POLICE BATON CHARGE MUSLIM DEMONSTRATORS PROTESTING AGAINST THE ABDUCTION OF TWO MUSLIM YOUTH NOW FEARED DEAD IN EAST
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
August 23.12.25 PM:The Police baton charged about a 3000-strong Muslim demonstration at Sainthamaruthu in the Amparai District when they started a protest against the alleged murder of two Muslim youth by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The Muslim demonstrators were baton charged when the protestors defied orders of the police and marched forward overcoming the roadblocks placed by the police to stop the noisy demonstration. Eyewitnesses said the demonstrators dispersed following the baton charge
Muslims in the area have been calling shutdowns and hartals during the last many days against the LTTE, whom they charged of having abducted two Muslim youth in the area and feared killed now.
The LTTE area leader Bawa, refused to meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s special representative , appointed Member of Parliament Mayoon Mustafa , who visited the area by air.
He visited the houses of the missing Muslim youth Ibrahim Ilyas (30) and Thambilebbe Marzook (20) and appealed to the Muslims not to take part in protest demonstrations since, he argued, that there was a chance of the two youth being released by “whoever was holding him”. But until the departure of the Prime Minister’s representative, others said, they became only pipe dreams.
Shops, schools and government offices were closed in the predominantly Muslim area of the Amparai district, police sources said. Kalmunai Amparai road, Kalmunai Akkaraipattu road were deserted as motorists stopped driving on them due to the hartal, sources said.
There were arguments between some STF soldiers and Muslim youth who were burning tires on the road, sources said.
The Police continued with the dusk to dawn curfew, the Police said.
