News in Brief:
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 December 1998, 10:45 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Policeman was killed in an ambush by the Liberation Tigers in Mannar this morning, cash shortage delays Jaffna policemen's salary and Eastern teachers say Tamil is neglected in their training program.
Policeman killedA Sri Lankan policeman was killed and two wounded when the Liberation Tigers ambushed a police unit, on Mannar island at 10.30 a.m. this morning, said police sources.
The policemen were traveling in a tractor, at Vangaaliapaadu, about 2 km. from Pesalai.
The dead policeman has been identified as Ajith.
The wounded have been airlifted to Anuradhapura hospital, the sources added.
Meanwhile the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio said this morning that two Liberation Tigers, Puthuvai and Mathan, were killed on Sunday, December 13 in a confrontation with the Sri Lankan Army.
Another member, Thamilnila, was killed in an accidental explosion on the same day at Mankulam, the radio added.
Cash shortage delays salary paymentA Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldier, identified as Marikar Rafeek, from Ampara, who was stationed in Jaffna has been reported missing by his father to the Human Rights Commission.
The father said that he had not heard from his son since he went for duties to Jaffna on May 16 this year.
Meanwhile bank officials in Jaffna said that they could not realise the salary cheques the policemen in Jaffna have received as there is a shortage of cash.
The policemen, who normally receive their salaries on the 15th of every month, were to receive the December salary on the 10th, and cheques have been sent to them.
According to a bank official in the peninsula, the total amount of salary paid to the policemen in Jaffna is 400,000 Rupees per month.
Tamil neglected say teachersTamil teachers, who attended a teacher's training program at the D.S.Senanayake College in Ampara, have complained to the authorities that classes were held in Sinhala only. They had previously been told that classes would also be held in Tamil.
The training program for teachers in "Health studies and Physical Training" was held from the 10th to the 14th of December. Among the 78 teachers from Batticaloa, Kalmunai and Ampara, who attended the program, 35 were Tamils.
The Teachers said that the authorities provided translations only after they protested. However, the standard of the translation was very poor, they added.
They further said that some of the Tamil teachers had to leave the course due to language problems.
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