SLA to establish camps in Council land in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 March 2003, 19:38 GMT]
The reconstruction project of the Jaffna Subramaniam Park is likely to be abandoned following the action taken by the Sri Lanka Army to shift its Jaffna brigade headquarters to the surrounding lands, which belong to the Jaffna Municipal Council, sources said.

A branch of the UN organization, which had assured its co-operation for the reconstruction of the destroyed Subramaniam Park, Monday informed the municipal authorities that it was not in a position to pursue the matter further as the Sri Lanka Army is to establish a major camp in the surrounding lands where the municipal council office, town hall and rest house were earlier located, sources said.

According to the UN organization, the public will not come to the Subramaniam Park for recreation if the SLA establishes its camps in the surrounding MC lands. Representatives of the UN branch organization Monday told the MC authorities that no useful purpose would be served by allocating money for the reconstruction of the park at a time when the SLA is taking steps to set up army camps in MC lands, sources said.