Tigers step up campaign against high security zones

Tamil guerrillas yesterday stepped up their campaign calling on the government to shrink their high security zones in the north and withdraw troops from all areas they occupy in the Jaffna peninsula.

At a ceremony organised by front groups of the guerrillas in the Jaffna city they called for the immediate withdrawal of the security forces claiming that the government was hampering the return of normalcy in the region by not allowing the occupants to return to their homes.

An estimated 75,000 thronged the Jaffna University grounds where they moved a resolution demanding the withdrawal of the security forces. Soon after the resolution was passed a model of house resembling an army camp was brought down by the crowd.

Tamil guerrillas' Jaffna political leader S. Illamparithy, addressing the gathering, said that they were not satisfied with the progress of the agreements reached during the peace talks and one of them which had not been fulfilled has been the issue about the army vacating civilian homes.

The ceremony known as 'Pongu Thamil' or the reawakening of the Tamil Literature and culture is supposedly organised to have cultural events, but the ceremony was yesterday turned into a political campaign to force the security forces to shrink the high security zones and get them to vacate the homes occupied.

Earlier life in the Jaffna town was brought to a standstill with shops, schools closing earlier, and public transport being brought to a halt.

The Jaffna University students who played an active role in organising the event had called the public to attend the 'cultural programme', but had issued notices saying that the theme of the programme would be to call for the withdrawal of the forces from what they called the 'occupied' areas.

They estimate that over 100,000 civilians were deprived of their homes as the army was occupying their houses or had demarcated the areas as High Security Zones.

But, the military has denied the charges saying that the High Security Zones were required as they were around some of the most strategic military camps in the north.