight for human rights for our people.
"The Army may think this is a victory for them, but we know Father Kili will now be shaking heaven for God's help to bring peace and human rights to Sri Lanka."
The Tamils are blaming the Sri Lankan military for the claymore mine attack, which killed the priest, who was also chairman of the country's Northeast Secretariat of Human Rights group. He is reported to be the third and most prominent member of the group to have been killed.
In Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been fighting since 1983 to carve out an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east.
Shortly after the death of the priest, the Army released a statement which "categorically and reservedly ridicules LTTE's blatant attempts to discredit and blame [the Army for] the murder of Father Karunaratnam".
The memorial will be at Elim because organisers didn't want an exclusively Catholic service.
