ONE COUNTRY BUT DIFFERENT RACIST RULES TO JAFFNA !!! THEY INSIST ON UNITY,BUT ALWAYS IMPOSE DISCRIMINATORY SINHALA IDIOTIC RULES THAT SPOIL UNITY..!!!

JAFFNA TO COLOMBO TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS WILL BE RELAXED SOON: AG

By S.S.Selvanayagam

When a fundamental rights application filed by the President of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) was taken up before the Supreme Court yesterday, the Attorney General (AG) informed those present that the authorities were considering relaxing the conditions imposed on passengers travelling from Jaffna to Colombo.

State Counsel Rajive Goonetillake representing the AG made this submission when the fundamental rights application filed by Appathuray Vinayagamoorthy, President of ACTC, challenging a regulation imposed by the Commanding Officer of Jaffna to obtain Army clearance in order to travel from Jaffna to Colombo, was taken up in open Court.

State Counsel Goonetillake also informed Court that the contents of the Petition which challenged the requirements imposed on Tamils in the North to obtain Army clearance and a letter of permission from a person residing in Colombo for him or her to travel to Colombo have been taken into account.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Asoka de Silva, Justices Shiranee Tilakawaradane and Chandra Ekanayake listed the matter to be mentioned on November 3.

In his petition Mr. Vinayagamoorthy, an Attorney-at-Law, had cited the Security Forces Commander of Palaly Army Headquarters, former Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa and the Attorney General as Respondents.

He states that the Jaffna Army Commander had imposed a new requirement for Jaffna residents with effect from August 1, 2008 applicable to Tamils who want to travel to Colombo. This new requirement, apart from the Army clearance, is that if a Tamil person wants to travel to Colombo, he should produce a letter or obtain permission from the owner of a house in Colombo where he wants to travel and reside, in order for him to be permitted to travel to Colombo. This requirement is still in force and was introduced on August 18, 2008, the Petitioner stated.

As a result, even for urgent medical treatment or to attend a funeral or a wedding of their close relatives, the people from Jaffna are unable to travel to Colombo and this restriction causes great inconvenience to the people here, he states. He alleges that similar restrictions are not imposed on Tamils who want to travel to Colombo from Trincomalee, Batticaloa or from any other part of Sri Lanka.

Requiring a person in Jaffna to obtain Army clearance and submit a letter of permission from a person in Colombo, where he intends to travel and reside, is a serious and outrageous violation of the fundamental right to equality and the right to the freedom of movement and of choosing his residence within Sri Lanka, the Petitioner contends.

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