Relatives of disappeared persons demonstrate in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 12 August 2002, 22:09 GMT]
Hundreds of relatives of the disappeared persons in Jaffna district Monday held a demonstration in front of the Jaffna district secretariat, demanding that Colombo investigate the fate of more than 600 youth who went missing after being arrested by the Sri Lanka army in Jaffna in 1997-96. The demonstration was organised by the Missing Person's Guardian Association (MPGA).

All activities in the district secretariat came to a standstill due to the demonstration, sources said.

Representatives of the association requested the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians who came to attend the District Development Committee to make arrangement to meet the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister to press their demand.

TNA parliamentarian M.K.Sivajilingam undertook to bear the expenses of a six-member delegation to go to Colombo in this regard. The delegation is scheduled to meet the Prime Minister and Defence Minister on Thursday, sources said.

Meanwhile the first meeting of the Jaffna District Development Committee chaired by the TNA parliamentarian Mr. V.Anandasangaree was held Monday at the office of the (RRAN) Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority for the North instead at the Jaffna district secretariat where sit-in-protest was held.

TNA parliamentarians M.K.Sivajilingam, N.Raviraj, G.G.Gajendrakumar, and A.Vinayagamoorthy participated. Two EPDP parliamentarians Douglas Devananda and Mathanarajan, Minister and UNP MP T.Maheswaran and Mavai Senathirajah (TNA) did not attend the meeting.