Police arrest Tamils in Colombo, Galle

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 September 2001, 12:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police arrested more than forty Tamil civilians were arrested in Colombo and in the southern port town of Galle in search operations during the weekend. Twenty five were taken into custody in the capital and fifteen in Galle. “All the suspects are from the northeast province and are temporary residents. They are being interrogated for possible links with the Liberation Tigers,” Police sources said.

The arrests were made during combined search operations by the Police and the Sri Lanka army in the suburbs of Kotahena and Cinnamon Gardens.

Meanwhile, the Police in Galle arrested at least fifteen Tamils Saturday. “All of them are from the northeast province. Some of them are working in Galle. Many Tamil youth from the Batticaloa district are employed in Sinhala towns in the western and southern parts of the islands as jewel craftsmen.

The local Police view them with suspicion and hence arrest and detain them often. None of the Tamil persons arrested in Galle have been released.