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Sri Lankan police in Puthukkudiyiruppu, Mullaitivu, blocked Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendren as he and his team campaigned for a boycott of the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential elections.
This marks the third time in less than three weeks that the Sri Lankan police have made a concentrated effort to block the TNPF from campaigning in the North-East.
In this latest incident, several uniformed and plain-clothed police officers, seized leaflets from the TNPF MP as he and others distributed them in the area to encourage Tamils to boycott the upcoming presidential elections.
The police officers telephoned the Election Commission in Mullaitivu to inquire about the costs involved in printing the leaflets. The police told the TNPF that the name of the printing press must be mentioned on the leaflets to determine how much had been spent on their printing.
Despite the police's insistence on including the name of the printing press, this is neither a mandatory requirement by the Sri Lankan Elections Commission nor do other political parties include such information on their pamphlets. This is not the first time TNPF members have been prevented from campaigning.
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On the 10th of this month, Kajendren and other TNPF members were stopped by Sri Lankan police in Maruthankerny, Jaffna, as they campaigned for a boycott of the presidential elections. Police officers confiscated pamphlets and blocked the TNPF members' path while questioning them about their campaign.
Since May of this year, the TNPF has been urging Tamils to boycott the upcoming presidential election. In a statement released earlier this year, the TNPF criticized the Sri Lankan government, stating: “The Sri Lankan government views the Tamil homeland as an enemy. They continue their policies of Buddhization, militarization, and structural genocide in the homeland. As long as the majority representation remains in their hands, they will regard Tamils not as their own people but as adversaries.”
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