Rejecting assertions by the Jathika Hela Urumaya, the Tamil National Alliance said today that the protest in Jaffna was only an ‘expression of anger against the brutal murder’ of an 18 year old student.
“There was not even a hint of targeting the Sinhalese living in Jaffna or anything of that sort. That is a complete fabrication. The protest was an expression of the people;s anger at the brutal murder of this student”, TNA MP, M.A. Sumanthiran told Daily Mirror.
Earlier, issuing a news release, the JHU said, ‘Sinhalese are being threatened’ with the protest used as a pretext to do so.
“This suggestion is uncalled for and is designed to stir up racial hatred in the country. They should be withdrawn immediately” Sumanthiran said.
The protest and hartal took a violent turn in Jaffna today, with crowds stoning the Jaffna courthouse and burning tyres, following a wait for one of the main suspects in the alleged rape and murder of an 18 year old girl. (Hafeel Farisz)
–DM
The JHU claim:
Probe the real motive of the Jaffna protest: JHU
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) today urged the police and security forces to implement the law against the angry mob that tried to take the law into their hands by hiding behind the murder of a student in Jaffna recently.
The JHU said it was evident that another agenda was behind the violent protest campaign carried out by angry mobs by raising black flags, obstructing roads and staging a hartal by hiding behind this incident.
JHU media secretary Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe alleged those angry mobs were threatening the Sinhalese in Jaffna and forcing them to leave that area.
He said racist, separatist and terrorist groups were trying to raise their heads again by hiding behind this incident and added they were resorting to violent acts as well.
Mr. Warnasinghe said the law should be implemented against the culprits who committed the crime.
He said the government and security forces should take steps without any hesitation to implement the law against those who were behind the hartals and resorting to violent acts without allowing separatist and racist groups to disrupt the civilian lives in the North. (Ajith Siriwardana)