Govt. helping armed group control Batti: Hakeem

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Leader Rauff Hakeem accused the Government of helping an armed group to forcibly capture power in the Batticaloa Municipal Council at the forthcoming polls.

Hakeem, at an election meeting in Manjanthoduvai, Batticaloa, alleged that the government is in a desperate situation to capture power in the Municipal Council and other local bodies within Batticaloa district, to show the international community that their war related activities have wide ranging public support within the area.

“To prove this by hook or by crook, they have fielded candidates of an armed group, capable of resorting to violence, threats and undemocratic activities, to have them elected,” Hakeem said.

He also said that the international community and foreign missions in Colombo, are focused on the trends in the east, including activities to restore normal life, consequent to the region’s liberation in the recent past. He further said that, although the peace monitors were not present, the international community was closely monitoring the Sri Lankan political developments and other related activities.

He further said that the main reason for the Tamil National Alliance and the United National Party to abscond the polls, was due to the gun culture and the violence in the area.

“We courageously entered the polls, as it was a matter of our dignity and honour. We do not want our people being threatened at gunpoint and ordered to vote against their will,” he said.

“The upcoming election is a matter of self respect and dignity for the people of Batticaloa district. Elections to Batticaloa Municipal Council are crucial in that aspect,” he said. The SLMC had fielded candidates, as they had not wanted to mortgage the people’s right to vote, adding that even if they do not get the majority at the polls, they did not want the Government to snatch their slots using others.

Hakeem also said that even though the Government claimed that it has liberated the entire area, “people are neither able to travel in those areas nor go to their paddy fields to cultivate,” he said.

He further added that the lives of the candidates were under threat. Life has not yet been normalised, and conditions weren’t conducive for free and fair polls in the area, suggesting that there will not be a free and fair administration of the Council.