(un) rest in peace

Source: Tamilnet

The parliament resumed its sittings Tuesday morning at about 9:30 a.m. and after the conclusion of normal business of the House, Mr.Wimal Weerwanse, the Propaganda Secretary of the Sinhala nationalist JVP, with the permission of the Speaker made a special statement on the Kebbitigollawa blast.

Weerawanse charged that the LTTE was for the Kebbitigollawa massacre of Sinhala civilians including children and women. He appealed to the Sri Lankan government to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.

Thereafter he requested that the House should observe one minute silence for those killed in the Kebbitigollawa blast, sources said.

At that stage TNA parliamentarians Mr.N.Raviraj, Mr.S.Gajendran and Mr.Ariyanethran walked into the well of the house protesting against for not observing silence for Tamil civilians killed elsewhere in the North East.

That drew heated arguments between JVP and TNA parliamentarians. JVP parliamentarians Mr.Wimal Weerwanse and Mr.Nihal Galapathi rushed to the well of the house and pushed back the TNA parliamentarians to their seat.

Mr.T.Maheswaran, a Tamil UNP parliamentarian also entered the fray at one stage in support of the TNA parliamentarians.

Both groups thereafter engaged in fisticuffs and the Sergeant-at-Arms failed to restore order by bringing the two parties under control.

As the situation went out of control, the Speaker adjourned the sittings till 10.30 a.m.