Sri Lankan soldiers surrounded, forcibly entered and searched the Tamil National People's Front office in Mullaitivu yesterday, in what the party has described as a “blatant attempt to intimidate us”.
Nearly a dozen Sri Lankan army personnel reportedly surrounded the Mullaitivu district office around 11am yesterday morning, before they forcibly entered and searched the premises for “several hours”, according to a tweet sent out by the TNPF on Friday.
The Tamil political party added that it was attempting to submit a complaint to the Sri Lankan police, but stated the police were “reluctant to receive a complaint”.
“We view this break-in by the Army as a blatant attempt to intimidate us,” the party added.
The raid comes amidst a climate of military intimidation and surveillance across the North-East. Earlier this year Sri Lankan Campaign released a report highlighting the Sri Lankan government’s ongoing surveillance, harassment and intimidation in the region.