2ND LEAD (Title change)

Normalcy not possible without students' release, SLA Commander told

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 May 2007, 00:19 GMT]
"Immediate release of the abducted students is the only way to bring Jaffna peninsula educational activities back to normalcy," Jaffna Bishop Rt. Rev. Thomas Savundaranayagam said in a special meeting held Wednesday around 3:30 p.m between representatives of Peoples Committee for Peace and Goodwill (PCPG) and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Jaffna Commander Maj. Gen. G. A. Chandrasiri inside the Palaali High Security Zone. The meeting lasted more than two hours.

Former Vice-chancellor Prof. P. Balasundarampillai and Mr. S. Paramanathan, representative of the Federation of Public Organizations participated in the meeting, sources in Jaffna said.

The discussions focussed on the aggravating situation in Jaffna peninsula caused by the abduction of four high school students and the death notices issued to Jaffna University staff, students and some principals of schools allegedly by SLA troopers, sources close to the attendees said.

"The educational activities of Jaffna University, resumed after much effort, face the risk of stalling completely due to the death threats made to the University community and unless immediate action is taken matters will worsen," Rev. Bishop told the SLA Commander, the sources added.

The attendees also explored ways to remedy the situation, PCPG representatives said.

Legal Advisor to Human Rights Commission Mudiyapu Remedius raised the same issues with the SLA commander in a similar meeting held Tuesday.

Situation in Jaffna peninsula remains tense and volatile as the student community continues boycott.

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