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| Sunday, 22 May 2005 |
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Vesak lull in Trinco turmoil by a staff correspondent Defence Secretary Major Asoka Jayawardena said yesterday that a speedy solution would be found to bring normalcy in Trincomalee town. He led a high level team to assess the ground situation on the instructions of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Major Asoka Jayawardena, Chief of Defence Staff Daya Sandagiri, Army Chief Major General Shantha Kottegoda, Air Chief Air Marshall G.D. Perera, IGP Chandra Fernando and Eastern Province DIG Neville Wijesinghe had separate meetings with the Tamil People's Alliance and Buddhist monks yesterday. They said that they would submit a report to the President on the situation. Trincomalee remained a ghost town for the fifth day yesterday as the hartal called by the Tamil People's Alliance (TPA) protesting the erection of a Buddha statue at Trincomalee junction and calling for its removal continued. Although several shops had been opened in the morning, they were later closed on the orders of the TPA. TPA President V. Vigneswaran said that they had decided to suspend the hartal for three days from today to honour the Vesak festival. Vigneswaran said Vesak holidays could be used to bring an understanding between the sides. If no solution was found before Wednesday the hartal would be observed in the entire North East, he said. Another meeting with Buddhist monks, arranged by the Police, was held at Jayasumanaramaya yesterday. Ven. Dehiowita Piyatissa Thera requested the high level team to take necessary steps to protect Sinhala villages and temples. According to police only two minor incidents were reported yesterday and security had been beefed up in several areas. The Buddha statue jointly erected by Buddhist monks and Trincomalee Three-wheeler Drivers' Association was unveiled on May 15. An unidentified group threw a hand grenade at the Buddha statue on Monday night. The TPA organised a hartal on Tuesday protesting the erection of the statue and one youth was killed and four of the same family were injured on Tuesday at the Marathaddi junction. Since then there were sporadic acts of violence causing tension. |
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