SLA urged to stop environmental destruction

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 May 2002, 17:43 GMT]
The Bishop of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India, Rt. Rev. S.Jebanesan, Friday appealed to the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army to take immediate steps to stop wanton destruction of coconut and Palmyra trees in the Jaffna district for military purposes.

The Bishop's appeal follows reports that army personnel deployed in Kachchai, Allarai, Ketpali and Vadamaradchi in Jaffna district are engaged in cutting coconut and Palmyra trees to strengthen their camps and check posts.

The Bishop in a letter to the SLA Commander Lt.General Lionel Balagalle states, "the mass scale destruction of coconut and Palmyra trees will cause immense damage to the natural environment of the Jaffna peninsula in the long run."

"Palmyra and coconut trees play a vital role in the economic development of the North. Hence the destruction of these resources will make a permanent dent in the economic stability of the rural people in the district," said a social activist in Jaffna.