SRI LANKA COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM HUMANITARIAN WORKERS OFFICES TamilNet: 08.01.07 TRO urges GoSL to guarantee security of humanitarian workers

TRO urges GoSL to guarantee security of humanitarian workers

[TamilNet, Monday, 08 January 2007, 16:22 GMT]
The Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, which has been subjected to Sri Lankan Police raids and paramilitary attacks, has urged the Government of Sri Lanka to guarantee security of the humanitarian staff of the organistion. The Trincomalee office of the TRO was attacked Saturday and Sunday nights by armed men, believed to be paramilitary members operated by the Sri Lanka Army. The attack on Trinomcalee TRO office comes after Sri Lankan police raid on Friday.

Full text of the press release issued by the TRO follows:

Paramilitaries attack TRO Trinco Office; Police Raid TRO Colombo Office

Over the past four days the TRO offices in Colombo, on Monday 8 January, and the government controlled areas of the NorthEast, the Trincomalee and Vavuniya offices on Friday 5 January, and the office, have been raided by Police (CID) who thoroughly searched the offices and removed computers , documents, files, and other material from all the offices. The Trincomalee office was also attacked and ransacked by armed paramilitaries on Saturday and Sunday nights.

On Saturday the security guard was tied up with rope and assaulted. He was not present on Sunday due to fear of being assaulted again.

The attackers, who were speaking both Sinhala and Tamil ransacked the office on both nights burning documents and destroying furniture. On Saturday night the paramilitary stole the only computer that had not been taken by the Police during the Friday 5 January 2007 raid of the office. The paramilitaries also removed a photocopy machine, fax machine and other office equipment.