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White van abductions are returning says TNA

White van abductions, which became notorious under the former Rajapaksa government, are once again on the rise in Colombo, said the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran.

Speaking to journalists at the Jaffna Press Club on Monday, Mr Premachandran said that "many hundreds of Tamil youths have been abducted by white vans, and even today there has been no explanation as to where they are. Hundreds of mothers are still striving to search for their children who were abducted by the white vans and wives are searching for their husbands."

Highlighting a recent report that the former defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa criticised the presence of a white van by him, arguing it threatened his security, Mr Premachandran said Mr Rajapaksa's statement proved he knew the damage caused by white vans during his own era.

"It was because he [Gotabhaya Rajapaksa] knew this that when one white van came into his region he became scared," Mr Premachandran said.

"However, the [Sri Lankan] minister responsible replied, vehicles who are providing security for the military can carry a fake license plate."

"If the current government is going to say that the military vehicles can have fake license plates or change their license plates then this means that they [the current government] are also encouraging the same thing."

Therefore, if you really look at this, it suggests that this government is going to be a sequel of the previous government.

"The person who created the white van problem was Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and the Mahinda Rajapaksa are responsible for this."

"How many white vans have they sent and how many people have they killed? What has become of those they have abducted by white vans?"

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