2ND LEAD

More than 200 000 participate in UNP march, Colombo at standstill

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 08:20 GMT]
The final lap of the protest march organised by the opposition United National Party (UNP) drew around two hundred thousand anti-government protesters in Colombo on Tuesday as it reached the final destination. The protest demanding the UPFA Government and President Chandrika Kumaratunge to hold the Presidential polls this year crippled the traffic in Colombo city. The march commenced at 9 am in Dehiwala along the main Galle road was led towards Lipton's circle in the heart of Colombo. Armed forces and the Police were deployed to guard Government institutions and departments which remained closed. Routes leading to the President's residence were shut down.



The Up-country Peoples Front (UPF), the Western Province Peoples Front (WPPF) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) took part in the final lap of the march along with the UNP leaders.

The 10 day uprising march was begun on July 2 in the tsunami hit Devinuwara region in the down south of the country and reached Colombo on Monday drawing more than ten thousand supporters of United national Party led by Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The marchers with green flags were carrying placards and shouting slogans accusing the UPFA coalition Government in failing to address the country's political and socio-economic issues at stake.