Ensure free and fair poll in North-East

Tamil parties appeal to global community
 

RANIL Wijayapala

COLOMBO: As political parties commenced filing nominations for the forthcoming Local Polls, democratic Tamil political parties opposing the LTTE calls on the Elections Commissioner and the international community to take immediate steps to ensure a free and fair election in the North-East.

Spokesman for the Eelam People's Democratic Party and former MP K. Thavarasa said Commissioner of Elections should make arrangements to hold a free and fair election in the North and East for all political parties to face elections without any fear.

He said the EPDP was filing nominations for all Local Government Authorities in the cleared areas in the North East.

"How can we field our candidates to contest the Local Government authorities in the uncleared areas to which even the Police cannot step in? ", Thavarasa queried when asked why they are not filing nominations for the Local Authorities in the uncleared areas.

However, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has announced that he would make arrangements to accept nominations for Local Government authorities for the Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts through the district returning officers in Vavuniya and Jaffna.

"If such arrangements are provided we are ready to file nominations for the Local Government Authorities in the uncleared areas," Thavarasa added.

He said they were confident of winning some of the Local Government Authorities if free and fair elections are held in the North and East.

"The international community and the elections monitors still remember the incidents that took place during the General elections in 2004. So the Commissioner of Elections should take steps to prevent a recurrence of such incidents during this election by implementing the recommendations of the election monitors," he stressed.

"Otherwise we don't think the political parties opposing the LTTE view can contest the elections freely in the North and East," Thavarasa said.

Thavarasa said 46 EPDP members including those who represented the Local Government authorities in the North and East were killed by the LTTE.

"If such conditions prevail in the North and East we don't have any hope in the local polls."

Confirming the participation of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) in the forthcoming local polls, party leader Dharmalingam Sitharthan also urged the international community to ensure a free and fair local poll in the conflict affected North and East.

Former PLOTE MP Sitharthan told the Daily News that the PLOTE's Political Wing Democratic People's Liberation Front (DPLF) will field candidates independently with the 'Naba' wing of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front.

"It is a tough task having a free and fair poll in the North and East against the threats of the LTTE.

Moreover, 10 members who had represented the Local bodies in the North East were gunned down by the LTTE. Even two Jaffna Mayors of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Mrs.Sarojini Yogeswaran and K. Sivapalan were killed by the LTTE in the recent past.

"If the international community is really for peace and democracy in the North and East, they should make use of the Local Government Polls, in the North and East to ensure a free and fair poll in the region and the safety of the candidates who challenge the LTTE." "We are not against the LTTE or their proxies contesting the local polls.

But we urge the International Community which has been showing its interest in the peace process to make sure the local polls in the North and East are free and fair and meaningful," he said.

Sitharthan said that during the Parliamentary polls in 2004, the LTTE was upto all sorts of 'dirty tricks' in the North and East. Apart from the Tamil National Alliance candidates others could not go ahead with their campaigns freely in the region.

"Therefore all measures must be taken to see that the parties challenging the LTTE are allowed to contest without any intimidation. If the free and fair polls are held, I am sure the LTTE and their proxies could be sidelined at the polls," Sitharthan remarked.