Wigneswaran wants Army out of North

Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran yesterday said that the people in the North would be extremely pleased if the armed forces were withdrawn from the Northern Province due to several allegations leveled against the army.

This observation was made at a media conference attended by Minister John Amaratunga yesterday.

“We still have a lot of problems because of the continued presence of the security forces. Our lands have been taken over by them, our cultivation, our fisheries, our businesses have been taken over by them and our women are not safe. The deployment of 100,000 army personnel is equivalent to one soldier to every four people. We will be extremely happy if the army is withdrawn,” Wigneswaran said.