Protest against GOSL failure to implement ceasefire agreement

[TamilNet, Friday, 21 February 2003, 21:12 GMT]
The Jaffna District People's Forum (JPDF) Friday called for a token hunger campaign in front of the Nallur Kandasamy Temple on Sunday to highlight that cease-fire agreement (CFA) signed by the United National Front (UNF) government and the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) has not benefited Tamils in the northeast province. The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has failed to implement the agreement fully, the campaign organizers said. The Consortium of NGOs in Jaffna district Friday called for a 'hartal' (general shut down) Saturday for the same reason till 10 in the morning, sources said.

The token hunger campaign is to be conducted Sunday coinciding with the visit by a group of one hundred Buddhist monks to Jaffna to hold a prayer meeting at the Nallur Kandasamy Temple. The Consortium of Jaffna Humanitarian Agencies has extended its support to the visit of the Buddhist group to Jaffna, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations in Jaffna has made an appeal to the people in the peninsula to observe 'hartal' Saturday morning by closing down all business establishments, educational institutions and offices of government, private and co-operative sectors to express dissatisfaction of Tamils over the ineffective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the UNF government and the LTTE, sources said.

The hartal from early morning till 10 a.m. is to be held to coincide with the commemoration of the first year anniversary of signing the Cease-fire Agreement, sources said. The Consortium has further requested the owners of transport establishments to stop all services till 10 a.m. Saturday, sources said.