TELO funeral in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 May 1999, 08:49 GMT]
The funeral of Kugan, the TELO central committee member and district military leader, took place in Vavuniya today.

Vavuniya town was deserted and all shops including pharmacies and communication were closed as owners and employers had been told not to open today.

Although government officials had said that TELO members had agreed to keep the town open till 11.00 a.m. most shops remained closed all day as TELO members went about the town decorating junctions and trees for the funeral while the Police and SLA looked on.

Schools functioned as normal but attendance was reduced while government offices functioned as normal.

Government officials in Vavuniya said that the food convoy to the Vanni had been stopped due to the tense situation prevailing in the area.