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80,000 Tamils not allowed to vote in Sri Lanka
By Nirupama Subramanian
COLOMBO, DEC. 5. Up to 80,000 Tamils living in the LTTE-controlled areas in northeast Sri Lanka were barred from voting by the Sri Lankan Army in today's parliamentary elections, which were marked by a high voter turnout elsewhere, despite several incidents of violence in parts of the island.
An estimated 70 per cent of the over 12.4 million voters turned out to vote. Ten persons were killed, all except one in the central district of Kandy, where the maximum number of violent incidents were alleged to have taken place. Seven persons were killed and six wounded in one incident alone when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their vehicle and threw a grenade at it.
Police and the private Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported incidents of intimidation of voters by armed supporters of candidates and ballot-stuffing in several polling stations in the district.
One killing was reported from the northwest district of Kurunegala.
The incidents followed a night of violence in which police reported two killings in separate incidents. The CMEV reported that six persons had died in several overnight clashes.
But of most significance was the Army's decision not to permit Tamils living in the LTTE-held areas north of Vavuniya and in Batticaloa to travel to polling stations in Government- controlled areas to cast their votes on grounds of security.
As is the usual practice, provision was made for these people to cast their votes at clustered polling stations outside the ``uncleared areas'' as the LTTE-controlled territory is known here.
But the Army closed the checkpoints through which civilian traffic flows daily to and from the ``uncleared'' and ``cleared'' areas citing intelligence reports of planned infiltration by the LTTE.
``To ensure free and fair elections in the cleared areas of Vanni and Batticaloa, entry points were not opened today. There were credible intelligence reports to the effect that the LTTE was planning to enter cleared areas today in the guise of voters to create violence to disrupt the free and fair elections,'' a Defence Ministry statement said.
Four checkpoints were closed in Batticaloa district affecting 40,000 voters, while in the north, the Pirmanalankulam checkpoint was shut down, preventing another 40,000 voters living in the LTTE-held areas of the Vanni from reaching 73 polling stations clustered in Vavuniya town, the CMEV said.
Voting in the Jaffna peninsula was reported to be peaceful, but the main contestants traded allegations of impersonation, rigging and intimidation.
The results of the elections are expected to be declared on Thursday.
Curfew declared
The Government declared an islandwide curfew from 9.30 p.m. today till 6 a.m. on Thursday.
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