The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) today charged that the military is involved in many exclusively civilian matters in the North “without invitation” and that they are also engaged in the election campaign for the ruling UPFA.
In an open letter addressed to the President, TNA leader R. Sampanthan stated they have consistently raised the issue of the “heavily militarized atmosphere” in the Northern Province, which is not at all conducive to the holding of a free and fair election.
“What has been objectionable even before the announcement of the polls is not only the presence of the military but the fact that they without invitation engage with the civilian population in many exclusively civilian matters,” he said.
He state that this involvement has continued even after the Election was announced and has also strayed well into election related activities.
“The rumor that the military has nominated some candidates on the Government Party, i.e., UPFA list is fuelled by soldiers pasting posters promoting those candidates and guarding such posters from being torn down even by election officials,” he said.
The TNA Parliamentary Group Leader also stated that there had been at least one instance when they had made a written complaint that the army was distributing building materials to the voters at Navanthurai, Jaffna, with hoardings of some candidates kept in the background.
“A photograph showing a candidate physically participating in this event with the army was published in a newspaper. The election officials who visited the scene found the allegation to be true but were not able to stop it,” he said.
“These are only but a few glaring examples of the blatant manner in which the military is now engaged in the election campaign for the Government Party, UPFA. It is also a matter of record that at least three of our candidates were threatened by the army on the day we submitted our nominations.
In this background and otherwise, it is clear that there cannot be a free and fair election if the military continues its interfering presence in the Northern Province,” he said.
It has thus become imperative for me to ask you to relegate the army and the other security forces to the barracks immediately and leave the maintenance of law and order in the hands of the Police, Sampanthan said.
He stated that there is real apprehension that the military involvement will increase in the coming days and will serve to dissuade voters from going out and casting their votes on Election Day. “It is rumored that the army is already discouraging the local populace from voting on the 21st,” he claimed.
Therefore he kindly request from the President to take steps to “confine the military to the barracks” and remove the “biggest obstacle” to the conduct of a free and fair poll on September 21.
