Lanka SC halts Tamil eviction

Sri Lanka8217;s Supreme Court on Friday ordered an immediate halt on the eviction of minority ethnic Tamils from the nation8217;s capital...

Sri Lanka8217;s Supreme Court on Friday ordered an immediate halt on the eviction of minority ethnic Tamils from the nation8217;s capital, a day after hundreds were forced to leave at gunpoint by police as part of a crackdown on LTTE rebels.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued the order following a petition filed by a political activist group Centre for Policy Alternatives CPA, which argued that Thursday8217;s action was a violation of basic human rights.

8220;The court will hear the case on June 22,8221; an official said, adding that police Inspector General Victor Perera and four officers in charge of police stations here were restrained from carrying out any eviction pending the hearing.

A CPA spokesperson said they will go before the apex court seeking redress for those already evicted. The government said on Thursday that 376 people were evicted in seven buses and would be taken to Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Batticaloa.

Soon after the SC order, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse invited the the evicted people back to Colombo and slammed his police chief for the evictions. He also ordered a disciplinary probe into the incident.

The president took 8220;serious note of the concerns expressed8221; by members of parliament, human rights organisations, religious leaders and the media relating to the exercise yesterday,8221; Rajapakse8217;s office said in a statement.

The government has also arranged to bring back the Tamils being held at a detention centre in Vavuniya, 260 kms north of the capital.

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Sri Lanka faces mounting criticism, from abroad and at home over the crackdown on minority Tamils, with the entire Opposition and some government ministers terming it 8220;ethnic cleansing8221;.

The United States on Friday condemned the forced eviction, saying the 8220;action can only widen the ethnic divide8221;.

8220;Such measures violate the Sri Lankan Constitution8217;s guarantee that every citizen has the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence within Sri Lanka,8221; the US embassy said in a statement.

It said the US understood and supported Sri Lanka8217;s obligation to defend itself against terrorism. 8220;But this action can only widen the ethnic divide at a time when important efforts are underway to reach a national consensus to end Sri Lanka8217;s nearly quarter-century old conflict.8221;

Eight mutilated bodies found

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COLOMBO: Eight mutilated bodies were found in a rubbish dump on Friday at Wennapuwa, about 60 kms north of Colombo, officials said. The identity of the victims was not immediately known. In March, five bodies were found at a swap just north of Colombo. The victims were later identified as members of the minority Tamil community.

PTI