COLOMBO, Nov 29: The Sri Lankan forces clamped a day-long curfew in the entire Tamil-speaking Eastern district of Batticaloa on Saturday.

According to sources in Batticaloa, there have been 34 killings in November so far. Twenty-one of these were killed last week alone. Three of them were women. Three army men were killed in Kalawanjikudi. Three LTTE cadres were also among dead.

The Sri Lankan government and the Karuna group of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), the ruling party in the Eastern Provincial Council, blames the LTTE for the killings. So does the government of Sri Lanka. According to Karuna, the victims have been his followers.

But Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan, who is the chief minister of the eastern province, and Sivageetha Prabhakaran, the mayor of Batticaloa, have said the truth will come out only after thorough investigations. They put the onus of doing the investigations on the central government in Colombo.

The Karuna group organised a strike against the killings in Batticaloa on Friday. Though at odds with Karuna, his rival and Chief Minister Pillayan attended the rally.

The Bishop of Batticaloa and Trincomalee, Rev. Kingsley Swampillai, has said hopes of securing democracy, development and security after the expulsion of the LTTE from the East have been dashed. There have been human rights violations, killings and abductions, he charged. He appealed to the authorities to investigate these.

ARMY TAKES OTIYAMALAI: Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan army, operating in the north-eastern district of Mullaitivu, took Otiyamalai. Located in the southern part of Mullaitivu district, Otiyamalai is described by the defence ministry as a fortification and a forward defence line for more important places like Nedunkeni, Nainamadu and Oddusuddan.