Women Tigers refused entry to Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 February 2003, 17:41 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) Omanthai check point refused to allow twenty three cadres belonging to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) women's wing to cross over to Vavuniya, objecting to the attire of the women tigers, sources in Vanni said.

Customarily women tigers wear a shirt, long trouser and a black belt in the waist. The SLA soldiers indicated that this dress represented the military posture of the group and that the dress code is unacceptable to the SLA, sources said.

The dress code issue was allegedly raised by the SLA in different meetings with the district leaders of the LTTE, and the position of the leaders was that the matter has to be resolved at a higher level. The district leaders have intimated to the SLA that they would not be changing the dress code until instructions to change the dress code are received from the higher levels of LTTE leadership.

The LTTE has registered a complaint with the Sri Lanka Montitoring Mission (SLMM) and had brought this to the attention of Defense Secretary, Mr. Austin Fernando, sources in Vanni said.