Tamil refugees arrested

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 November 2000, 15:32 GMT]
Three Tamil refugees staying at Kalmadu camp were arrested on Sunday and are now being detained at the at Welikanda police station for interrogation, sources said.

Kanthasamy Mohan (24), Sivagnanam Anandarajah (22) and Sittampalam Kirupairajah (22) had been arrested by the police at a checkpoint in the Welikanda area while they were on their way to Polonnaruwa in search of employment. They were later taken to the Welikanda police station.

The three arrested Tamils were natives of Oothuchenai village on the Batticaloa-Polonnaruwa border area.They are among the hundreds of refugees who have been housed at the Kalmadu welfare center for over ten years.

As no employment is available in Batticaloa, these refugees go to Polonnaruwa to do labor work in paddy fields. The security forces frequently arrest these refugees and detain them at police stations, said sources in the area.