The use of illegal drugs in conflict affected areas in the North is “rapidly rising” according to Northern Province Health Minister Dr P Sathyalingam.
BBC Sinhala reports Dr Sathyalingam as stating that problems such as disappearances, missing relatives and poverty continue to afflict war torn areas of the North-East, and have contributed to the rising use of illegal drugs.
Many of them were being shipped in from India, he added. His comments come as increasing raids have taken place across the North-East, with millions of rupees of drugs being recovered.
Tamils in the North-East TNA MP S Sritharan said the increase in the pedalling of drugs to youths in the North was part of a "genocidal agenda”, whilst Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran previously said “various sections from armed forces which have deliberately introducing various aspects of theses dangerous drugs, to stop youngsters form coming up having a good education and having their sense of freedom”.
See our earlier posts:
Millions of rupees worth of cannabis recovered in Jaffna (26 Mar 2016)
Sri Lankan police recover 2kg of heroin in Jaffna (12 Mar 2016)
60 kg of cannabis seized by Sri Lankan police in Jaffna (03 Mar 2016)
Five-fold increase in consumption of alcohol in North-East Sri Lanka (14 June 2015)
Genocidal agenda behind increase in drugs in North - TNA MP (10 Jun 2015)
Tamils still face genocidal agendas says TNA MP (07 Jun 2015)
Increased drug problem since Sri Lanka's military arrived in North-East says CV Wigneswaran (08 Jun 2015)
Drugs deliberately introduced to quell desire for liberation of Tamil youth says Wigneswaran (02 Jun 2015)
Unacceptable presence of war criminal soldiers in North-East - CV Wigneswaran (25 May 2015)
Prevalence of drug use raises questions says Wigneswaran (17 May 2015)
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