The attacks began after two Sinhalese people were killed on 8 September on an estate in an illicit liquor trade dispute. Three Tamil youths were taken into custody suspected of involvement in the murders. One person was arrested in connection with the attacks on the estates and later released on bail.
Trade unions say a government politician is behind the attacks. Ratnapura MP J Seneviratne has raised the issue of Tiger infiltration of estates and suggests that the two Sinhalese people may have been murdered by the LTTE. Plantations minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has promised an enquiry into the incidents.
Arbitrary arrests and detention in the Hill Country continue to be reported. According to Plantation Housing deputy minister P Chandrasekaran, many plantation youths arrested, were detained for several months and then released without charge. Hill Country MP S Rajaratnam told Parliament in early September that 15 Tamil youths were arrested in Minuwangoda, 17 miles north of Colombo, and one of them died in police custody.