SLA trooper assaults NGO staffer in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 February 2008, 15:03 GMT]
A female Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier denuded and assaulted a female Non-government Organization (NGO) staffer coming from the islets of Jaffna at the SLA check post at Pa’n’nai Bridge entry point early this week, according to a complaint made to the SLA High Command in Jaffna. The staffer from World Vision was on her way to participate in an NGO work-shop and had photos and an article related to tsunami disaster in Allaipiddy in her possession when the said female SLA troop checked her.

The female NGO staffer was in a bus from the islets of Jaffna when the incident occurred.

The SLA trooper allegedly took the NGO staffer inside the SLA sentry enclosure at Pa’n’nai Bridge entry point to Jaffna town and had her clothes removed for checking.

The said SLA female troop also hit the NGO staffer with her rifle butt while pouring insult, the complaint said.

The staffers of World Vision NGO in Jaffna town who look after the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from Allaipiddi in the islets of Jaffna have also been harassed twice in the recent past at SLA check posts, NGO sources said.

The UN and local NGO staffers encounter harassment at SLA check posts, particularly those at the entry points of places like the islets of Jaffna, tsunami affected areas in Vadmaraadchi and Thenmaraadchi in Jaffna peninsula.

Details of the residences and other particulars of all local staffers attached to UN NGOs in the peninsula are given to SLA Palaali Head Quarters to obtain prior SLA clearance to work for the UN NGOs.