STF searches Kovil kulam area for weapon cache

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 March 2004, 11:12 GMT]
In Kovil Kulam, Vavuniya district, Sunday around 12 noon, Sri Lanka's Special Task Force (STF) soldiers, dug several areas using heavy machinery near the tomb stone of Uma Maheswaran, leader of Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), in search of weapon cache alleged to have been buried there, security sources said.

A spokesperson for PLOTE said that his organization strongly condemns the action of the STF for desecrating their Leader's burial ground without obtaining permission and without giving any prior warning.

STF soldiers who went to the said site in two jeeps and a heavy machinery spent nearly three hours looking for buried weapons, residents of Kovil Kulam who witnessed the actions of the STF said.

Following complaints from T.Siddharthan, present leader of PLOTE, to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and to the local SLA commander, the STF soldiers suspended their search and left the area, sources said.

STF refused to say where they obtained information on the alleged presence of weapons in Kovil Kulam.