There was a commotion during the Sathyagraha launched by the IDPs in Jaffna today when a handful of people started to hoot soon after Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had left the place after giving a speech.

The IDPs were on a hunger strike urging the government that they be resettled in the original home lands owned by them.

Eyewitnesses said that the incident began as soon as Mr. Wickremesinghe ended his speech. They said a handful of men had started hooting at Mr. Wickremesinghe when large crowds gathered there started attacking them.

They said the army which rushed to the place had taken these men away.

TNA MP M. A Sumanthiran confirmed that Mr. Wickremesinghe had completed his speech and had left the location of the hunger strike when the hooting began.

He said this group of men had subsequently started assaulting the crowd gathered at the site. However Mr. Sumanithiran said the crowd that out numbered these men began to hit back at them when the army had arrived. He said the army took four suspects away.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said it was sad to see the people who were on a fast being disturbed.

“This cannot be condoned as the IDPs were only exercising their rights to protest,” he said.(Yohan Perera)

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)