"Home guards' release, goodwill gesture to SLMM"- Elilan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 16 October 2004, 18:12 GMT]
"We released the two Sinhala home guards, Sarath Bandara and Chandana Piyasiri, as a goodwill gesture to the efforts taken by the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) for the release of ten cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)," said Mr.S.Elilan, LTTE Trincomalee district political head of the LTTE. The Thamileelam courts in Sampoor in Muttur east Saturday around five p.m. released the two home guards on cash and surety bail, legal sources said.

Home Guards and Tamileelam policeman before the release

Mr.Elilan said he stood surety for the two Sinhala home guards and the LTTE political division paid the cash bail of one hundred thousand rupees for each home guard as ordered by the Thamileelam courts. Mr.Elilan signed a bond for sum of one hundred thousand rupees as surety for each home guard.

Both home guards were ordered to appear in Sampoor Thamileelam courts on November 26, sources said.

Two home guards were brought to Trincomalee town by SLMM with police protection and later the SLMM took them to Navy House in Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Dockyard, Trincomalee, where President's Secretary Mr.W.S.Karunaratna, Interior Ministry Secretary Mr.Tilak Ranaviraja and Minister Mr.Maithiripala Sirisena received them.



Home guards seen with relatives and SLMM members in front of Sampoor Thamileelam courts



Two home guards then telephoned Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and expressed their thanks for her efforts in getting their release, sources said.

Earlier Saturday afternoon Mr.Elilan paid a surprise visit to the Clock Tower Junction in the heart of Trincomalee town where relatives of home guards were fasting and informed the decision of releasing them later in the day. Thereafter he went to the SLMM office and then proceeded to Sampoor, SLMM sources said.



Mr.Elilan (right -middle) speaking to relatives of home guards before they were released