Security Forces' harassment of civilians on the rise, SLMM told

[TamilNet, Friday, 01 April 2005, 14:16 GMT]
Citing a recent incident where a navy soldier had entered the house of a Tamil civilian and harassed and intimidated him under the pretext of holding inquiry, Mr.S.Elilan, Trincomalee district political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Friday requested the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in the east port town to take immediate steps to stop the intimidation and harassment of Tamil civilians by members of government security forces, sources in Trincomalee said.

Mr Elilan told the SLMM that harassment and intimidation carried out by government security forces should be considered as violation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the LTTE. These violations should not be condoned, he told the SLMM monitors in Trincomalee during a discussion, which lasted for about an hour, was held in the Trincomalee office of the SLMM Friday morning, LTTE sources said.

Mr.Elilan said he has requested the SLMM in Trincomalee to bring Vakarai division in the Batticaloa district under its monitoring as the LTTE Trincomalee district political secretariat is currently in charge of the Vakarai also.

Currently SLMM in Batticaloa district is in charge of Vakarai division, which is located on the southern border of Trincomalee district.