CTTU to protest against army presence near schools

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 March 2003, 01:58 GMT]
The twenty thousand member strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union (CTTU) Tuesday decided to hold a one day token strike on March 11 in the northeast province demanding the removal of the presence of government troops in the vicinity of schools. The protest will also highlight the delay in providing permanent appointment to about one thousand volunteer teachers in the northeast schools, said its general secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam.

The decision was taken at the emergency meeting of the CTTU executive committee held Tuesday evening at Trincomalee Vigneswara Maha Vidiyalayam. The CTTU President Mr.S.Thandauthapani presided.

The resolution passed at the executive committee further states, " the people of the northeast province are not enjoying the benefits of the ceasefire agreement. The presence of the government security forces close to schools in the northeast province has adversely affected teaching and learning . The state security forces should be removed from the vicinity of government schools immediately to create a conducive academic environment for students and teachers.

The resolution further condemns the authorities regarding the delay in providing permanent appointments to northeast volunteer teachers.

For these reasons the CTTU decided to hold a one day token strike on March 11, said CTTU general secretary Mr. T.Mahasivam.