Fear and tension prevail among residents of Batticaloa district following the re-introduction of registration of persons by the Sri Lankan Police. The SL police personnel, predominantly Sinhalese, have been collecting the details of residents living permanently and temporarily in Batticaloa. Students and others from remote areas such as Paduvaankarai, staying in Batticaloa for study and work, fear that their freedom of movement and security is threatened, civil sources in Batticaloa city said.
In the past, several youths of both sexes were arrested by the SL Police and Sri Lanka Army for staying in Batticaloa without registering their presence in Batticaloa city and its suburbs.
Two months ago, former members of the LTTE who had left the movement even before 1990 were summoned to the camps of the Sri Lanka Army and were fingerprinted and photographed.
Human Rights lawyer in Batticaloa P. Premnath said that the Sri Lankan Poice has not made the residents aware of the purpose of collecting such data
TN
