Trinco Tamil students boycott schools protesting army presence

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 August 2005, 10:12 GMT]
Tamil medium schools in the Trincomalee town did not function Monday when students boycotted their classes in a token protest to the presence of soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the Sri Lanka Police surrounding their institutions in large number, TamilNet sources said.

The Trincomalee District Tamil Students Forum (TDTSF) organized the boycott.

Trincomalee has become a garrisoned city since the erection of a Buddha statue in a land belonged to the Urban Council in the close vicinity of the central bus terminal, in May 2005.

Trincomalee District Tamil People's Forum (TDTPF) organized a general shut down, demanding the immediate removal of the statue. Thereafter the government deployed troops in the town in large number.

Mr.R.Sampanthan, Trincomalee district parliamentarian and TDTPF appealed to the Sri Lankan government to reduce the number of troops in the town. The government failed to keep up its promise given to Mr.Sampanthan and TDTPF at three rounds of talks held in this regard to reduce the number of troops in the town to minimum, sources said.

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