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Citizens screened in Batticaloa

COLOMBO: In a massive combing operation across Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka’s security forces screened close to 12,000 citizens and detained 123 for suspected links with the LTTE.

The search operation, for which Batticaloa town was placed under curfew from 12 hours on Saturday, is the first of its kind since the military succeeded in ousting the LTTE from the east in 2007. It has taken place in the wake of an alarming rise in killings and abductions in recent days.

The Defence Ministry said of the 11,963 persons screened, three people were taken into custody and 123 others were detained for investigation. “The search operations were carried out on intelligence reports received of few LTTE infiltrators and criminals in the wake of a series of murders and crime activities in Batticaloa, Valachchenai, Karadiyanaru, Vakarai, Aithiyamalai, Vavunathivu, Kokkadichcholai, Kattankudi and Kalawanchchikudi areas. The day-long cordon and search operation was concluded at 6 p.m.,” it said.

Political and diplomatic observers are alarmed over the recent developments in the eastern province. At least 48 people have been gunned down in November alone. The identity of the killers in most of the cases remains a mystery. The government has blamed the LTTE. Observers believe blaming the LTTE for the killings and abductions amounts to an admission that the LTTE is operating in the province with impunity.

Besides possible infiltration of LTTE, one of the main reasons for the volatility is an all-out factional war within the Tamil Makkal Vidulthalai Pulikal (TMVP).

Factions led by Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna and Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan are engaged in a no-holds-barred battle for control of the province.

A few weeks ago, much to the chagrin of Mr. Pillayan, President Mahinda Rajapaksa inducted Mr. Karuna as an MP of the ruling combine. While Mr. Pillayan has highlighted the government’s failure to implement the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, Mr. Karuna has been advocating against devolution of powers.

The nature of the crisis is best illustrated in the decision last week by the Association of Government Doctors to withdraw its members from hospitals in the east if the government does not agree to its demand for a Rs. 1-billion life insurance scheme for doctors. The doctors revolted after one of their colleagues was shot dead in Batticaloa. In a report released on November 24, Human Rights watch (HRW) called on the government to take immediate steps to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Eastern Province. Separately, the military has said floodwater in the Jaffna Peninsula has begun to recede. Sea transport, which was suspended due to the inclement weather, is expected to resume.

According to official reports, 1,18,273 citizens from 32,026 families have been displaced by last week’s floods. The worst affected areas are Jaffna, Uduvil, Delft, Kopay and Karaveddi.

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