The National Anti-War Front a coalition of 120 civic groups, human rights organizations and opposition political parties also called for a shutdown of
``We are closing several roads and there is increased security in the city,'' police spokesman Rienzie Perera told The Associated Press.
Nadaraja Raviraj, a Tamil lawmaker from the pro-rebel Tamil National Alliance party, was assassinated and his bodyguard also killed in
March organizers said the procession with Raviraj's body will culminate in a mass gathering at a popular city park.
Many fear that near-daily attacks and killings are driving the country back toward full-scale war, though the government and Tamil Tigers both say a 2002 cease-fire, which had halted two decades of civil war, is still in place.
Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said the army was aiding police with security preparations ahead of the march. ``The military is also standing by and will be deployed if there is an emergency,'' Samarasinghe said.
The family of the slain lawmaker and the pro-rebel party want the government to open the key A-9 highway so Raviraj's body can be driven to his hometown of Chavakachcheri, in the Tamil-dominated
The government has refused to reopen the vital artery that links the country's south to the rebel-controlled north, saying it would allow the guerrillas to freely transport weapons and fighters. The government closed down the highway on Aug. 11 after rebels attacked a military checkpoint.
``Interested parties should not make the opening of the A-9 road an issue for narrow political gain,'' said chief government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.
The government has said it was willing to fly Raviraj's body to
The failure of talks on reopening the key road led to the collapse of peace talks in
The Tamil Tigers began fighting in 1983 in a bid to carve out a separate homeland in the country's north and east for the minority Tamils, who cite discrimination by the ethnic Sinhalese majority.
