{"id":22283,"date":"2013-06-29T00:17:28","date_gmt":"2013-06-29T04:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=22283"},"modified":"2013-06-29T00:19:36","modified_gmt":"2013-06-29T04:19:36","slug":"many-people-in-jaffna-preparing-for-sweeping-victory-by-tna-in-northern-provincial-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=22283","title":{"rendered":"Many People in Jaffna Preparing for Sweeping Victory of the TNA in Northern Provincial Poll"},"content":{"rendered":"

by <\/p>\n

Dinouk Colombage<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the pending announcement of the Northern Provincial Council elections, many people in the Jaffna Peninsula are already preparing for a sweeping victory by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).<\/p>\n

While the Commissioner of Elections is yet to set a date for the election, many residents of the region are convinced the government will announce an election solely in light of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

S. Paramanathan, Secretary for the People’s Council of Peace and Goodwill, told Ceylon Today he was convinced any election held in the near future would be swept by the TNA. “At this point in time the people of Jaffna are fed up with the government; it has been four years since the end of the conflict and little has changed,” he said. He explained that while the fighting is over, and that nobody in Jaffna wants the war, they also want their freedoms which are not being given to them.<\/p>\n

“We do not ask for a separate State like so many government politicians are accusing us of doing, but we do ask to have the security of being ensured our voices are heard. Matters ranging from land, education, health and security are all being controlled by the army, who do not understand our needs,” he lamented.<\/p>\n


\nStonewalled<\/strong><\/p>\n

The secretary said while discussion with local government authorities’ is in progress, they only go so far before stonewalled by the government in Colombo. “When we approach the Army they listen to our concerns before reporting back that their headquarters in Colombo have given them opposing instructions. We cannot hope to rebuild the region when the wants and needs of the local populace are going unheard,” Paramanathan said.<\/p>\n

He said a Provincial Council governed by the TNA would allow the voice of the Tamil people to be heard, “If the government or even the United National Party (UNP) were to win the upcoming elections, it is unlikely that they would understand the plight of the Tamil people.” Paramanathan expressed his confidence the TNA would certainly represent the people, “they have been doing so for the past few years and will continue to do so.”<\/p>\n

However, Paramanathan and many others in Jaffna are concerned that the TNA will not have any powers to execute in the PC, even if the government continues to dilute the 13th Amendment. Yogash Sivajalanham, a member of the Jaffna People’s Community, stressed the government’s continued moves to take away power from the PCs would only hurt the people and the reconciliation attempts.<\/p>\n

“We welcomed the end of the conflict, for nearly 30 years the people of Jaffna suffered. We are now looking to move on with our lives, but this is becoming harder to do so with the government not giving in to any of our requests. We are being treated as a defeated community and not part of the entire country,” he said. Sivajalanham went on to question why the government had decided to reduce the powers of the PCs now and not last year, before those elections in the Provinces that they were confident of winning.<\/p>\n

Needs of the minorities<\/strong><\/p>\n

While expressing anger towards the government, he was also thankful that senior ministers were opposing the moves by the regime. “As long as there are members of the ruling coalition, who are willing to take into account the needs of the minorities, there is still hope for a lasting peace,” he said.<\/p>\n

As the government continues to reduce the effectiveness of the 13th Amendment, they have also taken to employing the services of former senior LTTE members, to contest the upcoming election. The expectations that Daya Master and Thamilini would both contest the NPC under the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ticket have left many Jaffna residents angry. Muttiah Nideesh, a local shop-owner, accused the government of trying to buy their votes with “cheap tactics that would not go unnoticed.” He said the government simply assumed the people of Jaffna secretly supported the LTTE and would vote for any of its former members. “We will vote for those who we feel will best represent our interests. For years the UNP used to dominate the voter base in the North, but now they no longer have our full support,” Nideesh said.<\/p>\n

He, however, denied that the use of these former LTTE members would not win over votes, “There will certainly be voters who will cast their vote in their favour, but overall, I do not believe the majority will be swayed by such moves.”<\/p>\n

Despite the growing cynicism towards the election, many Jaffna residents are excited by the prospect that they will finally have a Provincial Council of their own.
\nCOURTESY:CEYLON TODAY<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dinouk Colombage With the pending announcement of the Northern Provincial Council elections, many people in the Jaffna Peninsula are already preparing for a sweeping victory by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). While the Commissioner of Elections is yet to set a date for the election, many residents of the region are convinced the government …<\/p>\n

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