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Plea to disarm Tamil militant groups

by Our Jaffna special correspondent

A plea for the immediate disarming of Tamil militant groups was made last week by the Jaffna University Students Union in a letter to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. "You have in your election manifesto clearly stated that you will not include the EPDP in your Government and that the firearms in their possession would be seized.

But your approach in these two matters has caused great consternation in the minds of the Tamil people" the memorandum said. The killing of journalist Nimalarajan, the murder of two Tamil National Alliance supporters in Kayts the fatal injuries caused to parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and Sivalingam at Kayts by EPDP cadres, assaults on our members who torpedoed attempts of impersonations by the EPDP supporters at the recent parliamentary election, the throwing of hand grenades at the Jaffna University hostel with the intent of murdering the hostellers and assault on a Jaffna University lecturer and his brother an undergraduate are some of the instances of terrorism unleashed on innocent people by groups who enjoy the free use of firearms in Jaffna.

The former Peoples Alliance government gave firearms, food and money to some of the militant groups to suppress and subdue the Tamils.

We hope your government by the seizure of firearms from the Tamil militant groups will build confidence trust and faith in your efforts to banish gun culture in Sri Lanka in general and North and East Sri Lanka in particular," the union said.

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