The Social Architects in a press update on the situation in the North-East of Sri Lanka, detailed the recent arrest of an elderly woman by Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Department ( TID) and the constant fear that people in the North-East lived under when interacting with their family in the diaspora.

See full statement below.

Elderly Woman Arrested by TID in Kilinochchi
 
On April 18, 2014, a woman in her sixties from (Kilinochchi) was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) – on charges of helping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
 
Upon being arrested, TID officers noted that a significant amount of money had been coming into her bank account recently. In addition, Theviyan
 – who was shot and killed by Sri Lankan government forces on April 10th in Nedunkerny – had been staying at this woman’s Kilinochchi home.
 
The woman has four sons, three of whom are currently residing in Europe. Her fourth joined the LTTE’s medical unit and disappeared during the war. His whereabouts remain unknown.

The woman was living in Poonakary until she was displaced in 1996. She lived in Skanthapuram from 1996-2007. In 2007 she went to live in Europe.

 She returned to Sri Lanka from Europe in 2013 and has been living in Vivekananda Nagar since that time. The woman’s arrest receipt has been handed over to one of her family members. She is still being held at the TID office in Colombo. 

In Northern Sri Lanka, community members continue to be arrested by the Sri Lankan security forces. These arrests are being done in the name of counterterrorism, as the government claims that there is a push to revive the LTTE.

In addition, community members who have received financial assistance from the Tamil diaspora are worried about these transactions. Besides, many Tamils residing in Sri Lanka with relatives who appear on the government’s list of “banned” individuals are being closely watched.
 
Unfortunately, fear, panic and confusion are a part of daily life in the war-torn North.