General shut in NE against EPDP atrocity

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 November 2001, 08:32 GMT]
Schools, shops, government offices and banks were closed in the districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna in response to a call by the Tamil National Alliance for a general shut down in the north and east to protest against the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a major coalition partner of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's regime, for killing two civilians and attacking and grievously wounding four TNA candidates in Kayts, an island off the northern peninsula.

A military trained Policemen standing in the balcony of the shop complex above the Vavuniya main bus station. (TamilNet Library photo)

Many people in Jaffna wore black bands and the few vehicles which plied the roads Thursday flew black flags as a mark of protest against the EPDP. Police sources in Jaffna said that no one has been arrested in connection with the assault and murder despite the attackers being identified by the victims.

A senior Police official in then north said that special orders were issued from Colombo, discouraging the Police in Kayts from making arrests and pursuing the complaints by the victims.

In Trincomalee, shops and businesses belonging to Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese were shut down for the TNA Hartaal (general shut down). Banks, Schools and government and provincial council offices were closed.

In Batticaloa, candidates of the TNA, led by Mr. Joseph Parajasingham, held a protest meeting in the heart of the Batticaloa town. The protestors marched from the TNA propaganda office on Lloyds Avenue in the eastern town to the Ghandi Square and demonstrated against the EPDP's atrocities in Jaffna.