The family of one of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) contestants, an ethnic Muslim, at the forthcoming poll for the Jaffna Municipal Council was attacked last week amid a general campaign of intimidation against the party.
ITAK is the name under which the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), an alliance of Sri Lanka’s four biggest Tamil parties and which is strongly supportive of the Tamil Tigers, is competing in the island-wide local government polls this month.
Mr. S. M. Suhaib’s family was attacked on Friday morning by armed men, suspected to belong to one of the Army-backed paramilitary organisations operating in Jaffna.
Moulavi S. M. Shahil, a co-contestant for the Jaffna Municipal Council, said in a statement Saturday that “the attack on Suhaib’s family is an ‘act of State terrorism’, and exposes the political bankruptcy of the paramilitaries assisting the chauvinist State.”
“We are certain that the Tamil speaking people will express their aspirations in the local council elections, and will demonstrate that efforts of many nefarious forces to destroy the increasing amity between Muslim and Tamil people cannot succeed,” Shahil, who is also a Muslim, said.
“The attack … is a provocative attack planned to worsen the climate of fear that has already been created by the Sri Lanka Military and collaborating paramilitaries,” said the Secretary of Jaffna Consortium of Welfare Associations, Mr. E. Parvatharajah, in a communiqué issued Saturday.
“While the TNA is keen on using the local elections as an instrument to highlight the aspirations of Tamil speaking people, the violence on Suhaib’s family portends ominous signs that anti-democratic forces are bent on suppressing the democratic rights of the Tamil people,” the communiqué added.
“We strongly condemn this attack and are confident that Tamil speaking people will teach a harsh lesson to the perpetrators of the crime during the forthcoming local council elections,” the communiqué said.
Army-backed paramilitaries have been threatening dozens of ITAK local government election candidates ever since their names were announced last month. ITAK is now contesting ten local councils excluding Padavi Siripura PS and Gomarankadawela PS.
The head of the Karuna Group, one of the paramilitary organisations operating in the NorthEast, has urged Tamils in the NorthEast to boycott the upcoming polls, alleging that the LTTE is attempting to use the election to promote its “gun culture.”
In leaflets distributed in Batticaloa by the political arm of the Karuna Group, the Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), Karuna, who is leading a violent campaign against LTTE supporters and members says he does not support the holding of the polls in the north and east at this point. He says that his party would not contest the elections as it would be neither free nor fair. Sri Lanka’s election commission disagrees.
Meanwhile ITAK has appointed Mr. Sabapathipillai Soundararajah as Chairman, and Mr. Vairan Nagendran as Vice Chairman of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabah in the Trincomalee district. ITAK was returned uncontested in the Verugal PS when the nomination closed on February16 for the thirteen local authorities in the district.
The other members named include Mr. Veerakutti Ariyanesarajah, Mr. Nallathamby Arasaratnam, Mrs. Santhamathy Thevathas, Mr. Subramaniam Thurairasa and Mr. Paransothy Disayakumar.
ITAK is the name under which the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), an alliance of Sri Lanka’s four biggest Tamil parties and which is strongly supportive of the Tamil Tigers, is competing in the island-wide local government polls this month.
Mr. S. M. Suhaib’s family was attacked on Friday morning by armed men, suspected to belong to one of the Army-backed paramilitary organisations operating in Jaffna.
Moulavi S. M. Shahil, a co-contestant for the Jaffna Municipal Council, said in a statement Saturday that “the attack on Suhaib’s family is an ‘act of State terrorism’, and exposes the political bankruptcy of the paramilitaries assisting the chauvinist State.”
“We are certain that the Tamil speaking people will express their aspirations in the local council elections, and will demonstrate that efforts of many nefarious forces to destroy the increasing amity between Muslim and Tamil people cannot succeed,” Shahil, who is also a Muslim, said.
“The attack … is a provocative attack planned to worsen the climate of fear that has already been created by the Sri Lanka Military and collaborating paramilitaries,” said the Secretary of Jaffna Consortium of Welfare Associations, Mr. E. Parvatharajah, in a communiqué issued Saturday.
“While the TNA is keen on using the local elections as an instrument to highlight the aspirations of Tamil speaking people, the violence on Suhaib’s family portends ominous signs that anti-democratic forces are bent on suppressing the democratic rights of the Tamil people,” the communiqué added.
“We strongly condemn this attack and are confident that Tamil speaking people will teach a harsh lesson to the perpetrators of the crime during the forthcoming local council elections,” the communiqué said.
Army-backed paramilitaries have been threatening dozens of ITAK local government election candidates ever since their names were announced last month. ITAK is now contesting ten local councils excluding Padavi Siripura PS and Gomarankadawela PS.
The head of the Karuna Group, one of the paramilitary organisations operating in the NorthEast, has urged Tamils in the NorthEast to boycott the upcoming polls, alleging that the LTTE is attempting to use the election to promote its “gun culture.”
In leaflets distributed in Batticaloa by the political arm of the Karuna Group, the Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), Karuna, who is leading a violent campaign against LTTE supporters and members says he does not support the holding of the polls in the north and east at this point. He says that his party would not contest the elections as it would be neither free nor fair. Sri Lanka’s election commission disagrees.
Meanwhile ITAK has appointed Mr. Sabapathipillai Soundararajah as Chairman, and Mr. Vairan Nagendran as Vice Chairman of the Verugal Pradesiya Sabah in the Trincomalee district. ITAK was returned uncontested in the Verugal PS when the nomination closed on February16 for the thirteen local authorities in the district.
The other members named include Mr. Veerakutti Ariyanesarajah, Mr. Nallathamby Arasaratnam, Mrs. Santhamathy Thevathas, Mr. Subramaniam Thurairasa and Mr. Paransothy Disayakumar.
