Defence authorities were concerned about LTTE infiltration into Colombo and other parts of the south in the run-up to LTTE’s Great Heroes Day on 27 November and the presidential election on 22 December. They warned that senior politicians, including President Chandrika Kumaratunge and opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, were prime targets of the Tigers. Security for the politicians was strengthened.
The Committee of Inquiry into Undue Arrest and Harassment (CIUAH) has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to ensure that no person is arrested for not possessing a police registration certificate. The CIUAH has declared a number of police arrests unlawful. Colombo human rights agencies say illegal arrests of Tamils in the city and other southern areas of Sri Lanka continue despite the CIUAH ruling.
Three Tamils who came to Colombo to obtain passports were arrested in Bambalapitiya suburb on 8 November. Mannar teacher Lucas Christa and S Sasitharan, arrested on 9 September, were released by court on 17 November due to lack of evidence of LTTE links. The problem of arrests may become worse with the arrival of large number of Tamils in Colombo following the escalation in the fighting in the Vanni.
A bomb damaged the railway line near Nanu Oya, three miles south-west of Nuwara Eliya in the Hill Country on 4 November. Four Tamils were arrested in the area. Another four Tamil were detained after the fuel storage tank at the Hatton railway station was blasted with a bomb on 28 November.
Amnesty International expressed concern in a November statement over the alleged torture of K Sriram at the Mirihana police station after his arrest on 25 August. V Yogaseelan alleges that he suffered severe torture for 21 days at the police station after his arrest in Nawala on 12 October. The police obtained a confession from him under torture.