The Sri Lankan military blocked youth from across the North-East from attending a conference for the ‘Association of Friendship and Love’ (AFRIEL) organised in Jaffna, reports Uthayan.
Soldiers at a military checkpoint in Poonakari questioned those travelling from Mannar for more than an hour and half, whilst others were contacted on their mobiles and warned against participating in the event.
AFRIEL’s central committee member Ravendra De Silva said the Sri Lanka army and military intelligence had placed pressure on the organisers to stop the event, interfering with attempts to book a venue as well as having a heavy military presence on the day of the conference. Thousands of youth failed to attend following this military intimidation said De Silva.
However, the event went ahead regardless with more than 1500 people in attendance, including chief guest C V Wigneswaran, who was presented with the “Journey to Freedom 2014 Youth Declarations”.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
