2ND LEAD

Colombo remembers Alfred Duraiappa, setting hands of the clock backwards

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 July 2009, 17:45 GMT]
Ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) observed the 34th death anniversary of assassinated Alfred Duraippa, former Mayor of Jaffna, Thursday at his grave in Alfred Duraippa Stadium in Jaffna, sources in Jaffna said. Sri Lankan Minister of Vocational and Technical Training, Piyasena Gamage, and the former Chief Minister of Western Provincial Council, Reginald Cooray and other prominent members of SLFP laid flowers at the grave and garlanded the memorial monument, the sources added.

Around a hundred SLFP supporters attended the above event and later a meeting in memory of Alfred Duraippa was held in the SLFP office, located on Veambadi Road in Jaffna town.

Alfred Duraippa’s grave which had lain unattended for years had been renovated recently in view of the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election.

Sri Lanka government said that it would bring back Alfred Duraippa’s rule in JMC in the election.

Alfred Duraiappah was shot and killed in 1975 by the LTTE for collaboration with Colombo government on many issues including his opposition to the 4th International Tamil Conference in Jaffna and his handling of a journalist who exposed some affairs of Anura Bandaranaike. The journalist's 2-year-old daughter was permanently crippled in the incident.