Jaffna Muslim contestant attacked by armed group

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 March 2006, 17:14 GMT]
Attack on the family of Jaffna Municipal Council contestant, S.M.Suhaib by armed men early morning 9 a.m. Friday is a provocative attack planned to worsen the climate of fear that has already been created by the Sri Lanka Military and collaborating paramilitaries, said Secretary of Jaffna Consortium of Welfare associations ,E Parvatharajah, in a communiqué issued Saturday, sources in Jaffna said.

While the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is keen on using the local elections as an instrument to highlight the aspirations of Tamil speaking people, the violence on Suhaib's family portend ominous signs that anti-democratic forces are bent on suppressing the democratic rights of the Tamil people, the communiqué added.

"We strongly condemn this attack and are confident that Tamil speaking people will teach a harsh lesson to the perpetrators of the crime during the forthcoming local council elections," the communiqué said.

Meanwhile, Moulavi.S.M. Shahil, co-contestant for the Jaffna Municipal Council, said in a communiqué released from Muslim Street, Jaffna Saturday that: "attack on Suhaib's familiy is an "act of State terrrorism," and exposes the political bankruptcy of the paramilitaries assisting the chauvinist State."

"We are certain that the Tamil speaking people will express their aspirations in the local council elections, and will demonstrate that efforts of many nefarious forces to destroy the increasing amity between Muslim and Tamil people cannot succeed."