Victims of the tidal waves which hit Sri Lanka's coastal line last
December staged demonstrations Monday in different parts of the island, accusing
the government of lacking co-ordination of relief efforts, officials said.
In the eastern port town of Trincomalee, the protesters blockedthe main
Trincomalee-Nilaweli road by placing fishing boats and logs.
They even cooked meals on the road, claiming the government hadfailed to
provide them with temporary housing even two months after the disaster.
Although business places belonging to the majority Sinhala community remained
open, the Tamils and Muslims observed the protest called by an organization
backed by the Tamil Tiger rebels.
The Army had cleared the Muttur road blocked by the protesters,police said.
The protest came to an end when the Government Agent Gamini Rodrigo visited
the protesters and pledged to build temporary homes as soon as possible.
Elsewhere in the main town of Galle in the southern province, angry traders
burnt tyres in the city center to protest action by the authorities to demolish
their temporary business huts.
Urban Development Authority officials said because the traders had defied the
government's 100 meter buffer zone rule in making temporary constructions, they
had to remove them.
After the devastating tsunami, the government introduced a 100 meter buffer
zone in which construction was prohibited within 100 meters of the beach.
Over 30,000 died in the Dec. 26 tsunami, which hit almost two thirds of Sri
Lanka's coastal belt.
