Colombo reimposes military harassments against peaceful assembly in Batticaloa

Military intelligence operatives of the occupying Sri Lankan military in Batticaloa district has recently stepped up surveillance and intimidation of those who take part in civil, economic, cultural and religious meetings in all the 14 divisions of the district, according to the instructions coming from Colombo, informed sources in Batticaloa told TamilNet on Wednesday. The new regime in Colombo, claiming ‘good governance’, continues the ‘military governance’ through its genocidal Sinhala military in an attempt to control the civil affairs in the district, said civil activists who have been subjected to intimidating calls from the SL military operatives in recent days.

“The freedom of assembly is seriously threatened. Even the common public attending various meetings are being questioned,” a board member of a temple management said.

The meetings held by Rural Development Societies (RDS), Women Rural Development Societies (WRDS), sports clubs, temple management committees are being systematically monitored in the recent days, the sources said. Social gatherings of youth, cultural and literary meetings are also being targeted.

The meetings of Tamil politicians, journalists and Non Governmental Organizations have been subjected to military surveillance for a long time.

Ex-LTTE members who are forced to collaborate with the occupying SL military are being sent to the meetings with the instruction of collecting details of the ‘active’ participants in the social, cultural and religious meetings. Later, the SL military intelligence officers make phone calls, during night times, harassing the activists with questions about the meeting and those attending the meetings.

The military intelligence callers are telling the activists to inform and invite the SL military to their meetings. They are also told to submit details of their activities in advance if the activists want to avoid interrogative questions through phone calls.