Your kind attention is drawn to Sri Lankan media reports about Sri Lankan Armed Forces having unleashed a 'Reign Of Blind Terror' on the Academic Community in Jaffna. The Vice Chancellor of the Jaffna University, Deans of Faculties, Senior Lecturers and Student Council Leaders were brutally shot at, assaulted, and trampled on as they were peacefully marching towards the office of the Peace Monitoring Mission on Monday, 19 December 2005, to hand over a memorandum protesting against the recent army and paramilitary atrocities perpetrated on the student population and civilians in Jaffna within the last two weeks. According to the same reports, the Member of Parliament for Jaffna, Mr Gajendran who was with the marchers was grievously wounded in the army assault. Prof. Perinpanathan of the Faculty of Humanities and Kandeepan, the President of the Medical Students' Union were admitted to the hospital with gunshot injuries. The Vice Chancellor, Dr Mohanathas escaped from being shot as he fell flat on the ground along with the other marchers, as SL Army started firing at the crowd. However, he and Prof Sivachandran were severely assaulted with rifle butts and subsequently admitted to hospital along with many others.

It is reported that the march from the university campus commenced at 10.30 in the morning and progressed peacefully when the SL Army suddenly charged at them without any warning or provocation. Such brazen and violent repression of human and democratic rights of ordinary citizens have to be condemned. It amply demonstrates that the SL Army is an Army of occupation in the Jaffna Peninsula and the people are under their subjugation with no rights whatsoever.

The Army atrocities in the Jaffna Peninsula was on the increase recently. There were sporadic army assaults on civilians, attacks on auto-rickshaws and sexual violence committed by them. A girl in her early teens, was saved from sexual assault by a soldier at the entrance of an army camp, by an angry civilian crowd.Two women had been raped and murdered. The latest assault was on a 20 year old girl, at Pungudutivu, an islet off Jaffna on Saturday, 17 December. Her body was recovered from a well outside the navy camp. The incident had provoked tension. Relatives and friends travelling from Jaffna to attend the funeral were waylaid and assaulted by state forces. Mourners at the funeral service were also attacked. The state military and paramilitary men had gone berserk in a number of islands off Jaffna.

There have been reports of Tamil homes in Colombo and suburbs being raided by the police and hundreds have been arrested and detained without charges, for only reason being Tamils. A senior journalist of Thinakkural Newspaper, Mr.P.Parthipan and two computer technicians Messrs Kokulan and Sarveswaran who were returning home in the company vehicle after night duty were reported arrested between Wellawatte and Pamankade by the police in their routine search operation around 11.30 p.m. on Saturday the 17th. Mr.Parthipan had immediately identified himself as a journalist by producing his media accreditation card of the Government Information Department in addition to his National Identity Card and newspaper office identity card. The three being questioned told the Police that they were returning from their night shift in the newspaper office. But the Police disregarded their plea and took them to the Kirulapone Police Station. Later around Saturday midnight they were taken to another place from Kirulapone Police Station where fingerprints of them were taken by a police officer who reportedly treated them like criminals. They were released on bail at 11a.m. on Sunday and that after taking photographs and video of them.

The above facts are brought to your notice with a view to bring pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to take meaningful and concrete steps to end forthwith the undemocratic and criminal activities of its Security Forces.

Thanking you for your kind and immediate attention.

 Yours faithfully

 A. Jesuthasan