Plantation workers on strike over police shootings

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 May 2004, 14:00 GMT]
Hundreds of thousands of plantation workers in the central province Monday went on a token strike, protesting against the killing of two Tamil youths, Mr.Weerasamy Jeyarajan and Alagan Wimalanathan, last Wednesday in Kandapola, when police opened fire following a traffic accident, sources said.

The main political party among the plantation workers, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), spearheaded the strike. Almost all the estate workers in the upcountry participated in the strike irrespective of trade union and political party affiliations.

Meanwhile, CWC President and former minister, Mr.Arumugam Thondaman, met with the President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, Sunday at Nuwara Eliya, and requested stern action against the police officials who were responsible for the killings of estate youths, sources said.

Several upcountry trade unions have charged that chauvinist elements in Police ranks were behind the shooting, sources said.