2ND LEAD (Update)

SL Army fires at Tamil youth in Point Pedro, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 May 2020, 12:26 GMT]
22-year-old Anushan Pasupathy sustained three gunshot wounds as the occupying SL Army (SLA) opened fire at the Tamil youth while he was riding a motorbike between Kaanthiyoor and Mu'raavil in Point Pedro, Jaffna, around 10:30 pm on Thursday. One of the SL Army soldier groups, deployed on Jaffna-Point Pedro Road fired at him without any provocation. The youth has been admitted to the hospital with three wounds. The incident has taken place near Manthikai hospital at Point Pedro in Vadamaraadchi. Three-member groups of SL Army soldiers have been deployed along the roads, junctions and suburbs in Jaffna to carry out the duties of the SL Police. In recent days, there have been reports of increasing violent acts by the Sinhala soldiers, who are stationed in the occupied Tamil homeland. The SLA soldiers claim that they are controlling the spread of COVID-19 as well as assisting the SL Police.

Mr Anushan Pasupathy went from his house at Mu'raavil in Puloali carrying a food parcel to his father around 7:30 pm.

After delivering food to his father at the farm in Kaanthiyoor, he went to meet his friends. The firing took place when he was on his way back home.

The SL Army soldiers fired four times at him.

Caught in shock following the firing, Anushan continued to ride his motorbike while bleeding with injuries in one of his arms, armpit and a leg.

Upon reaching his village, located 3 km away from the scene of the crime near Manthikai hospital, his friends contacted the police to take him back to the hospital.

The SLA was trying to defend its action by arguing that the motorcyclist had failed to stop when the soldiers attempted to stop him during the curfew time. Two hours before the incident, there was an episode in which some motorcyclists had thrown stones against the SLA soldiers. That situation had an impact on the reaction by its soldiers, SL police said.

However, such an episode cannot be an excuse to justify the firing, rights activists in Jaffna said. They questioned whether the SL Army would have reacted the same way if it had happened in a Sinhala area in the South.

In the meantime, Tamil National Peoples’ Front leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam came to the hospital to see the wounded youth on Thursday.





Chronology: