The fear that gripped the Tamil community in Colombo had only just begun to wane after a decline in the number of abductions when the indiscriminate arrests of over 2000 Tamils following the twin bombs in the city and a suburb, shook them to the core.

The cordon and search operations carried out last week in the city and the suburbs came as a surprise not only to the Tamils, but to people of other ethnicities as well.

The Tamils in the capital faced similar problems when bomb explosions were a part and parcel of Colombo life a few years ago.

The Tamils were therefore to heave a sigh of relief when the Ceasefire Agreement was signed five years back.

And a return now to the days of horror where an average Tamil would spend time at police stations to get themselves registered for police reports, has caused a despondency never before seen.

Last week's roundups and indiscriminate arrests have created fear not only among those who were arrested and packed off to the Boossa camp in Galle, but also every Tamil citizen who had come from the north east.

While several human rights activists raised concern over the arrests and detention of Tamils, the government claimed it was not targeting any particular community and the operations were merely for the protection of all citizens.

Panic sticken

However, these actions by the government purportedly to safeguard the city of Colombo and its people has only resulted in a large number of panic stricken Tamil parents and relatives from the north and upcountry rushing to Colombo to search for their loved ones and make sure they were safe.

M. Gnanapragasam was one of those anxious parents who had to come to Colombo from Mannar when he heard that his son was taken into custody.

The 57 year-old father from Murunkan, Mannar was waiting for his son, Anthony Lonson Gnanapragasam (22) who had come to Sri Lanka from Malaysia.

"He has been there for the last six months and had arrived in Sri Lanka the previous day," Gnanapragasam said.

He added that his son had arrived with two other friends and the police had arrested two of them. "His friend who was not arrested phoned us as soon as this happened," he said.

Anthony Gnanapragasam was arrested when he was on his way to Gunasinghapura bus terminal to board a bus to Mannar to visit his family.

Gnanapragasam told The Sunday Leader his son possessed all the necessary documentation that a Tamil is required to possess in case the police checked him.

"He had his national ID and his passport. I don't know why he was arrested," the father said.

His search for the whereabouts of his son was also futile, as he could not be traced anywhere.

Meanwhile religious workers were trying to help put families back together. Robina Paulin, is a Sister at the Holy Cross Church, Mannar. She, together with another person from the church had rushed to the Boossa camp, scoured the premises at the Welikada prison, and other likely areas, to no avail.

"We could not locate Anthony anywhere. However, we are continuing to look for him," she told The Sunday Leader.

Parents' worry

Says Gnanapragasam, "My main worry is that we will be unable to find him though we know he has been arrested by the security forces. All I want to know is whether he is doing alright. I will do anything to get him out when I know where he is," Gnanapragasam added.

Gnanapragasam is not alone. His story unfortunately resonates among hundreds of other Tamils now in a desperate search for their kith and kin.

Certainly this issue brings into sharp focus the veracity of the government's claims as to the numbers arrested.

Chief Government Whip, Minister Fernandopulle said in parliament on Tuesday that 2184 persons were arrested and 1800 were released.

However on the same day at a press briefing, the Minister was to change his calculations and state that more than 2500 were arrested and around 2300 had been released.

"We don't know how many have been arrested and whether my son has been taken anywhere else," Gnanapragasam said.

Government contradicts

Convener, Civil Monitoring Commission, (CMC), Mano Ganesan told The Sunday Leader that government statistics on the number of persons arrested were contradictory.

"The figures given by Minister Fernandopulle in parliament were different from what he said at the press briefing on the same day. Likewise, the Human Rights Ministry has a different number and the police have a different number," he said.

He said the parents whose children were arrested were feeling helpless as many people had gone missing during the arrest.

Seventeen Tamils from the upcountry were released last Thursday reducing the number in custody to 185.

Minister Fernandopulle last week also said that 100 of the 185 were under detention orders and that some of them had connections with the LTTE.

Gnanapragasam told The Sunday Leader his son had been in Malaysia for six months and had been working in a shop. "He was never involved in any illegal activities," he said.

Gnanapragasam also said that his anxiety about his son was similar to that of a parent whose son was abducted. "I don't know where he is," he said.

Abductions?

The fact that Anthony Gnanapragasam could not be located anywhere has also led to widespread speculation that some of the Tamils had been abducted during the roundups.

