Red Cross security clearance reinstated

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 April 1999, 12:10 GMT]
Mr. Sivanathan Kishore, a Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC) official said today that the body of Thuraihayagam Piruthugaa, a 5 year old girl, has been lying in the Vavuniya hospital mortuary for the last 4 days waiting to be transported to Puthukudiyiruppu in the LTTE controlled terittory.

Hospital sources said that the child was admitted to Vavuniya hospital on April 13 with Malaria, while she was on her way to Trincomalee with her mother.

She was transferred to Anuradhapura on the same day for further medical care and died there the following day.

SLRC officials said that the mother brought the body back to the Vavuniya hospital mortuary and she has since been awaiting security clearance for a SLRC vehicle to travel into LTTE held territory.

Meanwhile Mr.K.Ganesh, the Government Agent (GA) of Vavuniya, said today that the Sri Lanka Army has granted permission to the Vavuniya SLRC for the transportation of dead bodies into LTTE held territory.

On Saturday the SLA ordered a stop to all transport between the SLA and LTTE controlled areas.

The SLA announcement came after an attack on policemen at the forward defence lines of the 9th mile post junction at Uylankulam, east of Mannar, last Friday. Three policemen were killed in the incident.

According to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence, Sri Lankan Police Commandos shot dead at least five Liberation Tigers in the same area yesterday.