Jaffna protests planned over truce breaches

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 June 2002, 06:32 GMT]
The Jaffna Humanitarian Organisations' Committee called on all residents in the peninsula to observe a day's strike on Wednesday in protest at the Sri Lankan government's reluctance to fulfil the requirements set out in the ceasefire accord it signed with the Liberation Tigers. The organisation appealed for all residents to remain in their homes to demonstrate the strength of their feeling.

The protest is against the severe effect on the Tamil fishing community of the Sri Lanka government’s refusal to end restrictions on their movement, the establishment of 'high security zones' in residential areas, the construction of new military bases, wanton destruction of palmyra and coconut palms, public roads still kept shut by the armed forces and harassment of the public by soldiers, the organisers said.



The hartal (general strike) is expected to bring the whole of the northern peninsula to a standstill, they said. Private and public institutions have also been asked to remain shut.

Head of the JHO Committee, Rt Rev Bernard, said plans were underway to expand the protests to the wider north and east in the near future. A meeting was held at Jaffna Central College to discuss plans for a series of protests, of which Wednesday's is the first. It was decided to hold various kinds of protests in the future.



Meanwhile, organisations linked to the preservation of palmyra palms have organised a demonstration on June 14 in Jaffna to against the Sri Lanka armed forces felling thousand of the palms to construct bunkers and defences. A march will set off from Nallur Murugan temple and a petition will be submitted to the Jaffna government agent and representatives of the Sri Lanka monitoring Mission.