Civil society members meet SLA in Jaffna Bishop's House

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 April 2006, 10:35 GMT]
Representatives of the People's Committee for Peace and Goodwill (PCPG) and members of Jaffna NGOs consortium met with Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Senior officials at the House of Jaffna Bishop, Rev Fr Thomas Saundaranayagam at 11.30 a.m., Monday to explore ways to arrest the increasing violence in the district, civil society sources in Jaffna said.

Senior Military officer from Palaly Command, Col.Perera, and Jaffna Deputy Inspector General of Police attended the meeting.

Journalists were not allowed to cover the proceedings, sources from Jaffna said.

D.R.Arumainayagam, former Teacher at Hartley College and currently the President of PCPG, told TamilNet that they informed the security forces that there is widespread fear among the public that vehicles travelling at night are being shot at by the SLA and that residents of Jaffna municipal area are unable to take the sick to the Hospital. The Senior commander has responded that SLA does not have any restrictions in movement of personal vehicles and ambulances during night, Mr Arumainayagam said.

Sources attending the meeting also said that the SLA commanders told them that they will make public telephone numbers where public can call to obtain permission from the SLA before they travel during nights. If this procedure works in practice within the Jaffna Municipal district, SLA is planning to expand the procedures to the other parts of the Peninsula, the security officials have told the civil society members at the meeting.

The SLA officials also told the civil society members that the a a group with a hidden agenda to tarnish the image of the SLA is responsible for killling of civilians in Jaffna, and that if public can provide information, SLA soldiers can apprehend the killers, attendees to the meeting told TamilNet.

The meeting lasted two hours.