Last night's police raid on the screening of a documentary detailing war crimes against Tamils by the Sri Lankan government came on the request of the Sri Lankan High Commission to Malaysia, the screening organisers are insisting.

Three of the organisers were arrested in the raid by Home Ministry and Immigration Department enforcement officers, after the film 'No Fire Zone', was shown at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).

NONE The documentary produced by Scotsman Callum Macrae, reveals the massacres of Tamils by the Sri Lankan army in the final days of the civil war in that country.

At a press conference today, representatives from KLSCAH and event co-organiser Komas produced a letter issued by the Sri Lankan High Commission dated July 3, which states that the high commission had asked the Malaysian government to stop the screening of ‘No Fire Zone'.

The letter states: "I would like to inform you that it has been brought to our notice that a group of sympathisers of proscribed LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) terrorist organisation have been making arrangements to screen a documentary film entitled ‘No Fire Zone' that is based on false and distorted facts.

"Our Mission has already requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia and the Censorship Board of the Government of Malaysia to ensure that no such film is screened in this country against the people and the Government of Sri Lanka."

NONE The letter is signed by Sri Lankan High Commissioner Ibrahim Ansar.

The three arrested last night were Arul Prakash Lena Hendry and Anna Har ( right ), all of whom are from Komas, and they were released at 2am today.

Har, who is a director of Komas, said the raid and arrests raised serious questions on Malaysia's sovereignty.

"The Home Ministry needs to answer: Who is in charge of this country? Is it us or Sri Lanka?" Har asked.

'Arrests go against police procedure'

She said the manner of the arrests went against police procedures, which require the police to inform a person if he or she is being arrested.

"We were questioned for almost three hours by a team of officers from the Home Ministry. We kept asking, 'are we under arrest?' and we were told 'no'. It was only after about two- and-a-half hours that we were told we were under arrest."

The three were released on bail at 2am and later charged under Section 6 of the Film Censorship Act, which prohibits the screening of material not approved by the Film Censorship Board.

Arul, who is the executive director of Komas, said the raid had set a dangerous precedent. "The audience was very intimidated, especially when the police wanted to take down the particulars of their ICs," he said.

The gathering and lawyers of Komas who were present protested and the police did not proceed with this.

Arul also said that they believed the Immigration Department officers were there to detain ‘No Fire Zone' director Macrae. However, Macrae had left KLSCAH earlier, on the advice of the organisers.