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EPDP says no to eastern elections
Social
Services and Social Welfare Minister and EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda
says any election in the east prior to resettling the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) would be a futile exercise.
He told The Bottom Line that his party would also not contest a
provincial council election in the east, if an acceptable political
package was not put forward prior to such an election.
He said his party was in a position to contest only a local government
election in the east, provided, the government took meaningful step
to resettle the IDPs.
He said, as a matter of urgency, the government must implement the
13th Amendment to the Constitution and give more powers to the peripheries
under Section 154 G (2).
“This must be the prime task of the government right now. Not
elections,” he emphasised.
Devananda was of the view that the outcome of the All Party Representative
Committee (APRC) could be the final solution to solve the north
and east crisis. “Prior to this, we have to implement the 13th
Amendment,” he added.
He also said he would not accept a ‘unitary’ Constitution,
if there was no provision to share adequate powers with the peripheries.
Meanwhile, Assistant Elections Commissioner in Batticaloa T. Krishnanandalingam
also told The Bottom Line that until the resettlement was completed,
it was impossible to conduct elections.
He said that although some of the LTTE areas were liberated by the
government forces, government servants were not allowed to visit
these areas yet, adding therefore, it was impossible to arrange
the ground for elections.
He said 36,000 people were still living in resettlement camps and
added that until they were properly resettled an election was not
possible. He said 24 grama niladhari divisions still came under
the uncleared areas and therefore, elections in these areas were
not a matter to consider at present.
“However, we are confident that by October 30 all the people
will be resettled. After that, we could go ahead with election plans,”
he added.
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