Parts of abandoned vehicles in Vanni sold with SLA connivance

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 July 2010, 05:54 GMT]
Parts of thousands of vehicles left abandoned by fleeing Vanni civilians during the final days of the war are dismantled by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and officers and sold to Sinhalese and Muslim traders from South, a Tamil trader who had bought such a spare part for his heavy vehicle told TamilNet. The dismantled parts are available for sale in most of the SLA bases along A9 road as well as in some SLA sentry post, he said. SLA soldiers and their officers are alleged to be making millions of rupees in this lucrative enterprise.

The Tamil trader said that he could get the expensive part for his heavy vehicle within an hour in exchange of a hundred thousand rupees.

SLA soldiers dismantle parts of the abandoned vehicles, particularly in the places not allowed for resettlement in Vanni and sell them to Muslim and Sinhalese traders from Anuradapura and Puththa’lam who are allowed into these areas freely by the SLA.

Earlier, government authorities had announced that the abandoned vehicles will be given to the owners and had kept some of them for view for the people to claim their vehicles.

Only around thirty percent of the above vehicles were returned as most of the owners of the vehicles had lost their ownership documents or other evidence during the war.

Besides, the number of abandoned vehicles still lying in the interior of Vanni is said to be ten to twelve times more than what was placed for claiming.

Meanwhile, it is alleged that a ruling party minister had already taken expensive heavy vehicles left abandoned in Vanni and sold them in the South immediately after the end of war on Vanni.