Kinniya Tamil families seek refuge at welfare center

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 November 2003, 00:01 GMT]
More than one hundred Tamil families in the Kinniya division in the Trincomalee district have sought refuge in the Eechantivu welfare center when a group of Muslim youths blocked the Kinniya co-operative society from distributing relief as ordered by the Trincomalee district Government Agent, civil group sources said.

The sources said that on the instructions of the Trincomalee Government Agent, Sri Lanka Army personnel later completed a humanitarian operation to supply dry rations and essential food items to the Tamil families.

With the killings of two Muslims, one at Faizal Nagar and other at Kachchaikoditivu in Kinniya division about two weeks' back, a group of youths had told Muslim traders in the Kinniya area not to sell any provisions to Tamil families. Hence families from the two Tamil villages, Alankerni and Eachchantivu, fled and sought refuge in the welfare center located at the Tamil school there and appealed to the government authorities to supply food and other items for their existence, civil sources said

On the instruction by the Trincomalee Government Agent, lorry loads of dry rations and other essential food items were transported to the Kinniya co-operative society on Thursday afternoon as the two Tamil villages come under the Kinniya division and are also in the Sri Lanka government controlled areas.

When the Kinniya MPCS officials made arrangements to distribute food items to Tamil villages with the escort of police, a group of youths surrounded and threatened the MPCS officials not to distribute the relief to Tamil villagers. As the police deployed to provide security did not take any steps to help the Kinniya MPCS to distribute the relief, the goods had been brought back to Trincomalee town.

Thereafter the Government Agent sought the help of the Sri Lanka Army to transport the food items to Eachchantivu where the Tamil villages have been staying in the welfare center.

Under the direction of Major Attapattu, civil administrative officer of the SLA on Friday afternoon, a consignment of food items supplied by the Trincomalee MPCS had been taken in army trucks instead of Trincomalee MPCS lorries to avoid to any disruption on their way to the affected Tamil villages.

Once again, a group of persons gathered midway and blocked the transport of food items by SLA through the Thampalakamam route. The group is said to have told the army officials that they would not allow such transport of food items to people in areas held by LTTE. But the army officials replied that the said Tamil villages are located in the Sri Lanka government controlled areas and thwarted the attempt to stop them. Thereafter SLA trucks under the direction of Major Attapattu proceeded to the Tamil villages and distributed food items to Tamil refugees who had been deprived of the provisions several days due to civil disturbances, civil groups said.