The military of occupying Sri Lanka has been deployed in registering details of employees in businesses in the Jaffna peninsula. Three to four SL military intelligence personnel accompanied by one SL policeman visit the shops and other businesses to register details of the employees. The SL soldiers are particular in collecting details of former LTTE members employed in the businesses, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, the occupying Sri Lankan military has taken an upper hand over the Sinhala police in dealing with the civil affairs in recent weeks, NGO officials in Jaffna say.
In Vanni, the SL military is already in control of everything including deciding how the schools and temples should conduct their public events.
Now, the SL military tightens further its iron grip in the public affairs in the peninsula, most of which has been under its military control for more than 15 years.
Out of 20 divisions (200,000 soldiers) of Sri Lanka’s military, 15 divisions (150,000) are stationed in the North alone, where the population today is just 500,000.
The SL military, which has been intimidating business owners against employing ‘rehabilitated’ and released former LTTE members, is now tracing where they are being employed. At the same time, the SL military is also searching for ex-LTTE members who have not been subjected to SL military detention and ‘rehabilitation’.
The latest ‘registration operation’ comes following the recent claim by an SL military spokesman in Colombo that there were more than a thousand former LTTE members who are yet to be subjected to military ‘rehabilitation’.
SL Defence Secretary and presidential sibling Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has recently introduced SL military ‘rehabilitation’ as punishment also to the student leaders of the Jaffna University, who peacefully protested against the SL military assault on the students of the university who lit a memorial light on the Heroes Day on November 27.
President of the Jaffna University Student Union (JUSU) V Pavaananthan, Secretary of the JUSU P. Tharshananth, President of the Arts Faculty Students Union K. Jenemajeyamenan and S. Solomon of the Science Faculty are detained for more than one month and are subjected to SL military ‘rehabilitation’at Welikande where former LTTE members are detained.