Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which won nearly all the local councils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces at the yesterday’s LG election, said that the Tamil people had voted for a dignified political settlement at this election despite intimidations and threats by the ruling UPFA.
TNA MP Suresh Premachandran said “we campaigned for a dignified political settlement. We asked for a mandate to fight for some sort of regional autonomy for us. People have endorsed it.”
“The entire government machinery was used against us. There were various inducements given to the people during election time. Senior government ministers and even President Mahinda Rajapaksa participated in the election campaign against us. Yet, people have voted for us overwhelmingly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister Douglas Devananda who is also the EPDP leader accused the TNA of using inflammatory language during the campaign. He said the TNA even referred to the incidents such the burning down of the Jaffna library in 1987 and the communal riots in 1983, to gain political mileage at this election.
“They aroused racial sentiments among people saying the Sinhala people are going to be settled in the entire North. Also, they accused that Sinhala election officials had been brought from the South to do various election malpractices. They talked about a plan to demolish the statue of ancient Tamil King ‘Sangiliyan’, and erect the statue of a Sinhala Buddhist monk instead,” the minister said.
He said the TNA was able to win the poll through the use of such tactics and before long, it would feel the pinch.
DM