TELO accused of extortion

[TamilNet, Monday, 06 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
In response to a complaint made by the public that members of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) were indulging in extortion and other corrupt practices in Jaffna, Brigadier Susantha Mendis, Brigade Commander, Jaffna Town, said today, that he will not allow any orgainsation to engage in lawlessness, said sources in Jaffna.

He met members of the Jaffna citizens committee at his office in Jaffna town, and told them that if the miscreants were identified, he could deal with them under the law.

The conduct of TELO in Jaffna has come under criticism before, but TELO has maintained that reports of misconduct of its members were not true.

It attributed the reports to mischief makers in rival political parties spreading rumours to discredit it.