Some of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) councilors, elected in the Eastern Provincial Elections, have gone into hiding evading abduction and intimidation as operatives sent from Colombo were engaged in threatening that they would be abducted if they fail to extend support for the formation of a new administration by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The Colombo operatives began to threaten the TNA councilors as they were not able to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Tamil people even after promising 50 million rupees in cash to each councilor, a house in Colombo and a vehicle, the sources further said.
SL President Rajapaksa’s siblings Basil Rajapakse and Namal Rajapakse were in Trincomalee and Batticaloa to strike a deal between the TNA councilors and the Rajapaksa regime.
A representative of Namal Rajapaksa had gone to Moothoor in Trincomalee district to meet a TNA councilor canvassing his support to the UPFA.
The representative had promised the councilor that all displaced families from Champoor, now sheltered in welfare centres, would be resettled in their own lands if he extended his support to the UPFA to form the administration in the newly elected EPC.
However, the Tamil councilor turned down the offer saying that he would only consider the request if Colombo allowed the people to resettle in Champoor.
Eleven newly elected TNA councilors to the EPC met R.Sampanthan of the TNA at his residence on Monday and briefed him about the threat of abduction and the offer made by some operatives of the Rajapaksa government.
The discussion between Mr Sampanthan and the newly elected TNA councilors was held in camera.
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