Police ban protest march in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 20 February 2003, 19:48 GMT]
The Trincomalee Police Thursday banned the black band protest march of the Tamils Women's Front in the eastern port town from St.Joseph's College to the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which is located at the Inner Harbour Road.

The protest march was organised by the Trincomalee Tamil Women's Organizations Front condemning the attack by the Sri Lanka Army on LTTE women members, civilians and journalists at Manipay in Jaffna district on February 12, and the arrest of two LTTE women cadres at Sambaltivu in Trincomalee last week, sources said. The Police refused permission to hold the protest march, the sources said.

Ms R.Kanmany, President of he Trincomalee Tamil Women Front handing over a memorandum to Ms E.Tulli of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee.

The Police Thursday tightened the security of the town especially close to Tamil schools as a prelude to imposing the ban on the protest march if the organizers were to conducted it. More police were deployed around St.Joseph's College from where the protest march was to commence around 10 a.m, Thursday, sources said.

However, the protest march did not commence as planned. Instead, Ms E.Tulli of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission in Trincomalee came to St.Joseph's College where hundreds of women and students gathered to go on foot to the SLMM office and collected the memorandum submitted by the Trincomalee Tamil Women's Front, sources said.

Ms. Mr.Kanmany, President of the Trincomalee Women's Front Organization, submitted the memorandum.

"Chauvinist elements in the country are bent on sabotaging the present peace process through various means. Such forces are responsible for the attack on LTTE women cadres at Manipay and the arrest of two LTTE women cadres in Trincomalee on false charges," said the memorandum handed over to the SLMM in Trincomalee.

The memorandum further states: - "The Manipay attack on LTTE women cadres is really a set back in taking forward the peace process with confidence. And it is violation of the ceasefire agreement."

"We cannot accept the violence by the Sri Lanka Army and the Police on LTTE women cadres. Chauvinist forces use this tactic to derail the peace process by provoking the LTTE. We vehemently condemn such types of attacks on LTTE women cadres," said the memorandum addressed to the head of the SLMM in Trincomalee.

Sri Lankan police were deployed around St.Joseph's College from where the protest march was to commence.