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Sri Lankan jets pound rebel positions
 Sri Lankan fighter jets pounded Tamil Tiger rebel positions in the northern part of the country Thursday afternoon, the military said. Air force planes launched two airstrikes on two separate targets in the rebel-held Mullaitivu district, said an officer at the Defence Ministrys media centre. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said details of casualties and damage were not immediately available. A spokesman for the Tigers was not immediately available to comment. Meanwhile, Sri Lankas Supreme Court allowed a challenge on Thursday to the eviction of nearly 400 minority ethnic Tamils from Colombo carried out during an anti-rebel drive. The court allowed the challenge on the grounds that anti-torture provisions of the constitution may have been violated by the police and troops and fixed a formal hearing for November 28. The three-judge bench granted leave to proceed in the case filed against the police and the state security apparatus for forcibly removing nearly 400 men, women and children last month as part of an anti-rebel campaign. The case is being taken up on the basis of article 11 and 12 which says that all are equal before the law and that no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, a court official said. The petition was filed by a lobby group called the Centre for Policy Alternatives. The lobby group complained that hundreds of Tamils were dragged out in their night clothes by security forces and bused out of Colombo in a violation of basic rights. An order preventing police and security forces carrying out similar evictions would remain in force till the conclusion of the case, officials said. Mass protests in Colombo: Thousands of opposition activists and ruling party dissidents took to the streets of the Sri Lankan capital Thursday in protest against human rights violations and high living costs. Supporters of the main opposition United National Party and a group of ruling party dissidents led by former foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera marched from Campbell Park in Colombo to the nearby Hyde Park for a rally. Anti-government activists poured into the streets despite warnings by the government that Tamil Tiger rebels had infiltrated the city of 650,000 people with truck and car bombs. Fewer vehicles were on the streets Thursday as many people remained indoors fearing trouble during the opposition rally, police said, adding that they stepped up their presence. We have placed anti-riot squads on stand-by, a police official at the rally said. The activists were denouncing the government over its human rights record and displayed a white van with photographs of hundreds of people who had disappeared in the past year. Posted by: Fred 2007-07-27 |
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