Armed persons inside Jaffna hospital

[TamilNet, Friday, 28 July 2000, 15:37 GMT]
The director of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) expressed grave concern Friday that armed persons are coming inside the hospital premises. Addressing the Jaffna District Development Council (DDC) meeting today, the director of the JTH, Dr. Navamani Kanagaratman said that the authorities should do the needful to prevent armed persons from entering the hospital premises and moving about with their weapons.

She said that there aren't enough doctors and other medical staff to run the JTH. The hospital is also short of medicines, according to Dr.Navamani.

Sources said that cadres of Tamil groups operating with the Sri Lanka army come to the hospital with their weapons. And at times certain sections of the Police also enter the Hospital premises.

The sources said that this has been the case since the Liberation Tigers captured the eastern and southeastern outskirts of the Jaffna town. The question of not allowing armed persons to enter the JTH might be difficult to resolve currently as there has been a massive deployment of soldiers in the town since May according to the sources.