Lanka Citizen

1. Why the LTTE might support Mahinda

Speculation is rife that the LTTE may take a last minute decision to either direct the Tamils in the north and east to completely boycott the polls or vote for Premier Mahinda Rajapakse.

A social worker who has close links with the LTTE revealed this to the Daily Mirror adding that the ulterior motive is to ensure an Eelam state.

“When I visited Killinochi recently I met the LTTE Intelligence Chief Pottu Amman to discuss the setting up of my office in the rebel town. During our discussion I asked him if as expected the LTTE will support Mr. Ranil Wickraemesinghe at the upcoming polls. However to my amazement he said they would most likely call on the people to vote for Mr. Rajapakse,” the social worker said.

Explaining the rationale behind such a move, Pottu Amman had told the social worker that if the UNP wins it will only see the continuation of the current peace process, acceptance of the Oslo Declaration which calls for a solution along Federal lines and several rounds of talks.

According to the recent visitor to Kilinochchi, on the other hand Mr. Rajapakse’s victory poses a good chance of resumption of war even if for a short time which will give the LTTE an opportunity to substantiate their previous demand for a separate state for the Tamils.

“If war breaks out the international community is bound to pressurise both parties to return to the negotiating table. The LTTE will then say “look we gave diplomacy a chance but the new government was not ready to discuss our terms because of the opposition from their extremist allies, so now we need a separate state as a final solution,” Pottu Amman had told the social worker.
The social worker added that according to the LTTE intelligence chief the rebels had enough fire power to re-launch an all out war and was now training civilians for combat expecting a UPFA election victory.

Meanwhile, similar reports have surfaced from a Tiger-held area of Vakarai in the Batticaloa District, where residents say there are subtle messages coming from the LTTE calling on them to vote for the Prime Minister.

However, when contacted for comment, LTTE Media Spokesman, Daya Master said, “The LTTE leadership via the political head Mr. Tamilchelvam and others have made its stand very clear on the Presidential polls. We have now left it up to the people to decide whom to vote for if they want to vote. We will not comment further on which candidate we favour.”

2. Tensions likely if Rajapakse wins because of racist allies - LTTE

The LTTE Batticaloa district political leadership says it does not have high expectations from the upcoming Presidential polls and views it as “just another election”.

Mr. Selvam, the Media spokesman for the LTTE Batticaloa district political leader Manoj Master told the Daily Mirror that the manifestos of both main Presidential hopefuls are the same and were not conducive to the Tamil community.

“Since Mr. Rajapakse has signed an agreement with two racist groups there is bound to be more tensions if he comes to power. However, the Tamils may just feel Ranil can deliver on peace although we don’t trust either of them,” he said.

Selvam however said, like in the Vanni the Tamil people in rebel-held territory will be permitted to exercise their right to vote to a candidate of their choice.

He also said the fierce personal competition between the political parties in the South has caused the Tamils to lose faith in them and has reduced their interest in the polls.

However, he emphasised the Tamils in rebel territory have a right to vote if they want to and deplored certain moves in the South to violate that right by seeking a court order.

Responding to fears that Karuna may disrupt the polls in the east, Selvam said any disruption is likely to be created by the army and the EPDP under the guise of Karuna.

“As far as we are concerned we don’t believe the Karuna faction is actually in existence. It is the army intelligence together with the paramilitary EPDP force that is carrying out attacks against the LTTE behind the Karuna mask,” he said.

Selvam says the LTTE is keen on ensuring the peace continues to hold and is awaiting the outcome of the November 17 polls to see what measures the new president would take to take the process forward.

3. Batticaloa: …..Tamils united on candidate for different reasons

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Kokkadicholai, an area exclusively under LTTE control in Batticaloa, lies across the Manmunai lagoon and the shortest route is on board a Road Development Authority ferry that transports people, cattle, motor and push bikes and large vehicles across the water. The Manmunai crossing is unique in that the two ends of the lagoon are effectively the borders between government- controlled territory and areas under LTTE control. A ferry commuter would leave behind a Special Task Force checkpoint at the Manmunai landing point only to be greeted by LTTE cadres on the other end.

The LTTE’s main political office lies in the heart of the town, surrounded by coconut leaf thatched houses. There to greet journalists and visitors is Selvam, a young media spokesman for Batticaloa Political head, Manoj Master. Selvam reiterates the Wanni’s indifferent position about the election, although he warns that an eruption of tension is more likely if the Prime Minister is victorious.

The odd thing about Kokkadicholai was the fact that none of the people living in the area were capable of possessing an opinion deviant to the LTTE’s public stance on the election. Every single resident echoed Selvam’s sentiment, the same sentiment that has been coming from Kilinochchi for several weeks now.

Mrs. P. Neeldevan owns a little shop in the town. She is adamant to vote, but says she has no idea who to vote for. She puts forth another charge that with neither of the candidates coming to Kokkadicholai to campaign, it was difficult for the people to decide.
“What we want more than anything is peace, and we will choose on November 17 who will be best to take the peace process forward,” she said.

B. Gopal was a little more candid. “We have not yet decided whom to vote for because our leader has not yet told us to vote for,” he said.

