Evicted Tamil trader files FR petition in Supreme Court

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 June 2007, 20:43 GMT]
A Tamil trader, one of several hundred Tamil civilians who was evicted from Colombo on June 7 by the Sri Lanka police filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court Tuesday seeking the court to pay compensation to the evictees and to ensure that such harassment and fundamental rights violation is not repeated in the future, legal sources said.

Counsel Mr.Vilanthi de Silva filed the petition on behalf Thambirajah Kanthasamy, a trader who lived in Colombo for the last fifteen years.

Inspector General of Police Mr.Victor Perera, Officer-in-Charge of the Wellawatte Police, Senior Superintendent of Police covering Colombo south region, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Mr.Mahinda Balasuriya, Defence Secretary Mr.Gothabaya Rajapakse and Attorney General are cited as respondents in the petition, sources said.

The petitioner states that he came to Colombo displaced from Jaffna due to war, have settled down in Colombo legally, and is engaged in business. He has two business establishments, one in Fort and other in Wellawatte.

A group of police personnel had entered his office at Wellawatte on June 7 early morning around 4.30 a.m. and forced him and his wife to board a bus. The police took them to Vavuniya the same day.

However they were brought back to Colombo again from Vavuniya on June 9 morning around 7.30 a.m. They suffered immensely during this period without proper food, water and unable to answer call of nature.

The respondents have blatantly violated fundamental rights of the petitioner, his wife and in large Tamils living in Colombo by expelling them without reasons. Hence the court should order compensation to the victims and ensure no repetition of such violation in future, Mr. Kanthasamy said in his petition.

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