News in Brief:

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 January 1999, 00:34 GMT]
Sri Lanka sets aside jobs and school places for relatives of members of its security forces as telecom workers strike over assault on Union leader.

Reserved jobs, school places for soldiers' family

The Sri Lankan Cabinet decided today to allocate 5 percent of the government appointments to family members of the Sri Lankan security forces (including the Police), who have served over 5 years in areas affected by the war, and 5 percent of the enrollment places in leading schools to their children.

Yesterday, the Sri Lankan President established a fund and an authority to look after the welfare of the families of Sri Lankan security personnel that are said to be living in poverty.

A press release from the Presidential secretariat said that the special authority would establish branches in all the districts to look into the needs and problems of these families.

The first branch of this office will be opened in Chilaw on January 18, the second in Mathara and the third in Gampaha on February 15.

Branches will be opened also in Kurunagalle, Hambantota and Anuradhapura.

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Youths arrested, union members demonstrate

Sri Lankan Police arrested 20 Tamil youths, working in shops, in Pettah in Colombo this evening. They were arrested because the shop owners had not informed the Police that they were working there, claimed Police sources.

However the youths had registered themselves with the Sri Lankan Police to live in Colombo.

Meanwhile at least 200 union members among employees of Sri Lankan Teleom staged a demonstration today protesting against the attack on Union leader Bradman De Alwis by unidentified armed men last week.