50 days have passed, soldier still LTTE captive

Sri Lanka Army soldier H. S. Nimal Kumara who was taken into LTTE custody in December last year still remains in LTTE captivity due to the failure of the Sri Lanka government to secure his release.

H. S. Nimal Kumara of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry Unit was seized by the LTTE on December 24 when he was unknowingly crossing the front-line in the Weli-Oya area. The LTTE is using the soldier to pressurise the government to accept its legal system. The LTTE wants the government to send its lawyers to secure the soldier’s release.

Although the government had raised the issue with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the ICRC no results had come through. Almost 50 days have lapsed since the solider was seized by the LTTE.

Meanwhile, two Tamil soldiers abducted by the LTTE after the signing of the ceasefire agreement are still missing. They are 28-year-old Arumugam Saundarajah who was captured on July 3 and 46-year-old Sivasambu who was captured on January 3. The LTTE refuses to accept responsibility.