The United States on Friday condemned the forced eviction of ethnic Tamils from the Sri Lankan capital, saying the "action can only widen the ethnic divide."
Washington's comments came even as hundreds of people, including a large number from the majority Sinhalese community took to the
streets in Colombo to protest the government's action.
"The United States condemns the forced removal of Tamils from Colombo. Such measures violate the Sri Lankan Constitution's guarantee that every citizen has the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence within Sri Lanka," the US embassy said in a statement.
It said the US understood and supported Sri Lanka's obligation to defend itself against terrorism. "But this action can only widen the ethnic divide at a time when important efforts are underway to reach a national consensus to end Sri Lanka's nearly quarter-century old conflict."
"We call upon the government of Sri Lanka to stop the forcible removal of its citizens from Colombo, to make public the destinations of those already removed, and to ensure their safety and well-being," it said.
The government crackdown came even as Japan's special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi was in the island to try and salvage a moribund peace process between the government and the LTTE rebel group.
Hundreds of Tamils, including the elderly and sick, were forced out of bed just before dawn yesterday and bundled into overcrowded buses and taken to Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Batticaloa as part of a crackdown on LTTE rebels.