‘104 LTTE cadres poisoned to death at Lanka rehab centres’

Colombo, Aug 18 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s Tamil politicians havealleged that over 100 LTTE cadres at rehabilitation centreswere injected with poison leading to their deaths, promptingthe government to reject their claims today. Politicians of the main Tamil party TNA politicians andthe Tamil media claimed the deaths of some 104 ex-combatantswho had allegedly been given poisonous injections. They hadclaimed physical disability due to the injections being givento them. Northern chief minister C V Wigneswaran has said that theUS Air Forces medical team, currently in the Tamil-dominatednorth, will examine the former rehabilitated LTTE cadres, whohe alleged had fallen sick because they were injected withpoisonous substances at government detention or rehabilitationcentres. State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene rejected theclaims as "false allegations". "It is sad to hear some politicians in the North makingfalse allegations when the government is making a genuineeffort to resolve the issue of the Northern people. "Anyone, including those from the internationalcommunity, can visit the rehabilitation camps after obtainingpermission from the government and see for themselves the workthat is being done," he said, referring to claims by membersof the northern provincial council. Government spokesman and Minister of Health RajithaSenaratne also dismissed the claims yesterday and said localdoctors can be asked to examine them. PTI CORR SAI AKJSAI