The security forces continued to carry out cordon and search operations in Trincomalee town and surrounding areas in June. Thirty four people were arrested in Sirimapura on 6 June. Police say guns and explosives were found in the area. A number of people were taken into custody during a house-to-house search operation in Trincomalee town the following day, but all were released.
The Navy arrested LTTE cadre Kogulan, 15 and Suvendrarajah, 16, in early June at Palampotaru. They are accused of entering an Army-controlled area with weapons. Tiger member V Manojkumar was taken into custody by the Navy the following day at Nilaveli and handed over to the police who say that he had a T56 rifle and three grenades at the time of the arrest.
The LTTE say that their member Gurunathan, arrested by the Navy several months ago, must be released if they are to release a naval officer taken into custody on 13 May. Two Tamil youths have complained to the SLMM that they were severely beaten up by the Navy at Muthur on 11 June.
In the Hill Country, 30,000 tea workers in Maskeliya and Upcot areas staged a strike on 7 June over police attitude towards the attempted abduction of a 13 year-old student. The girl was on her way to school from her home on Brunswick Estate in Maskeliya when the attempt was made. A number of abductions and rapes have taken place in the Hill Country and the police are accused of turning a blind eye. It is also alleged that the police are harassing people who raise this issue in public.
On 8 June, over 3,000 people demonstrated before the police station in Maskeliya and a petition demanding action against the gangs involved in criminal activities was submitted to the Superintendent of Police in Hatton. Students in a number of schools staged demonstrations in several areas of the Hill Country and in Colombo.
Over a 1,000 people participated in another protest in Nuwara Eliya, organised by the Hill Country political party and trade union, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) on 23 June. The CWC is part of the ruling United National Front coalition, but opposes government plans for a hydropower dam in Kotmale. The CWC says that large areas will be inundated under the scheme, affecting the homes of thousands of tea workers and their livelihoods.