Remove military presence from North: Udul

The ‘We are Sri Lankans' organisation yesterday charged that there had been six murders and two suicides in the Jaffna district within the past two months allegedly owing to the large military presence in the north, which the organisation said should be removed immediately from the area.

The organisation which aims to promote national unity said despite continuous assurances from the government that the military would promote the quality of life and development in the north and other parts of the country, the organisation’s convener Udul Premaratne said the military presence created further restrictions to the people living in the area.

“For a population of 650,000 people in the Jaffna district there are some 50,000 army officers and another 5000 police officers in the area. There is an army checkpoint at each kilometer when passing Kilinochchi right up to Jaffna. What they say are all lies. People are dying and someone should take responsibility for it,” Premaratne said.

He said the organisation which had carried out several political awareness campaigns in the north had been followed by military personnel on motorcycles each time members of the organisation visited the northern areas.

Meanwhile Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa denied that the government had militarised the north but said it was essential to maintain a level of military presence to restore normalcy in the country. He said it was important to recognise the development taking place in the country which the military played a role in maintaining.