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| Sunday, 24 August 2003 |
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Forces maintain tight vigil in East by S. Selvakumar Police and Army units are maintaining a tight vigil throughout the Eastern Province as tension remained high in the wake of the sporadic incidents of clashes in the past week. Inspector General of Police T. E. Anandarajah told the 'Sunday Observer' yesterday that while the region was tense, the situation had been brought under control and those areas where incidents had occurred have now returned to normal. The LTTE units in the East are known to be co-operating with the security authorities in ensuring that order prevails in all areas. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission officials are to visit Trincomalee for high level meetings with the security authorities, LTTE leaders and local community leaders. The predominantly Muslim areas of Eravur, Samanthurai and Sainthamaruthu where a volatile situation prevailed following five murders and two abductions returned to normalcy by yesterday and at the time of going to press people were getting about their businesses without let or hindrance. However a tight vigil by armed police and army was the order of the day, according to reports from there. The IGP told the Sunday Observer that "there are still some miscreants bent on creating disturbances though distinguished citizens of both Tamil and Muslim communities are holding regular conferences to diffuse the situation". The IGP said that on Friday afternoon, after the Jumma prayers a large crowd of Muslims went on a protest march targeting the LTTE political office in Kalmunai but any violence was prevented by the police and the crowd later dispersed. The latest protest march by the Muslims were triggered by the reported abduction of two Muslim youth on Monday. Police on Friday were compelled to baton charge a crowd of protesters when they threw stones at the police. "LTTE cadres, too, have joined the search parties to track down the two missing youth along with the police" Anandarajah said. Meanwhile, Minister Rauff Hakeem who went to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on a pilgrimage with his family announced on Thursday that he was cutting short his visit and returning to the country due to the situation in the East. However, until last evening the Minister was stranded in Jeddah due to non availability of a flight to Colombo. But Hakeem issuing a statement from Jeddah on Friday night said that when the situation went out of control the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress complained to the government and this prompted the subsequent decision by the Government to recruit personnel to the police. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission Chief Tryggve Tellefson and a team of SLMM officials are slated to visit Trincomalee tomorrow where they will meet LTTE Sampur leader and the Eastern Naval commander. They will discuss the general situation in the East with the Navy and the Wan Ela LTTE camp issue with the Tigers. |
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