Thousands rally to support peace talks

Sri Lanka's ruling United National Front (UNF) government yesterday demonstrated that it had strong public backing for the peace process after tens of thousands of Sri Lankans rallied in the capital Colombo to show support for peace talks with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Calling for more support as talks with the guerrillas progress, an estimated 400,000 people, most of them supporters of the UNF arrived by noon at the main entry points to the city and assembled at the main venue for the rally.

The crowds were given instructions to keep away from the area of the President's house in a bid to avoid any political confrontation ahead of the talks due to begin next Monday in Thailand.

The warning was first given by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday to the organisers of the rally, and later the chairman of the United National Party (UNP), Malik Samarawickrama, issued further instructions to those involved.

Senior ministers were told to lead the peace rally into the capital from the outskirts and to mingle among the public.

The biggest organised group came from the plantation sector with some 50,000 supporters brought in by Housing Minister Arumugam Thondaman. "We want to show that there is strong public support for the peace campaign", he told reporters.

The Upcountry People's Front, another party in the central part of the country, representing the interests of the estate sector led by Minister P. Chandrasekaran also brought in a large crowd.

The Deputy Leader of the UNP, the main constituent party of the UNF government, Karu Jayasuriya told reporters that the main aim of the rally was to show that the negotiations due to commence next week had the strongest public support.

"We should show the world that the peace campaign has very strong public backing from the people", Jayasuriya said. "We want this support to continue."

The main opposition People's Alliance (PA) and the Marxist JVP (People's Liberation Front) claimed that most of the people who arrived for the peace rally had been forced to come.

The JVP said that some of the garment factory owners had told their employees to attend the rally and given them leave.

President Chandrika Kumara-tunga had expressed concern about schools being closed early yesterday in Colombo and said that parents were disturbed about organising such event as it could disrupt the functioning of schools.

School and office attendance dropped and business activities came to a virtual standstill by noon. The rally was the biggest event organised in support of peace. The Town Hall area - the city's traditional rallying point - was shoulder to shoulder with people yelling "peace, peace".

"In the last 19 years the world has changed but we have been left behind," Wickremesinghe told the crowd, many pressed up against a security gate surrounding officials and speakers.

"Our resources have shrunk, talented people have left the country. We have fought a war at the cost of development," he said. "That is why I work toward a programme of long-term peace."