Chankanai Secretariat employees demand release of abducted GS

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 June 2003, 15:48 GMT]
Chankanai Divisional Secretariat in Jaffna district did not function Thursday as its employees picketed the office demanding the release of a Grama Sevaka Officer (village level officer) Mr.Nagalingam Kumarakurunathan who had been abducted on June 10 by unidentified persons, civil sources said.

Picketing commenced Thursday around 8.30 morning and continued till 3.30 p.m. About thirty Grama Sevaka Officers under the Chankanai divisional secretariat also participated in the picketing, sources said.

Organizers of the campaign said it was a token protest and that they would launch a continuous picketing if the parties concerned failed to release the said Grama Sevaka Officer without delay, sources said.

Organizers of the protest Thursday handed over memoranda to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Human Rights Commission (HRC)regional office, LTTE officials and the SLA authorities in Jaffna appealing to them to take immediate action in this regard, sources said.