Sri Lanka ruling coalition party leaders to meet today to discuss plans for May Day

The party leaders of the Sri Lanka's ruling coalition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) are to meet this afternoon in Colombo.

Government sources said the aim of the meeting was to discuss the organizing of the UPFA May Day rally.

UPFA May Day rally is to be held in the Colombo Town Hall grounds with the participation of 11 political parties that are represented in the parliament, other parties, and trade unions. The demonstration is to be started from Colombo Campbell Park.

The UPFA hopes to hold the May Day demonstration and the rally with a massive gathering to show support to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the government in the wake of the release of the UN expert panel report.

Reportedly the President has asked members of the ruling party to turn the May Day rally in Colombo into a "show of strength" against the report.

"All these days we did not demonstrate our strength, but now on May Day we will show our strength," the President has been quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

UPFA May Day committee headed by Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development Dullas Alahapperuma is now organizing the grand event, the government sources say.