The Sri Lankan government has announced the relaxation of some of the emergency regulations which have been in place for the past four years.
There will be no further restrictions on the right to hold meetings or distribute certain literature.
But other measures, like the right to detain suspects without trial, remain, officials said.
The prevention of terrorism act under which many people have been arrested, is also unaffected.
Emergency laws give the authorities powers to detain terror suspects indefinitely and without charge.
The government says the laws are needed to contain Tamil Tiger remnants, but the opposition says they are aimed at stifling opposition and the media.
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