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Leave to proceed for CWC petition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka has granted leave to proceed to Fundamental Rights (FR) petition against authorities arresting Tamils in Colombo. The Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) filed the petition on Thursday after nearly 1000 Tamils arrested by the security authorities on 01 and 02 December in and around the capital. The FR petition sought an injunction against issuance of Detention Orders to Tamils arrested without reasonable suspicions in cordon operations. Release sought The Chief Justice on Friday ordered Attorney General to provide on the detainees on Monday. CJ Sarath Silva said the court would consider resolving the matter upon receipt of the report.
Defence Minister, Defence Secretary, Commanders of the armed forces, Inspector General of Police (IGP) and others were cited as respondents in the petition. President Mahinda Rajapaksa holds the Defence portfolio. His younger brother, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, is the Defence Secretary who is the competent authority to issue Defence Orders. International human rights organisations have condemned the government move to arrest hundreds of Tamils in the capital after two bomb blasts killing at least 20 people. International condemnation The government accused LTTE of carrying out the suicide bomb blast and the parcel bomb attack within hours in the capital on 28 November. The CWC, President Rajapaksa's coalition partner, said majority of those arrested are Tamils of Indian origin who have come to the capital seeking employment or prior to leaving the country.
The petition argues that most of those arrested have nothing to do with terrorism. "99.9 percent of those arrested in and around Colombo are ethnic Tamils," Deputy Minister for Vocational Training, P Radhakrishnan earlier told BBC Sandeshaya. Hundreds of those arrested are still being detained in the Boossa detention camp near Galle, Tamil legislators say. The FR petition requested the judiciary to order the authorities to establish a mechanism in which detainees' fundamental rights are protected. | LOCAL LINKS  AI condemns mass arrests04 December, 2007 | Sandeshaya Police arrest 'over 900 Tamils'02 December, 2007 | Sandeshaya Scores killed in Nugegoda blast28 November, 2007 | Sandeshaya Air Force bombs VOT building27 November, 2007 | Sandeshaya Tamil Tigers 'kill civilians'26 November, 2007 | Sandeshaya 'Hundreds of' Indian Tamils detained24 January, 2007 | Highlights Indian Tamils "detained in Boossa"15 January, 2007 | Sandeshaya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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99.9 percent of those arrested in and around Colombo are ethnic Tamils
