Thoroughly intimidated and prevented from making their campaign for the civic elections scheduled for next week, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leaders on Tuesday said that genuine elections are not possible under the current circumstances. Colombo is resolved to fake the elections by hook or by crook and ‘prove’ to the outside world that it is having ‘democratic’ support of the Tamils, the TNA leaders said. Meanwhile, Sinhala officers brought into the administration of Northern Provincial Council by the SL colonial governor, Chandrasri, are now in command, making arbitrary orders and the Tamil officers have to be silent and subservient, fearing transfer if resist, Tamil civil service circles said. They are disappointed that the TNA is not highlighting their predicament at ‘proper places’.
The terror situation and the level of intimidation the Rajapaksa regime is showing in the civic elections in the north is a re-enactment of the situation in 1982, when JR Jeyawardane conducted elections for the District Councils amidst violence, commented Mr. CVK Sivagnanam, a TNA leader and a former municipal commissioner of Jaffna.
Presidential sibling Basil Rajapaksa is now camping in Jaffna with 13 SL ministers.
TNA circles fear the possibility of state violence erupting with the kind of ‘election’ Colombo is faking in Jaffna.