to India, Singapore or dual fare, you can now ver en route in our Paro remarkably low price Holidays start at USe udes modern hat inental b the Curfew made little difference at all to ine acuvides or lne lnugs largery because the army men of violence. The fires continued and even small houses were attacked.
Their belongings looted or taken out ana set on nre. I nese acavides went on till about 11pm before the police came 1,2 an encouraged these Earlier the army ignored people through with oftensive weaDons around and asked people to get inside their houses and that too very gently.
encouraged people and even assisted them and the police - mobs - marching Although the government announc- Tamils. ed on the radio that looters will be shot nt for travellers ntroduction anka is now and that the punishment for looting is death, people did not take much notice At the GCSU I met many who had come from different parts of the city and all of them said the same story -looting, burning and harassment of Some killed and even worse people in general had racial hysteria. It was pretty sickening. I felt very depressed because I felt I was powerless to do anything However, no built back to Fort and the streets were now crowded with people who were trying lo sonicrow curfew. I walked up to a bus stand and there were no buses. I decided to walk with many others who were doing the same thing.
On the way I saw looters carrying their loot - bales of textiles, bottles of brandy, whisky sugar etc and they were forcibly stopping lorries and compelling them to take them.
Everywhere it was the same houses being looted and burnt, cars of it because they knew that neither the police nor the army were going to im•emen suda decisions.
In order to justify these dastardly acts people now began to make stories about the houses that they looted stories were made up to say that they had found boxes of bullets and ammunition inside these houses or that the army had captured to "Tiger' leaders. When they were closely questioned they were stories they had heard second or third hand.
The time now is 9am on Tuesday 27 July Just now warehouse factory and a house burn11g. Although last night the govern ment declared that there would be a curfew all day today people are roaming round the streets. They don't have transport and that is why they walk around tell locally The situation worse. Although the government itself seems to have engineered this situatior they may not be able to control matters if these developments continue. People are now saying that the government did not act decisively and therefore the people took things into their hands.
We are too few to have a massive effect on the people. Although we explain things to people and show the futility of these actions, we can reach only more sensible people. things will die down and humanity and sense will return But that is anybody's guess. What will happen today? row? thing is clear; Tamils would stay in the South after this. There will be another mass exodus. I will try to send further reports as soon as bossiole 1. Father Caspersz is a Jesuit priest who leads the Movement for Inter-racial Justice and Equality finis report was sent to Sinhalese Colombo London on 5 August)
accede to people.
separate been become affected by the clamour natural request of the Sinhala It appears the desire of the Sinhala people is that the country cannot be divided. Legislation has since been enacted making it illegal to call for a state thus the Tamil United Liberation Front has been proscribed.
Constitutional cover has obtained 'eliminate terrorism'. Martial law may well be declared in the north and east and thus a de facto separate state created.
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