Journalists protested abduction of journalist Nadaraja Guruparan

The director of Dissapearance Committee told BBC Sandehaya that the Committee has received information of over fifty cases of disappearance in recent weeks.

“The protesters urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to immediate attention to these abductions while security is tightened in Colombo,” KVJ Dayanan said.

The government appointed a retired judge, Mahanama Thilakaratne, in September to investigate the abductions, but so far no report has been submitted.

Last month, the Asian Human Rights Commission accused the government of abducting suspected rebels.

The government has denied any involvement.

The Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission said at least four hundred Tamil youths have gone missing from the northern Jaffna peninsula since December.

The Tamil Tigers have also been accused of abducting civilians by human rights groups.