Fear grips Jaffna

THE Civil Rights Movement of Sri Lanka (CRM) expressed concern in late= November over grave human rights violations in the Jaffna peninsula and= called for speedy action to punish those responsible. CRM=92s statement= follows a string of allegations of rape and murder. Currently 17 soldiers= are in police custody for the rape and murder of Krishanthy Kumarasamy and= Rajani Velayuthapillai in September.

Reports say ten year-old= Atchuveli student Selvarajah Thenuka was raped by soldiers on 12 November.= The Army has denied the allegations. Six days later the bodies of six= people arrested by the Army in early October were recovered from a grave at= Eluthumadduval in Thenmaratchy.

TULF leader M Sivasithamparam says= in a mid-November letter to President Chandrika that three soldiers killed= a man in Thenmaratchy and afterwards raped and murdered his daughter.= Torture in custody is reportedly widespread and at least two people have= committed suicide after summons from the Army.

Tamil MP Joseph= Pararajasingham alleges in his letter to President Chandrika in late= November that around 300 Jaffna civilians arrested have disappeared in the= last three months and has provided details of 24 people.

The Defence= Ministry has now agreed that the Human Rights Task Force (HRTF) can set up= an office in the peninsula. HRTF Chairman CT Jansz flew to Jaffna on 12= November to assess the situation but spent less than 24 hours in the= peninsula. Mr Jansz has a list of 550 disappeared from Jaffna GA= Pathmanathan and is said to be cross-checking it against those in Army= detention. CRM says that the security forces must be made aware of the= legal obligation to report arrests to the HRTF without= delay.

According to reports 37,000 people have applied to leave= Jaffna. People arriving from the peninsula say there is widespread fear as= the Army targets civilians following LTTE attacks.

Two soldiers and= 11 civilians were injured in a Tiger grenade attack in Jaffna town on 2= November. Two days later the Army killed five Tigers during a search= operation in Kantharodai. A LTTE infiltration unit killed five soldiers on= 7 November at Idaikkadu in Thenmaratchy.

The Defence Ministry says= three LTTE boats were destroyed off Mathagal by the Navy on 11 November.= Two naval vessels were damaged in the encounter. A soldier was killed and= four others seriously wounded in a landmine attack on 20 November at= Kodikamam.

Observers say reconstruction is extremely difficult while= fighting continues in Jaffna. Almost 90% of 413,000 people in Jaffna are= dependent on government relief supplies. Around 8,000 from the Karaitivu= Island, west of the peninsula, are unable to return home due to security= restrictions.
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