Trade unions hold May Day rallies in Jaffna, Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 May 2005, 13:59 GMT]
Tamil speaking trade unions under one wing held May rallies followed by processions in Jaffna and Trincomalee Sunday with large number of trade union activists participating. Marchers carried photograph of journalist Mr.D.Sivaram who was brutally killed in Colombo last Thursday.

In Jaffna procession commenced from Nallur Kandasamy Temple and concluded at Jaffna Medical Faculty grounds. Thereafter a public meeting was held. Jaffna district parliamentarians Mr.K.Sivanesan and Mr.M.K.Sivajilingam participated.

Mr.C.Ilamparithi, Jaffna district LTTE head made the keynote address.

Trincomalee May Day procession commences from Uppuveli junction.

In Trincomalee seventeen floats depicting the sufferings of the tsunami victims, refugees struggling without proper shelter and other basic facilities were taken in the May Day procession.

Large number of people from Thampalakamam, Salli, Sambalthivu, Alles garden, Nithiyapuri, Pallathoddam, Thirukadaloor and other suburbs of the east port town participated in the procession and the rally.

They carried placards reiterating that the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) should sign an agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to establish a Joint Mechanism (JM) to reconstruct the tsunami devastated coastal areas of the northeast, sources said.

Motor cycle parade in front of the May Day procession.

Later a public meeting was held in the Trincomalee esplanade with Mr.V.Vigneswaran in the chair. Mr.K.Thurairatnasingham Trincomalee district parliamentarian, Mr.Puratchi, LTTE Trincomalee Students Wing Head and several others also spoke. The security of Trincomalee town and the procession route was strengthened.




Large number of women participated in the procession.






A float depicting the suffering of tsunami victims in temporary shelters.