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VOLUNTEER TEACHERS GIVE UP HUNGER STRIKE By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles February 12,08:03 PM:The volunteer teachers from North Western Province and North Central Provinces who started a hunger strike at the Ministry of Education premises decided to stop the hunger strike since the Minister of Public Administration , Vajira Abeywardena intervened on behalf of the Sri Lanka government and promised to bring a solution to the neglected matter , the government announced. Ten teachers led by a Buddhist monk started the hunger striker following hundreds of the teachers who were performing a sathyagraha and demanding that they be absorbed in to the permanent employment were chased out using tear gas and rubber bullets by the police. They charged that that was all they received for their demands and all Ministry of Education authorities refused even to listen to their grievances. Vajira Abeywardena said the government was ready even to inquire in to the conduct of the person who ordered the tear gas and rubber bullets if a complaint was made and did not name the person. It was not known why the Minister of Education did not intervene to stop the hunger strike Abeywardena explaining the complicated matter said it was the Provincial Councils who were responsible for the teachers and since the matter had been neglected it had become a central government matter. He said the government would attend to correct the neglected part and said he expressed his regrets on behalf of the government for the matter being delayed so far. He said ordering tear gas and rubber bullets was an act of one individual and it should not be interpreted as an act of the government. The government was ready to inquire in to that if a complaint was made, he said. (12/01/03 go2lanka.com) |