13 July, 2009 - Published 12:33 GMT

IDPs in 'open prisons'

A senior Tamil political leader in Sri Lanka has urged the president to review conditions in the government's camps for Tamils displaced by the fighting in the north.

In a letter to Mahinda Rajapaska, released to the media, the president of the Tamil United Liberation Front, V Anandasangaree, said some of the civilians felt that living in the camps was like being kept, under compulsion, in open prisons.

The letter said a personal visit to the camps by the President was long overdue.

Mr. Anandasangaree is a candidate at the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council elections.

The former parliamentarian, a strong critic of the LTTE, is contesting to become the Mayor of Jaffna at 08 August elections.