Delft youth barred from Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Youth below the age of 25 are not permitted to travel to the Jaffna peninsula from the Delft, an island off Jaffna's northwestern coast, except for emergencies, said sources in Jaffna.

The new regulations, which are in operation from Monday, have been instituted because the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) suspects that young persons from Delft, on the pretext of coming to Jaffna, join the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Pungudutheevu, another island off the northwestern coast of Jaffna.

The route from Delft to the Jaffna peninsula touches Pungudutheevu, large parts of which is controlled by the LTTE.

SLA will make exceptions if the young people have to go to Jaffna for medical treatment, sources said. The youngsters, however, have to obtain permission of the Grama Seveka of the area where they are resident and be accompanied by their parents for the journey.

Travel from the islands to the peninsula, has to be sanctioned by military authorities as a matter of routine.

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