EPDP cadres remove Jaffna voters register

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 December 1999, 17:36 GMT]
Posters appeared in the Vadamarachchi east area of Jaffna today urging the predominantly Tamil residents of the northern town either to boycott the presidential election or to reject the two main "chauvinistic" parties and to vote for a third party instead, said sources.

The posters, signed by 'Tamil citizens',asked "Do we have any relations to elections in southern Ceylon?Ó the sources said.

"We must reject the presidential election in our area. If you decided to participate in the election, then vote for a third force, rejecting the main racists parties," posters stated.

Elsewhere in Jaffna unidentified activists have torn off posters of the PeopleÌs Alliance (PA) candidate, President Chandrika Kumaratunga, sources said.

They said some posters put up in Jaffna's suburbs were seen defaced with mud and cowdung.

Informed sources in Jaffna said there is an anti-PA sentiment in the peninsula, exacerbated by the recent statement by the Ministry of Defence regarding Jaffna's disappeared.

Cadres of the paramilitary Eelam PeopleÌs Democratic Party (EPDP) went to the Jaffna Kachcheri and removed the votersÌ register today the sources said.

The cadres had vowed the ballot boxes will be full on polling day irrespective of whether the Jaffna people turned for voting or not.

The ruling People's Alliance (PA) has appointed the EPDP as its polling agent in Jaffna, and the groupÌs cadres were seen putting up posters of PA's presidential candidate, President Chandrika Kumaratunge, on Monday.

Meanwhile two youths employed at a shop near to the EPDP office at Thirunelvely in Jaffna were arrested yesterday by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers, their relatives informed the government funded Human Rights Commission.

They said the SLA has not informed them (relatives) about their arrests.

The youths have been identified as Paramananthan Srerakavan,20, of Thirunelvely and Nadarajah Dayananthan,19, of Kidnar Kovilady, sources said. The relatives claimed that youths might have been arrested on information given by the EPDP cadres.