Udayan never spoke of conditions during LTTE terror period - Murugesu

Ridma Dissanayake and Rakshana Sriyantha

The Udayan newspaper recently commenting on conditions related to the Northern Provincial Councils election in its editorial states that holding the Northern Provincial Council Election is not conducive.

It said that the government should establish Independent Commissions before holding an election in the Northern Province. The newspaper calls for the appointment of a Governor before the election and Commonwealth observers be deployed to monitor the election.

The “Udayan” newspaper stressed that the authorities should follow the above conditions in order for a free and fair election to be held. Expressing the ideas on that newspaper article Dharmapuram Citizen Committee Chairman Wanni Murugesu said “We all know that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has granted enough opportunities for the holding of elections in the Northern and Southern Provinces. The President granted the opportunity and created the most conducive atmosphere for the holding of Pradeshiya Sabha Elections in Northern and Eastern Provinces, immediately after terrorism was defeated. All political parties in the Northern Province were given the opportunity to conduct a free political campaign”, Murugesu was quoted.

Murugesu questioned during the period of LTTE terror, did any of the political parties who are clamouring for elections utter a word about freedom of expression. Did the LTTE afford them the opportunity to air their grievances and held the people of the Northern Province in bondage for three decades. “In such a situation, certain political parties and sections of the Media in the Northern Province should understand the difference between past and present,” he said.

“TheLTTE killed a number of political party leaders and supporters who were following the democratic path and fought for democracy. The LTTE replied them with bullets and bombs,” he stated.

“The Udayan is now talking about three conditions for holding the Northern Provincial Council Election, while conveniently for getting the past. They must remember that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the person who eradicated the terrorism in Sri Lanka through a humanitarian operation and created a peaceful country,” Murugesu explained.

“The “Udayan” states that the Northern Province Governor should be a civilian. Whether civilian or not is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is the person who is appointed should work with dedication for the public in boosting Northern development,” he said.

Such baseless statements made to overcome the narrow minded political objectives are subject to the aversion of the Tamil people in the Northern Provinc, “he further stated.