SLA, paramilitary, force Tamils in Batticaloa to take part in anti-UN protests

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 February 2012, 22:26 GMT]
SLA operated paramilitary operatives, dispatched by the occupying Sri Lanka Army in Batticaloa, visited the Village Development Council (VDC) leaders in various villages in the district on Monday instructing the heads of the VDCs to have at least 150 people to get on board the buses they would be bringing to transport civilians against their will to march from Batticaloa Hindu College to the Clock Tower in Batticaloa city. The heads of VDCs were told that they would have to resign their posts if they failed to meet the demand. The people, gathered against their will were then taken to Batticaloa city and were forced to burn the effigy of US President Barack Obama and to chant slogans against the UNHRC session taking place in Geneva.

Sinhalese protestors were brought in two SLTB buses and in private mini buses from Ampaa'rai district to Batticaloa city to march in a separate procession on the same route following the Tamil victims. The Buddhist monk of Batticaloa Vihara led the Sinhala protesters.

Muslim deputy ministers collaborating with Rajapaksa regime were active in getting the Muslim protesters from Oaddamaavadi, Ea'raavoor and Kaaththaankudi to burn the effigies of US President Barack Obama while expressing their support to SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

At Vaakarai, situated north of Batticaloa in Koara'laippattu North Regional Division (PS), the occupying Sri Lanka Army soldiers warned the civilians that fishermen would not be allowed to enter the seas and those who depend on collecting firewood would not be allowed to access the jungle if they failed to stage a protest against the UN in front of the PS secretariat.

Even when the global establishments are not demanding anything in favour of Tamil people and were only asking Colombo to implement its own recommendations in the so-called Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission, a reactionary hysteria has been whipped up throughout the island by the Rajapaksa regime, demonstrating what it means by the words “reconciliation”, an academic from Batticaloa told TamilNet.

“Where are the EU monitors who were present in monitoring the election violations during the last decade? Where are the NGOs that were operating in Batticaloa during the times of the war? And, why are the Western news agencies based in Colombo that were able to visit us after Tsunami tragedy and during the times of Karuna split still unable to report the abuses being committed on ordinary civilians by the Colombo regime,” the academic asked adding that there was no one to question the abuses being committed on Eezham Tamils in Batticaloa district by the occupying SLA and its operatives.