Hartal against LTTE in Trinco

by Ranil Wijayapala and Trincomalee correspondent

The day-to-day life in Trincomalee came to a halt yesterday as two Sinhala organisations called a three day Hartal protesting against LTTE atrocities against the Sinhala community in the East.

The Sinhala Vimukthi Sanvidhanaya (Sinhala Liberation Organisation) and Negenahira Sinhala Pibidena Sanvidanaya (Eastern Sinhala Resurgence Organisation) organised this hartal calling immediate Government action over the killings of the Sinhalese in the East by the LTTE.

All public institutions and schools were closed and transport came to a standstill due to the hartal. The two Sinhala organisations announced that they declared the hartal protesting against the frequent hartals organised by pro-LTTE organisations in Trincomalee paralysing public and private sector activities.

The two organisations have also protested against the Government's slow reaction towards the killing of the Sinhalese in the area, compared to the speedy action they took to investigate the deaths of five Tamil youths by deploying special CID units.