Posted on Sat, May. 10, 2008
Sri Lanka holds vote in liberated east
By RAVI NESSMAN - Associated Press Writer --
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka --
Eastern Sri Lanka residents voted Saturday in their first major election, less than a year after the separatist rebels lost control of the region. The poll was hailed as a democratic milestone but marred by a rebel attacks, one that left 11 people dead.The government said the election was an important step in restoring normalcy to the Eastern Province, which it freed from 13 years of Tamil Tiger rule last July.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has painted the election as a tacit referendum on his costly battle to crush the rebels in their remaining stronghold in the north and end this Indian Ocean island nation's 25-year civil war.
The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for the ethnic Tamil minority in the north and east after decades of marginalization under governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.
"Nobody thought when we first liberated it ... that the government would have elections and hand over this to the people, so its very symbolic," said Basil Rajapaksa, a lawmaker and the president's brother, who is the government's point man on the region.
But a new round of attacks blamed on the rebels clouded the election.
Suspected guerillas bombed and sank an empty navy cargo ship in the eastern port town of Trincomalee at about 2:15 a.m. Saturday, causing no injuries, said navy spokesman Cmdr. D.K.P. Dassanayake.
And a bomb hidden in a package exploded in a cafe Friday evening in the eastern town of Ampara, killing 11 people and sparking fears the rebels had more attacks planned for election day.
The attack in Ampara was were carried out despite the presence of 28,000 police officers and an extra 4,000 soldiers - in addition to the thousands already on duty.
"This is to sabotage the election," said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not answer calls for comment.
Security was tight throughout the Eastern Province on Saturday, with police stopping people at numerous checkpoints along roads. At one polling station, about 20 police and soldiers stood guard, frisking voters as they entered.
The opposition has accused the ruling party and its allies in a breakaway rebel faction known as the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, or TMVP, of threatening their candidates in the province and misusing state resources to ensure a victory.
A win in a credible, violence-free poll would be a big boost for the government's morale amid the growing economic and military toll from its ongoing battle with the rebels in the north.
More than 1,300 candidates from 18 parties and 73 independent groups were running for 37 seats in the east's first-ever provincial council elections.
The main battle was between the ruling party and its allies among the TMVP, and the opposition United National Party and its allies in the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, the government announced huge grants for the impoverished region and insisted an opposition victory would bring back rebel rule.
Election monitors said the tension in the province prevented many candidates from campaigning. They accused ruling party officials of misusing state resources in the campaign.
"This is not a free and fair election," said Kingsley Rodrigo, head of the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections, an independent election monitoring group.
In the end, the election could turn on issues that have little to do with the rebels. Many are angry with the government over skyrocketing inflation, while ethnic loyalties among the Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim communities could sway many votes.
