LTTE stance unchanged
 

by Ananth Palakidnar

The fifth Presidential polling day in the North and East has been declared as a 'day of mourning'. Several organisations in the region have appealed to the people to refrain from voting, sources said.

LTTE spokesperson Daya Master told the Daily News that there was no change in the stance of the LTTE in keeping itself away from the poll.

"The LTTE has already revealed its stance along with the Tamil National Alliance of not taking part in the poll today. So we would like to reiterate our stance of not taking part in the poll today," he said.

The Jaffna University Students Council leading more than 50 organisations have appealed to the people in Jaffna to refrain from voting. Some university students were distributing leaflets calling for the boycott of the poll, sources said. In the Eastern province, students from the Eastern University also distributed leaflets urging the people to stay away.

Security in the North and East has been beefed up. In some places black flags have also been put up to mark today as the day of mourning, sources said. Meanwhile, LTTE's political wing leader in a recent interview to Time magazine has said that the LTTE was not concerned about the election.

He has also added that it was mainly to grab the votes the main political parties in the South were showing their interest in having the polls in the North and East. The people in the North and East were not bothered by the election or its outcome.