Published on - 1/4/2005
In what could be seen as an LTTE retaliatory measure, suspected LTTE men during early hours on Sunday (2) ordered tsunami victims sheltered inside a cadjan-thatched hall at KUDATHANAI VIDYALAYA (school) north of NAGARKOVIL to vacate the premises before two motorbike-riding LTTE men set fire to the hall.
However, troops on being informed of the LTTE order immediately evacuated those refugees and re-located them elsewhere at a church in KUDATHANAI-KARAIYOOR area to ensure that those refugees would not fall into fire from the frying pan.
Those LTTE men after torching it had for reasons best known only to those men gone on videoing the burning fire.
The torching was seen as a retaliatory measure directed against those refugees who accepted Army assistance and relief items during past few days after they were struck in the disaster.
LTTE men's resistance to keep Army relief teams from entering KUDATHANAI VIDYALAYA in NAGARKOVIL refugee centre on 01 January 2005 received a shattering blow when refugees defied LTTE orders and ran out to receive most urgent needs from the Army.
The Army has continued to take care of the tsunami victims housed in this school since 26 December 2004, where more than sixty displaced families are housed but around 5.00 p.m. on New Year day the troops had gone to this place in order to distribute some clothes.
However, some LTTE men at the entrance to the said school premises suddenly prevented troops from entering for distribution of relief items for reasons obvious only to them.
Showing restraint, troops took the items to another nearby Social Welfare Centre in KUDATHANAI and instead began to give away them to those displaced sheltered there.
When refugees saw themselves that those relief items were being delivered to another group as a result of the LTTE arrogance, irate refugees at KUDATHANAI VIDYALAYA broke open LTTE barriers, pushed away LTTE men and began to flee en masse towards the troops engaged in distributing relief items in the nearby vicinity.
However, troops distributed relief parcels to all those who came to them.
Later on the same day at about 7.00 p.m. when another section of troops carried packed cooked dinner packets to the same school, LTTE once again obstructed their delivery, claiming that those refugees could be looked after by LTTE.
Once again, troops without resorting to any argument with LTTE men turned away and re-visited the Social Welfare Centre in KUDATHANAI in order to distribute cooked meal packets to those refugees.
Repeating the same practice, those refugees in KUDATHANAI VIDYALAYA once again turned violent, confronted LTTE men and gathered around troops to collect cooked meal packets after fleeinf from LTTE men at the Vidyalaya premises.
