`Cancel bail of movie directors who gave seditious speeches'

Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Nov 5 (IANS) A state Congress functionary Wednesday appealed to the Madras High Court to cancel the conditional bail of movie directors Seeman and Ameer, who were arrested for making allegedly seditious speeches to express solidarity with the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.

The petition, filed with the Madurai bench of the high court, will be heard Thursday.

The Congress functionary, Muthu Pandi alleged that the two film directors had spoken against India's unity and integrity and hailed a banned organisation - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

'Since the directors' actions also belittled the supreme sacrifice of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and their remaining free will create a serious law and order problem in Tamil Nadu, the bail should be immediately cancelled,' Pandi told IANS.

Seeman and Ameer were arrested Oct 24 for allegedly making seditious speeches during a demonstration Oct 19 in Rameshwaram to express solidarity with the suffering Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.

They were released from prison Friday on conditional bail and were asked to sign in a magistrate's court here daily.

Meanwhile, in state capital Chennai, 400 km north of here, the Film Employees' Federation of South India (FEFSI) held the movie industry's fourth major protest during the past one month, seeking India's pro-active role in ending the war in Sri Lanka.

Comprising 22 technicians' unions representing the entire south Indian film industry, the FEFSI demanded India's intervention to halt military operations against Tamil civilians in the neighbouring island state.

In a separate development, multilingual Tamil thespian Kamal Haasan cancelled his 55th birthday celebrations scheduled by his fan clubs Thursday, citing the travails of the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.

'An individual's birthday loses credence...when genocide is practised in our neighbouring island with renewed vigour... Refrain from celebrations when our neighbours are hopeless spectators to genocide and mass funerals,' Haasan said in a message to his fans released to the press.