Vanni teachers' sit-in-protest in Jaffna continues

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 June 2007, 06:16 GMT]
The sit-in-protest launched Tuesday by Vanni Teachers in front of Jaffna Education Office and the Additional Provincial Director's office continued Friday, extending to include Northern Provincial Council's Co-ordinating office located in front of Jaffna Secretariat, stalling work at all three offices. The spokesman for the agitators said that their sit-in-protest will cover all other Education offices in Jaffna from Monday if their demands are not met.

More than a hundred male and female teachers from Vanni, currently stranded in Jaffna peninsula when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) closed A9 route in August 2006, staged a sit-in-protest in front of the Jaffna Education Office and the Additional Provincial Director's office located near Muththiraichchanthi in Nalloor Tuesday, demanding temporary places of work within Jaffna peninsula.

The sit-in-protest continued throughout the week, blocking routine work at the two offices.

Attempts by members of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and officials from Northern Provincial Council to dissuade the agitators to suspend the protest failed, sources in Jaffna said.

"The assurances made by the Jaffna Sri Lanka Army Commander to accede to our requests had not been kept and therefore we are not prepared to be deceived a second time," the spokesman for the agitators told the media Wednesday.

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