<p>The killing of two police officers in Batticaloa was a ploy to create problems for Tamils on the island, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP has said.</p>
<p>“We view the incident of the shooting and killing of two police officers in Vavunathivu last week as act to incite racism,” Batticaloa representative G Sirinesan said in parliament last week.</p>
<p>“We must approach it as a behind-the-scenes ploy to create problems for the Tamil people,” he said.</p>
<p>Several TNA MPs and local Tamil representatives have expressed similar views over the past week, condemning the targeting and scapegoating of former LTTE cadres and noting the intensified climate of fear in the Batticaloa due to heightened security force operations in the district.</p>
<p>In his speech Sirinesan also criticised the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena for “burying” the good faith of the Tamil people with whose votes he gained power.</p>
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