Jaffna mothers protest over LAF inaction

[TamilNet, Friday, 24 December 2004, 14:13 GMT]
Members of the Jaffna Mothers Front and Association of Guardians of Disappeared Persons in Jaffna District held a protest Friday from morning till two p.m. in front of the office of the Legal Aid Foundation (LAF) which is located next to the Jaffna Magistrate Court expressing their deep regret for the inaction of the LAF for not providing legal assistance to pursue their Habeas Corpus applications in law courts in Jaffna against army officials in connection with several youths and girls who were reported missing after the arrest by the government troops during 1996-1997 period.



LAF Jaffna office was not opened during the time of the protest. About eighty mothers were seen seated in front of the LAF office.

One of the participant mother in the protest said,"LAF should provide free legal assistance to the petitioners who have filed HC ap plications. But the LAF administration in Jaffna is keeping silent when our HC applications are taken up for inquiry in courts".

However a State Counsel in Jaffna who is a Tamil appears for army officers who have been cited as respondents in our HC applications. But the LAF in Jaffna has not assigned any attorney-at-Law to appear on our behalf, she said.

About fifty Habeas Corpus applications are pending in the High Court and other courts in the Jaffna district in connection with the disappearance of persons in Jaffna during 1996-1997 period, legal sources said.