Curfew in hill town, three Tamils shot dead

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 April 2004, 07:30 GMT]
Three Tamils were killed and four were wounded when Police opened fire on crowds in Kandapola, 16 kilomtres from Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka's main hill country town and holiday resort, on Wednesday night. Curfew has been declared in the area following clashes between Tamils and Sinhalese which flared up late Wednesday afternoon over a vehicle accident in Kandapola. A senior Tamil MP of the Ceylon Workers' Congress slammed the Police for precipitating the communal violence. "The Police acted in a very partial manner", he said. Fourteen Tamil shops in Kandapola were smashed up and ransacked.

Four shops, a bar and a Petrol station belonging to Sinhalese were damaged by Tamils in retaliation.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha visited the area Thursday morning and called for calm.

Workers in and around the Kandapola area went on strike Thurday in protest against the Police action.

An estate labourer identified as Jeyaram, 42 was killed when Police opened fire on a group of workers at Portswood Estate near Kandapola.

A person identified as was killed when Police opened fire on workers at Park Estate. A worker identified as mahendran was wounded.

The Kandapola area remains tense, Police sources said.