Tight security around SAARC conference

[TamilNet, Saturday, 25 July 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Security in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo will be further tightened in view of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference which begins on July 29, said sources.

Guests at hotels that have been allocated for conference delegates will be asked to vacate and roads surrounding these hotels will be closed to public traffic, they said.

The Police have asked lodges not to give accommodation to newly arrived people in Colombo, and have also ordered the closure of some lodges.

Meanwhile police have said that all passengers who have planned to fly from Colombo International Airport at Katunayake during the conference will have to go to the Airport before 12.00 noon.

This measure has been taken to allow other conference delegates to travel to and from the Katunayake Airport, said sources.