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| Monday, 1 March 2004 |
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| SLMM rejects LTTE request Elections chief rules no polling in LTTE areas by Ranil Wijayapala Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake yesterday dismissed a suggestion by the LTTE that elections be held in the LTTE controlled areas in the North East, on the grounds that uniformed Policemen or Security Forces personnel cannot enter those areas under the Ceasefire Agreement. According to a spokesman for the Elections Commissioner's Department, the Polls Chief has dismissed this suggestion by the LTTE made through the media and various other organisations to hold elections in the LTTE controlled areas under the supervision of foreign election monitors. The spokesman said the Commissioner's earlier position was to facilitate the voters in the LTTE controlled areas to cast their votes at polling stations set up in the Government controlled areas closer to the entry-exit points in the North East. However, following proposals submitted by various organisations the Commissioner is now studying the possibility of setting up these polling booths in the no-mans land in the North East. The Commissioner has considered this suggestion following reports that the areas coming under the no-mans land between the Government and LTTE controlled areas, are free of land mines and safe for setting up polling stations. However, the Polls Chief is expected to come to a final decision on this after receiving reports from Government Agents in the respective districts and also from Security Forces Chiefs, the spokesman added. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has also rejected the LTTE request to work-out modalities to hold elections in the LTTE controlled areas saying that they have no role in facilitating any elections arrangements. According to SLMM Spokeswoman Agnes Bragadottir, LTTE Political Wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan has made this suggestion to the SLMM Chief Major General Trond Furuhovde when the duo met in Kilinochchi on Saturday. The Spokeswoman said the SLMM have no capacity or role to facilitate any electoral process. "Our role is only to monitor the ceasefire agreement", she added. According to Tamil-Net Web-site Thamilselvan has said since the question of the people in the uncleared area voting involves arrangements by the Security Forces and LTTE and was thus a ceasefire related matter , they feel that SLMM has a role in working out modalities to help people in LTTE controlled areas to vote at the general elections. It is also reported that LTTE was seeking the Norwegian facilitation in making arrangements to hold elections in the LTTE controlled areas. Meanwhile the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has called on the election authorities to ensure that the voters in the north east are able to exercise their franchise without external constraints. |
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