PLOTE driven out of Kayts office

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Cadres of the Democratic Peoples Liberation Front (DPLF), political wing of the PLOTE, were chased away from their office at Kayts, an island off the Jaffna peninsula, when a heavily armed gang, numbering 35 surrounded the building and fired into the air around 11.00 a.m. today, said sources in Kayts.

The gang was not identified, but are strongly suspected to be members of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP). The DPLF members were unarmed.

The DPLF cadres went to the Kayts Sri Lankan Army (SLA) camp to lodge a complaint following the incident, however the military authorities declined to take the complaint.

The SLA had urged the two parties to settle the problem between themselves. The DPLF cadres then came to Jaffna town, where their leader Dharmalingam Sidtharthan was intimated about the matter.

Mr. Sidtharthan took up the matter with SLA Jaffna commander, Major General Lional Balagalle this evening.