Thousands of Sri Lankans who fled to Colombo in the past five years lined up to register on police orders on Sunday, part of a government security drive to keep Tamil Tiger rebel infiltrators out of the capital city.
Those told to register with the authorities on Sunday left the Eastern Province, where the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had controlled large swathes until being ejected last year by the army and a breakaway rebel faction.
"It is going smoothly," police spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police Ranjith Gunasekara said. The Supreme Court turned down an attempt to stop the drive by a rights group, which complained the exercise was unfairly targeting Tamil people. The court upheld it as a voluntary registration. A similar drive two weeks ago went off smoothly. It involved people who had fled the Northern Province, which is almost entirely populated by Tamil people.