Protesters called on the authorities to allow any citizen, irrespective of ethnicity or religion, to live anywhere in the country

Protesting the eviction of hundreds of Tamils from the lodges in Colombo, they said Sri Lankan citizens should have the right to live where they like irrespective of their ethnicity.

Siritunga Jayasuriya, chairman of Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC), told BBC Sandeshaya that Sri Lanka authorities are trying to alienate Tamils community in Sri Lanka.

War on terror

President's Rajapaksa's administration, he said, is working on an agenda similar to that of President Bush's War on Terror.

This is a move that would strengthen Prabhakaran Madampagama Assaji thero

Jayasuriya accused the authorities of trying to divide Sri Lanka.

"President Rajapaksa has put the first step towards dividing Sri Lanka into separate countries," Jayasuriya told bbcsinhala.com.

Not against security measures

The protest was called by a group of human rights organisations against the move by the police to evict hundreds of Tamils to north and the east.

The protesters insisted they were not against moves by the security forces to safeguard the capital against terrorism.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was accused of working on an agenda to divide Sri Lanka into separate countries.

Madampagama Assaji thero of National Anti-War Front (NAWF), said any Sri Lanka citizen should be able to live any where in the country without any hindrance.

"This is a move that would strengthen Prabhakaran's hands," the thero told BBC Sandeshaya.

'Helping' LTTE

The Tamil Tigers, led by Velupillai Prabhakaran, are fighting for a separate state for Sri Lanka's Tamils.

President Rajapaksa has put the first step towards dividing Sri Lanka into separate countries Siritunga Jayasuriya

Human Rights activists have described as the eviction of Tamils from Colombo on Thursday "ethnic cleansing".

The protesters said the government was trying to sway criticism saying the lodgers voluntarily left the capital.

"Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was lying," Siritunga Jayasuriya said.

World War II

The leader of the Left Front, Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne, questioned under which regulations authorities decided to deport Tamils from Colombo.

The Tamils were taken away like animals without offering any food or water Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne

He compared the eviction of Tamil lodgers to the eviction of Jews by the Nazzis during the second world war.

"The Tamils were taken away like animals without offering any food or water," Dr. Karunaratne said.