Civilians’ funerals to be held Sunday
[TamilNet, Saturday, 12 October 2002, 20:33 GMT]
The bodies of the three Tamil civilians killed in Friday’s gun and grenade attacks in Abeypura will be kept at the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall in front of Trincomalee harbour from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to allow people to pay their respects, sources said Saturday. Parliamentarians from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are expected to deliver eulogies. The funeral procession will commence at 3 p.m. to the Hindu cemetery.
Amidst tension in the wake of the killings, police will line the procession route to provide protection, sources said. On Saturday, the police strengthened security around the town particularly in areas where the attacks against Tamils had taken place. The attacks are however blamed on the predominantly Sinhala police and Sinhala paramilitaries. The Inspector General of Police has ordered an investigation into the attacks. Trincomalee Superintendent of Police Mr. Daya Samaraweera said that in addition to the 39 Tamil civilians injured in the grenade attacks on Friday, an Assistant Superintendent of Police and two other police personnel were also injured. Trincomalee, along with the rest of the northeast, was quiet as a general strike was observed. Black flags are being flown in many houses in the east port town. Businesses belonging to all communities were closed from Saturday noon in preparation for the funeral to be held on Sunday evening, sources said.
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Deserted Trincomalee town, Saturday.
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