Sri Lanka gov't denies involvement in abductions

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday denied any involvement in an alleged abduction of three people connected to Tamil minority legislators in the Eastern Province.

Chief Government Whip and Minister of Highways Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told parliament that it was unfair on the part of the opposition to accuse the government of being behind the abductions.

Suresh Premachandran, a legislator for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), told parliament that three people closely related to three TNA legislators had been abducted by an armed group in the eastern Batticaloa district on Tuesday night.

The three legislators have been warned that they should not vote against the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse in Friday's third reading of the 2008 budget if they wanted to see those abducted return alive.

Premachandran and other opposition speakers urged Speaker W. J. M. Lokubandara to investigate into the incident.

Read more,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/12/content_7236117.htm