A tense atmosphere prevailed in Trincomalee town yesterday as Pongu Thamil or Tamil re-awakening rally kicked off with placards and slogans hailing Prabhakaran as the leader of Tamil Eelam and urging Tamils not to give heed to any other leaders.

"There is no trouble yet," said Dehiowita Piyatissa Thera, chief priest at the China Bay Temple. "But the atmosphere here is very tense."

The rally started around 9 a.m. Around 50,000 people were reportedly on the streets but Piyatissa Thera claimed most of them had been pressured into attending.

He said the function was backed by the United National Front government and that government vehicles were being used by the organisers and their supporters. Public transport was at a standstill, Tamil schools were closed and school children were being taken to the procession. Government offices were closed.

The main rally was being held at a playground in Trincomalee town.

"The students have been asked to wear badges of Prabhakaran," said Piyatissa Thera. "There are big photographs of him all over. There is also a huge map of Eelam. The placards say that Tamils want Eelam, that Tamils must accept Prabhakaran as the leader of Eelam and that they must not listen to anyone else."

"We are very unhappy about this," the chief priest said. "We don’t want a cowardly, despicable, divisive peace like this. We want peace under one national flag, one government and one national anthem."

He also said that the police were standing by like "drenched chickens" while LTTE cadres in civilian clothes directed and instructed people using walkie-talkies. (NW)