SL-AG Department finds new excuses to dodge hunger-striking TPPs demands

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 03 October 2018, 15:07 GMT]
SL Attorney General's Department has told TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran that it would not be considering the demands of three of the twelve hunger-striking Tamil political prisoners at Anuradhapura prison at all. The families of the TPPs said the explanation given by the SL-AG was illogical and condemned the TNA for passively tolerating the Colombo establishment citing ongoing disputes between the SL President Maithiripala Sirisena's UPFA and the UNP led by SL Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe.

Sulaxan Mathiyarasan from Kara’navaay North in Vadamaraadchi, Jaffna, Rasathurai Thiruvarul from 6th Division, Vela’nai West, Jaffna and Ganeshan Tharshan from Navalap-piddi, Kandy went on hunger strikes earlier demanding their cases to be transferred to Vavuniyaa, and that demand had been already met, the SL-AG Department has told the TNA MP.

The three hunger-strikers were already agitating for their release or quick processing of the cases as their cases were based upon confessions “obtained” in Sinhala through torture. The AG Department transferred the cases to Anuradhapura as it feared that the cases could be dismissed if the Tamil judges in Vavuniyaa heard them. Then, the protesters demanded their cases to be transferred back to Vavuniyaa. That doesn't mean that their demand of release or quick processing as resolved, the families said.

Former TNA Parliamentarian and the leader of the EPRLF Suresh Premachandran said the TNA should have at least secured the public opinion of the UNP in favour of TPPs demands.

The TNA provided its support to the UNP when SL Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe faced a no-confidence motion in the SL Parliament.

Furthermore, the TNA personalities were saying that the alliance had reached an informal 10-point agreement with the UNP and that one of the items was about speedy action on meeting TPPs demands. However, nothing was delivered, Mr Premachandran said.

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