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LTTE opens first 'court' in east
By Chris Kamalendran

As the government was preparing for another round of peace talks in Oslo, the LTTE opened its first 'court of law' in the Arasadithivu area of Batticaloa yesterday. The first case was against a woman who was charged by the LTTE 'Police' with brewing illicit liquor. She was sentenced to three months RI suspended for one year and fined Rs. 2000. The LTTE 'Magistrate' Thillai is seen hearing the first case. The wall above him is adorned with the LTTE emblem and a picture of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Pic by S. Jayanandamoorthy.

The LTTE yesterday declared open its first 'court of law' in the eastern province, showing further signs of its expanding authority in the region. The 'court' was declared open at Arasadithivu, Kokkadicholai in the Batticaloa district by Para Sinnathurai, head' of the LTTE's administrative and judicial division.

The cases will be heard by judges who had arrived from the north. The opening of the 'court' came two weeks after the LTTE opened two 'police stations' in the

Batticaloa and Trincomalee districts. The first case before the eastern LTTE court was against a woman who had been charged with brewing illicit liquor.

The 42-year-old Vasanthapillai Manomani, a mother of three, had been arrested by the LTTE 'police' at her house in Weerachenai area. They detected five litres of 'Kasippu' (illicit brew) and goda, a substance used to manufacture the brew.

The woman who was kept in LTTE 'custody' was brought to the 'courts' by the Tiger 'police'. Soon after the ceremonial opening the 'officer in charge' of the 'police', Sivabalasingham Rajagopal, produced the suspect. The case lasted less than half an hour and the 'Magistrate' identified as 'Thillai' sentenced the woman to three months RI suspended for one year and imposed a fine of Rs. 2,000.

The woman through her 'lawyer' pleaded that she be allowed to pay the fine in installments. The woman had retained a lawyer who had passed out from the 'LTTE law school' in the Wanni.

Among the other cases lined up for hearing is a murder case. The suspect in this case was arrested from the government-controlled areas of the Batticaloa district, reports said. LTTE sources said the court's jurisdiction extended to both the cleared and uncleared areas in the Batticaloa and Ampara districts. The court was due to be opened last week, but the ceremony was put off as the LTTE cadres were busy preparing for the 'heroes week' that begins on Thursday.

The LTTE court is housed in the former Rural Development Society building, about three kilometres from a police station it set up recently. Meanwhile The Sunday Times learns that the issue of LTTE 'courts' will not be taken up at the upcoming peace talks in Oslo, but the issue of LTTE 'police stations' will be taken up as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem that it would be taken up.

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