Sri Lankan parliamentary sessions came to be disrupted for the second day running here Wednesday due to a protest staged by the main Tamil minority party.

Parliamentary officials said that Wednesday's session lasted less than 20 minutes after the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) legislators stormed the Speaker's chair and tried to disrupt proceedings.

The Tuesday sessions, the first in the new year, lasted only 15 minutes as the TNA legislators began shouting anti-government slogans calling for the alleged torture of Tamil civilians, abductions and killings of the Tamils by the security forces and paramilitary groups.

They were also protesting against the Christmas day assassination of their colleague Joseph Pararajasingham.

The TNA legislators blocked the sergeant at arms, Vijeya Palliyaguruge, from placing the mace signaling the start of the sessions, officials said.

The speaker, WJM Lokubandara, undeterred by the uproar kept on reading the bills scheduled for approval for the day.

The TNA parliamentary protests have come in the wake of a volatile security situation in the island.

The Tamil Tigers have been accused of carrying out attacks against the government troops in the North and East provinces.

Over 60 security services personnel have died in the attacks since Dec. 1, 2005.

The continued acts of violence have jeopardized the Norwegian backed ceasefire and efforts to revive the direct talks between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

Source: Xinhua