"I have my doubts. I think that certain people used this opportunity to abduct some people. The government has paved the way for them to do this," said Ganesan.

Ganesan called upon the police to release the names of those who were arrested, detained and those released.

"The government has said that some of those arrested have been detained, and others discharged. This information is only in numbers. We call upon the police to immediately release the names and other details of those who have been arrested, discharged and still detained to avoid confusion among the family members."

While Gnanapra-gasam was worried about his son's whereabouts, Selvam Leelawathi was in a better position as she had met her son, Selvam Thushara in Boossa.

He was taken by the security forces from a lodge in Kotahena where he had stayed with his mother for the last one and a half years.

"We are from Ariyalai, Jaffna. I came here with my son to send him abroad. He had all the necessary documents, including the police report. I don't know why he was arrested," she said.

She added that she was relieved to see her son in Boossa.

"But I prefer that he is with me. I want to know that he is alright. I don't care whether he goes abroad or not. He has respiratory problems at nights. I want to be near him," she said.

Recalling past horror

In June this year Tamils from the north and upcountry were targeted when over 300 were evicted from lodges in and around Colombo and unceremoniously packed into buses and deported to the north. However, they were eventually brought back to Colombo following severe opposition from human rights activists.

The government has continuously stated that Tamils were never a target.

However, the Tamils who have been living in Colombo for many years have started to panic following the latest action taken by the government, purportedly on security grounds.

Meanwhile, some of the upcountry Tamils who were arrested last week were released on Thursday. Politicians representing the upcountry had gone to Boossa and secured the release of these youths.

Vocational Training Deputy Minister, P. Radhakrishnan told The Sunday Leader that there are still several upcountry youth in detention.

"I'm not sure of the exact number released. However, there are some more under detention," he said.

Court appeal

The CWC had also complained to the Supreme Court against last week's mass arrest of Tamil persons.

The CWC in its petition to courts had stated that the arrests had taken place in an irresponsible manner, causing great inconvenience and humiliation.

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) also filed a petition at the Supreme Court on December 4 over what they claim to be arbitrary arrests and detention of persons on grounds of ethnicity.

The CPA said that the government specifically targeted the Tamil community in an unlawful manner and did not keep the Human Rights Commission informed of the arrests, let alone the families of most taken into custody.

In a statement to The Sunday Leader, the CPA charged, "The camp that these people were sent to was overcrowded and ill equipped which has led to cruel and inhumane treatment. By sending so many people to a place like this, this is not the first time that Tamil people have been persecuted in this manner," referring to the eviction of Tamils in June.

The CPA added that the mass arrests were a violation of human rights, and that they have received reports from organisations monitoring the situation at Boossa, and from people who have been released from the camp, that the conditions were poor to say the least.

The CPA went on to say that despite the international community, human rights groups and the media outcry over the arrests, it is now up to the Supreme Court to look into the matter.

The sudden roundups and search cordons have not only affected the Tamils who had arrived recently from the north or the hill country, but also those who have been living in Colombo for many years.

These actions in the name of security measures have only resulted in the movements of Tamils being restricted.

Sordid conditions

The government established the Boossa detention camp 1971 to house suspects arrested following the first insurrection by the JVP.

Apart from being notorious for the detention of suspects in the second insurrection of the JVP, in 1987, many Tamil youths were arrested in the north east and sent to Boossa. Despite rumours of the detention camp being used as a torture chamber to interrogate Tamil civilians, none of these rumours have been substantiated according to UNP MP, John Amaratunge. Speaking to The Sunday Leader the former interior minister said, "There has been talk of torture, but no one can be sure at the moment."

Amaratunge added that the camp has been used many times in the past as a detention centre following mass arrests. However, he stated that human rights of the detainees are violated due to the poor facilities at the camp.

Reports have emerged that detainees are led out at gun point and spend six minutes in the latrines with no option other than defecating and urinating into a gutter deep inside the camp which overflows.

Officials remain tight lipped

Chief Government Whip, Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle stated at a media briefing last week that the cordon and search operations carried out by the security forces did not target any particular community.

Minister Fernandopulle stated that the he cannot divulge what measures will be carried out in the future.

"How can we tell? These operations are carried out suddenly," he told reporters last week.

The government however has stated that the Tamils were never a target when carrying out search operations. Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Military Spokesperson Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said that there were Sinhalese and Muslims among those arrested but government officials remained tight lipped when questioned about the treatment of those taken in.