Second election related violence reported in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 July 2009, 05:07 GMT]
Unidentified armed men on motorcycles followed the Thamizharasuk Kadchi party contestant in the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) elections and forcibly took away Tuesday the wall posters and handbills from him at gunpoint at Hospital Road-Old Railway Station Road junction in Jaffna, an area guarded by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers day and night, according to the complaint made to Jaffna Election Officer. Meanwhile, Sunday night, on ‘Black Tigers Day’, unknown persons had smashed the temporary election office of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) located near Jaffna Bishop’s House in Kurunakar, sources in Jaffna said.

The contestant, Nadarasa Kanagaratnam alias Vinthan, was engaged in election campaign activities with his friends when the armed men forcibly took away the wall posters and handbills.

Vinthan was the former Jaffna District Organizer of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO).

It is also reported that the pasted wall posters of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) party had been torn away by unknown persons.

The Rising Sun flags of TULF put up at several places in Jaffna town have also been torn and removed, TULF said.

The Election Officer has notified Jaffna police about the complaint made to him for necessary action.

The wholesale burning of the three Tamil Jaffna dailies when they were about to be distributed was the first JMC election related violence reported.