Tamil groups must make people vote - police

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
The Sri Lankan police convened a meeting today at 10. a.m, with all the groups contesting the Jaffna local government elections, due on January 29. The specially appointed Assistant Elections Commissioner for Jaffna, who is yet to report to the Kachcheri, took part in the meeting. Senior Police officials in Jaffna Town were also present.

The Tamil groups were told that it was not the responsibility of the Army or the Police to make people participate in the elections.

"It is the duty of the contesting groups to make sure that all the voters in Jaffna take part in the elections", said Police officials.

Breakaway EPDP MPs for Jaffna, Mr. Rameswaran and Mr. Ramamurthy (brothers) told the police officers that the situation in the islands (off Jaffna) were still not conducive for them to carry on with campaign work.

"If anything untoward were to happen, the whole responsibility for it will be on the Army and the Police", they said at the meeting, referring to the EPDPs intimidation in the islands.

The EPDP's Jaffna organiser, who is also the group's mayoral candidate for the Jaffna Municipal Council, denied the allegations and said it was the public who were reacting.

Meanwhile Rameswaran and Ramamurthy brothers opened a campaign office today at Vembadi Road in the Jaffna Town.

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