SLA refuses permission for JHU parliamentarians to go to Mavilaru

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 July 2006, 12:12 GMT]
Venerable Athureliya Ratana Thera, parliamentary group leader of the all monks' party, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) along with a fellow parliamentarian Venerable Akmeemana Dayaratna Thera began a hunger strike at Kallaru junction on Allai-Kantalai road Friday morning around 9.30 a.m. when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) refused permission for them to go to the controversial Mavilaru area to reopen the closed sluice gate. About a hundred Sinhalese civilians with two more Buddhist months have also joined the fasting, civil sources said.

The SLA troopers at Kallaru camp stopped the JHU parliamentarians when they arrived on a mission to visit to Mavilaru. SLA authorities told JHU leaders that they would not be allowed to proceed to Mavilaru area, sources said.

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has closed 70 km long Kantalai-Allai road which is the sole land route for Muttur and Eachilampathu division in the down south of the district from Trincomalee and other outstations for traffic following the fasting campaign and tension due to fighting between the SLA troops and LTTE cadres close to Mavilaru sluice gate area, sources said.

Meanwhile reports from Serunuwara said that troops of the Sri Lanka Army have withdrawn to their station following heavy mortar attack by the LTTE fighters when the government troopers attempted to advance towards the Mavilaru sluice gate Thursday morning with the air cover.

In the meantime, SLA have tightened their security in Trincomalee town and its suburbs following the volatile situation in the district due to aerial attack on villages in the LTTE controlled Eachchilampathu, Vaharai and Muttur east over the stoppage of water through Mavilaru sluice gate, sources said.