SLA soldiers chase out tourists from Katkovalam beach

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 August 2004, 15:36 GMT]
Soldiers located in the Katkovalam beach in Vadamaradchchi division Saturday chased out several local tourists who went there to enjoy their weekend, civil sources said.

Local residents from various parts of the peninsula are used to visit the Katkovalam sea beach during the weekend.

As usual, several local residents went to the beach Saturday morning.

One lieutenant grade soldier ordered the visitors to leave the place immediately for security reasons, sources said.

The soldier replied to queries by some tourists that he was acting on the orders of his superiors.

Tension prevailed when this soldier physically attempted to push a Jaffna university student from the beach when he refused to leave the beach.

The soldier left the place as people started to gather at the site, sources said.