Sri Lankan police have arrested 65 Tamils over the past month on accusations of attempting to revive the LTTE, a spokesman told reporters in Colombo on Thursday.
See reports by AFP and Daily Mirror.
Speaking in Sinhala, Police spokesperson Ajith Rohana said that five of those arrested have been released, and the remaining 60 detainees, including 10 women, are being held at the notorious Boosa detention camp in the south and another in Vavuniya in the north.
The arrests began soon after deliberations began at the UN Human Rights Council on a US-led resolution mandating an international investigation into Sri Lanka’s wartime atrocities and post-war abuses. It was passed on March 27.
"We arrested 65 of them over the last month. Five of them later came to be released due to lack of evidence," Rohana said.
"They were arrested for being involved in LTTE propaganda, transferring money and accepting foreign donations and taking steps to create a rift among the main nationalities," he said.
"The suspects were arrested mostly from Northern and Eastern provinces. They have access to all the facilities under the law. We are questioning them with a view to ensure that there is no resumption of war in this country and to prevent communal violence breaking out," he added.
On Wednesday, the Women’s Action Network, a rights group based in Sri Lanka, said that women arrested on accusations of LTTE links were being mistreated and denied medical care.