Mass graves road closed

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
"Why is the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) keeping the Kaithady-Nallur Road passing through Chemmani closed? This has led to suspicion and unease in the Jaffna public, and the SLA should take steps to open it as early as possible" said a resolution passed by People's Power Forum (PPF), a civic organisation in Jaffna, headed by former Jaffna Municipal Commissioner, Mr. C. V. K. Sivagnanam, when it met on Sunday.

Chemmani shot into prominence suddenly, when the first accused in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy rape and murder trial told court that the bodies of 400 people murdered by the SLA after taking control of Jaffna in late 1995 were buried there.

With the closure of the Kaithady-Nallur Road there is no movement of civilians in the Chemmani area, said sources in Jaffna.

The PPF also passed a resolution critical of the across the board cut of 36% in the provision of relief to displaced families by the Commissioner General of Essential Services.

The resolution said that in the event such a cut was recommended, the authorities should have calculated which divisional secretary areas with refugees would be more affected than others by the cutbacks, and modified the programme accordingly.

The PPF also adopted a resolution condemning Sri Lanka Government (SLG) institutions such as the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) and the Building Materials Corporation (BMC) which are meant to provide goods and material directly to the public, for releasing their stocks to traders instead, who sell them in the open market, said sources.

The PPF is a civic organisation which takes up public issues and has been rendering sterling service to the Jaffna public after the SLA captured the area in Operation Riviresa and the subsequent migration of Tamils out of the Peninsula, said sources.

Related Articles:
01.08.98   Police to investigate mass graves