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SRI LANKA, January 5, 2005: (HPI note: A series of reports have appeared regarding the relief efforts in Sri Lanka, not all painting the same picture. We start with the most recent.)



In a sudden move, the Sri Lankan Armed Forces are manning the refugee camps in Amparai, Batticaloa and Trincomalee since Tuesday. The Special Task Force (STF) in Thirukovil, Amparai have hijacked two tractors of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) relief supplies and distributed them after removing the TRO labels. “The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Special Task Force (STF) have stepped up their harassment of workers of the (TRO),” Mr. K. P. Reggie, Executive Director of the TRO, told TamilNet on Wednesday. The TRO has called for an urgent Press Conference today at 6pm at its Colombo office. Goods sent to the East continue to be stopped at checkpoints and delayed, and TRO workers are being harassed in Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Amparai according to Reggie.

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