One thousand young Tamils paraded in front of “Thalaiyaaddi” in Batticaloa
One thousand young Tamil men and women were rounded up from their homes and paraded in front of “Thalaiyaaddi.” “Thalaiyaaddi,” a practice conducted by paramilitaries working with the Sri Lankan Army (SLA), shocked the Tamils who were forcefully taken from their homes, especially during the time of ceasefire. “Thalaiyaaddi” is conducted by men whose faces are hidden with a bag with holes for the eyes and nod to identify captives who should be detained for further questioning.
At 4 a.m. on 31 October, more than 500 SLA soldiers searched the heavily populated areas of Mamangam, Jeyanthipuram, Iruthayapuram and Urani in the Batticaloa Disctrict. After, the SLA seized 1,000 young Tamil civilians, they were brought to army grounds where they were paraded in front of the “Thalaiyaaddi” men. The masked paramilitary cadres were wearing SLA uniforms. More than 20 young Tamil civilians were taken elsewhere for further investigation. Tamil civilians were terrified by this act that evoked fear from past experiences during the war. Many expressed their astonishment that an indiscriminate large-scale round-up, typical of practices performed during war, is happening in the present day during the ceasefire.
01 November 2005
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Europe which has a total population of 800 million is made up of 45 language based nation states. South Asia which has a total population of one billion, (1000 million) is comprised of four states. Who is preventing and therefore benefiting by limiting new nation-states in South Asia?
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