Saying the the arrests were made on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds, AI urged the govt. adhere with international standards in detaining suspects

Amnesty International has also called on Sri Lanka government to repeal or revise Emergency Regulations 'to bring them into line with international human rights law and standards'

Nearly 1000 Tamils were arrested within the last few days in and around the capital in cordon search operations, Tamil legislators told BBC Sandeshaya.

Detained in Boossa

Deputy Minister for vocational Training P Radhakrishnan said some of those arrested were already released after questioning by the police.

	The arrests were made after the blast at a crowded shopping complex

However many arrested are still being detained in Boossa detention camp, near, Galle, he told BBC Sinhala.com.

99.9% of those arrested were ethnic Tamils, he added.

The arrests were made after a suicide bomb blast that targeted senior Tamil minister and a parcel bomb attack that killed at least 20 civilians in a crowded shopping complex, in Nugegoda, last week.

The government accused the Tamil Tigers of carrying out both attacks.

'Discriminatory grounds'

The watchdog says it is concerned that 'arrests have been made on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds' using emergency regulations.

Recalling that President Rajpaksa has already issued a directive to register the detainees wit the families and the national human rights commission, the AI urged the authorities to adhere to international standards in arresting and detaining civilians.

"Those arrested may be detained in inhumane conditions; denied access to lawyers, courts and family members; and face the risk of torture, other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and prolonged arbitrary detention," the AI statement issued on Tuesday said.