A gang of SLFP ministers and parliamentarians, including presidential sibling Basil Rajapaksa were camping in Jaffna last weekend to plan and campaign for the forthcoming civic elections to the town and village councils scheduled to take place in the north on 23 July. Their meetings were also participated by occupying Sri Lanka’s colonial governor Maj. Gen. Chandrasri. The SLFP campaign in Jaffna takes place after occupying SL Army brutally attacking the participants of a Tamil National Alliance election campaign meeting at A’laveddi a few days ago. After leaving democracy in the hands of a decidedly genocidal state, is there any point in some powers talking of the 13th Amendment and political solutions within one country, ask Eezham Tamil civil circles in the island.
After the brutal military attack and other restrictions the TNA was prevented from making an effective election campaign and its supporters are openly intimidated.
The occupying Army unofficially ordered the owners of public halls in Jaffna not to rent them to the TNA or for any other political meetings not favoured by Colombo. No political meetings campaigning for the civic elections would be permitted the Colombo government said.
But at the same time, a gang of Colombo’s ministers had come last weekend to convene a meeting at the Veerasingham Hall in Jaffna to plan and campaign for the civic elections. A new office for the SLFP was opened in Jaffna at Temple Road in Nalloor.
However, Mr. Doughlas Devananda was not present at the function to open the SLFP office. Only his associate Chandrakumar attended it.
Basil Rajapaksa was engaged in a number of activities such as staging an overnight ‘resettlement’ of Raamaavil camp IDPs, re-donation of pianos and computers to schools and promising salaries for private nursery school teachers that were indirectly and unfairly campaigning for the election. By attacking the TNA in his public functions Basil Rajapaksa was engaged in open political campaign.
Basil Rajapaksa, GL Peiris, Susil Premajayantha, Maithiripala Senanayake Dias Alagaperuma, Tissa Karaliya, Jagath Pushpakumara and Aluthgamage were among the gang of ministers came accompanied by SLFP parliamentarians.
Most of the candidates contesting the civic elections under the SLFP ticket are members of SL minister Douglas Devananda’s EPDP. Since the world looks at them as supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa, everyone should work for their victory, the ministers said, in the Veerasinghm Hall meeting to introduce the candidates. They also said that special teams of SL ministers and SLFP parliamentarians would soon be sent to the north for the campaign.
Douglas Devananda attended the Veerasingham Hall meeting. But what raised the eyebrows of political observers in Jaffna was the presence of the SL governor Maj. Gen. Chandrasri at the SLFP political meeting. How to expect genuine elections when the governor participates a party meeting they asked.
The military intimidation to TNA and the importance given by the SL ministers to the civic elections show that genocidal Colombo is determined to manipulate and show a political victory for it in the elections, political observers said.
This is also a trial for the Provincial Council elections, to capture the council by hook or by crook to ultimately ‘prove’ that Eezham Tamils don’t need any solutions. Some powers have given ample time and abetment to Colombo to prove the effect of ‘reconciliation’ and ‘home-grown’ solution so that they could say why should people in Tamil Nadu and in the diaspora worry when Tamils in the island are happy, political observers in Jaffna further said.
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