CWC meeting disrupted

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 May 1999, 16:42 GMT]
The Sinhala Veera Vidhaana, an extremist Sinhala Buddhist group disrupted the May day rally and meeting of the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) in Nuwara Eliya today said trade union sources in the hill country town.

The extremist group had put up banners condemning the Liberation Tigers yesterday at the Post Office junction, the venue alocated to the CWC for its May Day rally and meeting.

CWC had complained to the Police about the banners. A CWC spokesman said that the Police took no action.

The Veera Vidhaana had meanwhile come to the spot in a procession shouting slogans against Tamils following a meeting it had held at the Nuwara Eliya public library hall according to the CWC spokesman.

Again this morning, persons suspected to be activists of the Sinhala Veera Vidhaana had stoned buses bringing estate workers to the CWC rally and threatned people wearing hats with the trade union's emblem.

These persons had also stopped all private bus services from operating in Nuwara Eliya town.

Later this afternoon, suspected activists of the Sinhala Veera Vidhaana had set fire around the transformer near the venue of the CWC's rally and public meeting.

Power supply to the meeting was disrupted as a consequence around 1.30 p.m. said a CWC MP.

He said that the meeting was delayed two hours due to the power failure.

More than ten thousand Tamil estate workers took part in the May Day rally and meeting of the CWC in Nuwara Eliya town said sources.