Sri Lankan police allegedly blocked hundreds of Tamils from attending a rally in the capital Wednesday to protest extrajudicial killings and the disappearances of their loved ones, an activist told Foreign Media.
Buses packed with family members were prevented from leaving the northern town of Vavuniya to make a 260-kilometre (162-mile) journey to Colombo for the Wednesday morning rally, activist and politician Mano Ganeshan said.
“The protest was called off because nearly 1,000 people were not allowed to proceed from Vavuniya,” Ganeshan told AFP.
Military spokesman brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya denied intimidation, but said police had “advised” bus operators against leaving in the interest of maintaining peace and calm in the area.
“The police stopped an organised movement of several buses in view of several complaints of stoning of buses in the area,” Wanigasooriya said. “If these buses also proceeded, they could have been attacked and there could have been clashes.”
