SLA refuses permission to Jaffna University students in camps to attend lectures

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 September 2009, 10:15 GMT]
Despite efforts made by Jaffna University Students’ Union (JUSU), University Administration and other interested parties, Sri Lanka Army (SLA) continues to detain 74 university students from Vanni districts held in the internment camps in Vavuniyaa and brought to Jaffna, in the SLA detention camp in Kaithadi, a press notice released by the JUSU said. JUSU accused the government for its continued reluctance to allow the detained undergrads to attend university, in the press notice.

Meanwhile, 534 IDPs including 34 Jaffna University Students said to be originally from the islets of Jaffna and brought to Jaffna Saturday by SLA through A9 route from Vavuniyaa have been handed over to Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) which has the islets of Jaffna under its control.

The 34 university students are being held in Thenmaraadchi SLA internment camps while the 500 IDPs were taken to the islets of Jaffna and subjected to severe interrogation.

Some of them have been located in the houses abandoned by their owners in the islets who had fled during 1990 SLA offensives.

A limited number of IDPs brought from Vavuniyaa and again detained in the SLA internment camps in Thenmaraadchi, are being settled in their houses and abandoned houses by the SLN, sources in Jaffna said.

These houses, however, are located in areas which are close to SLN camps and under their direct control, the sources added.