Life is like this in Jaffna - Military

The freedom of the press is assured in the 1978 constitution. Abusing that freedom, last Saturday, an English newspaper carried an article criticising military, propagating false information with unconfirmed facts.

At a time when the brutality of LTTE is being unmasked, this misleading story has not only destroyed the values of press freedom but also deliberately painted a fallacious picture of the real ground situation in the north.

Therefore, it is necessary to cleanse the information provided by the writer as his intention was mainly to tarnish the image of the Sri Lanka military as well as the government.

He may have been unaware of the statistics maintained at the Civil Affairs Office Jaffna. 33 foreign passport holders are currently working in the peninsula, to drive home the fact that there is no restrictions whatsoever for foreign passport holders to visit the North.

The writer has claimed that the Security Forces have raped and sexually harassed civilians, again a statement made which is disputable by him. A senior Police officer in Jaffna said that there were no such incidents as none were reported so far.

The body checks of civilian women at check points are done by women police constables and the Army women soldiers. The Forces in the Northern peninsula throws a challenge to the writer to furnish evidence to prove acts of rape or sexual molestation on civilians by the Forces, instead of that he 'heard'.

The forces assure that such incidents, appropriately reported, would be swiftly investigated, but charges based on hearsay cannot be considered. Even in war situation the forces have not disregarded the common law of the country.

The high degree of commitment to the people of Jaffna will be maintained by the Forces until the LTTE terrorism is completely banished from Sri Lanka. The security forces have refuted his false and malicious comments.

The true curfew is from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., the timing is inaccurately stated as 9 p.m to 7.00 a.m. in his article.

It is the people of Jaffna who felt the need for the imposing of curfew in the first place, due to threats by robbers and those demanding ransoms, even though the security authorities were ready to lift it.

According to security sources the power cuts take one to one and half hours during the day. Let us make this clear that this procedure is being taken to provide electricity to all the people in Jaffna equally and to provide sufficient break and servicing time for the machines and not because the security forces desire to do so.

He should also know that the govt. has taken massive efforts to provide electricity to the peninsula through generators as the main line cannot be connected, under the prevailing conflict situation.

The relevant documents are filled out by the military personnel not to embarrass people but to stop the infiltration of terrorists and their support agents. It is general knowledge that pen torch batteries are banned in any international or local airline.

The closing of roads during movements of military convoys, is to minimise any danger to civilians in case of an LTTE attack and closed curtains are normal procedure within high security zones.

Moreover the loss of mobile phone signals is not because of military control, but, due to the lack of transmission towers which is beyond the control of the military.

It was the LTTE who closed the A9 and made life more difficult for the people of Jaffna. The reporters who write against the military has no other way of reaching Jaffna today, other than by air under the protection of the military.

In comparison with foreign procedures, the relevant procedures in Sri Lanka may seem obviously slow but one has to keep in mind that Jaffna is an area with ongoing conflict and access to it cannot be gained so easily as anywhere else in the world.

The GA of Jaffna, Ganesh told the 'Sunday Observer' that there is no shortage of food. The fuel supply is satisfactory and schools and universities in Jaffna are functioning.

There is a 23 hour power supply and internally displaced persons have been provided with temporary shelter. It bears good evidence to the fact that the military is trying to do exactly the opposite of 'shutting people out of Jaffna'.

In fact a strong military presence in Jaffna has been a reason for the revival of education and trade in Jaffna.

If the present constraints imposed for the sake of National Security were disposed of, many would understand the gravity of such malicious allegations based on statements devoid of facts.

(The Military Spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said that he has already sent a denial to the respective newspaper).