STF harassment increases in Amparai, says Kuyilinpan

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 25 January 2005, 13:08 GMT]
Political Head of the LTTE in Amparai, Mr. Kuyilinpan, told TamilNet Tuesday that the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) soldiers have stepped up their harassment against the LTTE workers who are assisting the Tsunami victims in Thirukkovil and Kalmuni areas. Civilians also have been harassed by the STF, Kuyilipan added.

He said that the SLMM officers had to interfere Tuesday to release a group of children between 4 to 12 years who were detained by the Police in Akkaraipatru for having gone for haircut. Volunteers in Akkariapattu have been helping these children to get ready to attend school.

The STF and the police have harassed the children for about six hours without giving them food coaxing them to report forced recruitment by the LTTE, said Kuyilinpan.

Upon hearing this, parents of the children rushed to the Police, argued with them and demanded that children be handed over to the volunteers, but the Police refused to do so without signatures from the parents, he said.

Parents had refused to sign any document.

Finally, SLMM officers had to interfere and hand over the children back to the volunteers.

''It is clear that the STF and the Police seem to be instructed to invent incidents for tarnishing the image of the LTTE,'' Kuilinpan said.

A nursing mother in the Batrim College welfare centre was attacked by STF personnel with a chair couple of days ago, and another civilian victim standing in a queue with a GS (Grama Sevakar) for getting ration card was also attacked by the STF personel, according to Kuyilinpan.

Asked about the reconstruction and relief efforts, he said it is only NGOs like ZOA and IOM that are setting up shelters for the people in the area. TRO is providing food to victims of all three communities, he said.

Amparai lost more than 12 000, he reminded.

Meanwhile, an LTTE cadre, Jeyathas, who was clearing debris inside a building in Komari in Amparai received severe head injuries Tuesday, said sources in Komari. The injured LTTE cadre is being treated by a team of foreign doctors stationed in that area, sources added.

Sources in Komari told that the LTTE rescue teams managed to recover four more bodies Monday.

Also, the LTTE activists who were setting up banners for Wednesdays mourning of the Tsunami victims are being subjected to harassment by the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) in Amparai, sources said.