Jaffna (Sri Lanka): Some Tamil activists are alleging that the Sri Lankan Army is preventing them from travelling to Colombo during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) scheduled to begin on Friday. They claim that the Sri Lankan government fears a demonstration by the Tamils in Colombo during the CHOGM. According to some Jaffna based Tamil activists, more than 100 family members of the Tamils who disappeared during and after the 30 year long civil war with the government have been prevented from going to the national capital.
The Sri Lankan military has stopped buses carrying Tamils to Colombo to participate in a human rights summit. They allege that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is making all possible efforts to stifle the legitimate voice of the Tamils to give an impression to the World that all is well in the island nation.
Many in Tamils in Colombo are also complaining that they are being closely watched by the police and military. Some are even complaining that they have been told not to participate in any pro-Tamil protests during the CHOGM. The Sri Lankan government is denying these allegations. It says some pro-LTTE elements are behind this campaign to malign the image of the government.
Some pro-Tamil groups are planning a human rights festival in Colombo as a mark of protest against the CHOGM, which officially starts on Friday.
In a separate incident, the United Kingdom's Channel 4 TV crew has also been prevented from visiting the former war zone Jaffna and other parts of Northern Sri Lanka. Their train has been stopped from going further by the Sinhalese people in Anuradhapura.
They are accusing the channel of supporting pro-LTTE elements by airing false documentaries on alleged war crimes. According to a BBC report, Callum Macrae, director of the documentary 'No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka Killing Fields', the police are forcing them to return to Colombo.
The Sri Lankan government has made elaborate security arrangements in Colombo to prevent any untoward incident during the CHOGM.
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