At a Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation run tsunami transitional camp, back in government- controlled Thraimadu, residents echoed the same words. G. Gnanaprakasam, the de facto leader in the camp, tells us that they would certainly vote, but they have not decided who to cast their ballots for because no one has really helped them. After he made his statement, Gnanaprakasam escorted us to several well-constructed transitional homes, lit with florescent bulbs that reflected off each cottage, the top of which was covered in blue polythene, giving the entire settlement a firefly-like ambience. But every one of the residents repeated Gnanaprakasam’s words.

P. Sidharrapillai obediently parroted his lines, but as we walked away he called out to Gnanaprakasam – “well, brother, now tell us who we are supposed to say we will vote for.”

At the Kachcheri
At the Batticaloa District Secretariat on Thursday (27), situated inside the remains of the great Dutch fort, Mr. T. Krishnanthalingam is busy gathering ballot boxes and making sure the polling cards are sent out on time. Batticaloa is divided into three electoral divisions – Batticaloa, Kalkudah and Paddiruppu. There will be a total of 353 polling stations in the entire district, 88 of which will be cluster polling booths set up in cleared areas to allow voters in LTTE-controlled areas to cast their ballot.

Mr. Krishnanthalingam said that the LTTE and the security forces were cooperating in this activity and voters would be allowed into cleared areas without checking. He said there is a total of 80,443 voters in uncleared areas around the district. However, Mr. Krishnanthalingam also said that there was less interest among the people for this election unlike the previous general election.
He added that tsunami-affected people would also be given free transport from the temporary shelters to allow them to vote. In all, there are over 5,000 tsunami affected voters in Batticaloa.

The issues facing voters in the Batticaloa District are as diverse and multi-hued as the number of political parties operating in the area. Under the circumstances, how the people will vote is incredibly uncertain. Peace is going to be a major factor in the voters’ minds, but opinion is divided about what kind of peace it should be – a la Wickremesinghe or as subscribed to by Karuna and the EPDP, a la Rajapakse. The Muslims will vote largely based on the dictates of the mosque, which is in turn influenced by the area politician because this election for them is more about seeing development in their own areas.

The Presidential election does not mean as much to them as a parliamentary one. As for the Tamil community, well they await Kilinochchi’s signal.

Courtesy Daily Mirror

LTTE should be credible for south to accept federalism

While a federal solution remains the best option to resolve the North and East conflict, the LTTE has to give up violence and prove itself a trustworthy talking partner for the south to accept federalism, former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said yesterday.

“There is no compromise on the issue. The LTTE has to give up violence and resume negotiations with the government” the former second in command at the US State Department told the Daily Mirror from his residence in Virginia, United States, in a telephone interview.

Emphasizing the need to curb the escalating incidence of violence by the LTTE, Armitage who played a major role in Sri Lanka’s peace process during the previous United National Front (UNF) regime, said he was “horrified” when he heard of the assassination of former Foreign Affairs Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

“I was also aghast when I learnt the manner in which that senior police officer (SSP Charles Wijewardena) was murdered” said Mr. Armitage.

Reminding that the co-chairs have already conveyed strong messages to the LTTE which include a travel ban by the EU, Armitage however added that failure to rope the LTTE into a joint tsunami reconstruction mechanism was a missed opportunity for the government.

“The LTTE for the first time conceded the government’s right to the North and East including the uncleared areas by agreeing for a joint mechanism. That definitely was a big achievement for the government and it is unfortunate that the move fell through” he reminded.

However he added that the United States and the other three co-chairs consider it a major achievement from the part of the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE that they have managed to hold on to the ceasefire even after three and half years into the signing of the truce agreement.

This, the former Vietnam war veteran said had more than anything else given the hope that the two parties would be able to sit down for talks once again.

“There is no other option for the LTTE. It has to give up violence, sit down for talks and agree to share power with the government” Armitage emphasized.

On the decision to include a separate Muslim delegation from the next round of talks and convert the discussions to tri-partite negotiations, he said “while it may make the talks more complex, such an inclusion is a must in order to make sure that the final settlement is accepted by all communities”.

Speaking on the LTTE’s harping on the exclusion from the 2003 April Washington donor conference which the Tigers gave as one of the excuses to suspend its participation at peace talks, he observed that “it is commonsense that such an invitation cannot be made since the LTTE is in the list of banned organizations”. However he reminded that despite the ban, as the US envoy at the Oslo conference in November 2002, he sat in the same audience with the LTTE.

Commenting on the November 17 Presidential polls Armitage said the main concern of the US and the international community was how free and fair the election would be.

Asked about the general impression that the US may prefer one candidate to the other of the two main candidates, the former Deputy Secretary of State said the US would work with any president the people in Sri Lanka decide to elect.

“It is the manner in which the elections are conducted that we are concerned of” Mr. Armitage reiterated.

courtesy Daily Mirror

Lankaleft.com reports that the Jaffna Trades Unions have asked public servants to boycott the postal votes

“How could Tamil speaking people expect a fair and reasonable political solution to the national question from these two parties, which are opposing the establishment of an administrative structure such as P-TOMS for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the tsunami-destroyed coastal areas in the northeast province?” Consortium of Tamil Speaking People’s Trade Unions in Jaffna appealed to public servants to boycott postal voting for the November 17 presidential poll. Postal voting is to take place on November 7.

The statement further mentioned, “Hence we appeal to all Tamil speaking public servants to express their feelings that they are not prepared to be deceived anymore by Sinhala political parties and to inform the international community the true position of the Tamil speaking people,”