TNA calls for Hartal in NE

[TamilNet, Monday, 07 October 2002, 20:11 GMT]
Human rights lawyers, NGO activists and leaders of the Tamil National Alliance resolved in Colombo Monday evening to step up action on several fronts to persuade the Sri Lankan government to release Tamil political prisoners who have been languishing in the island’s jails for many years. Mr. N. Sri Kantha, speaking on behalf of the TNA after an urgent meeting convened Monday to discuss the fast deteriorating condition of the fasting prisoners, told Tamilnet that a general shut down all over the northeast would be called for on Friday 11 October.

He said after this meeting at the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) that the TNA would walk out of Parliament tomorrow in protest against the Sri Lanka government’s apathy in expediting the release of Tamil political prisoners arbitrarily arrested and held under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act and the now lapsed Emergency Regulations.

However, some senior TNA leaders who were present at Monday’s meeting at the CHRD in Colombo were not very much in favour of staging a protest walk out in Parliament Tuesday in view of the Supreme Court decision over the bitterly contested 19th amendment to the constitution being released the same day.

Meanwhile, students and staff of the Eastern University held a demonstration and fast in front of the campus in Vantharumoolai in solidarity with the fasting prisoners.

An action committee, comprising leading human rights activists, lawyers and politicians was formed in Colombo Monday to co-ordinate agitations against injustices perpetrated on the detainees.