SLN arrests 70 Trinco Tamils in Talaimannar coast

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 September 2006, 11:04 GMT]
Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Thursday evening arrested seventy members of seventeen Tamil families from Trincomalee district when they were waiting for fishing boats along the coast of Talaimannar to flee to South India, civil sources in Mannar said. The SLN also arrested two boatmen who were to take the refugees by Mannar Sea. The arrested civilians were handed over to Talaimannar Police for inquiry by the SLN, police sources said.

24 men, 19 women and 27 children were in the arrested group of civilians, police said.

Talaimannar Police Friday produced the refugees and boatmen in Mannar District Court.

Additional Judge Mr.T.J.Pirapaharan discharged all the refugees and directed the Registrar to hand over them to the Village Level Officer in Mannar.

However the court ordered remand till September 18 for the two boatmen, legal sources said.