Sinhala GS actions threaten to disenfranchise Ka'n'nakipuram Tamils

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 June 2011, 10:13 GMT]
Tamil residents in traditional Tamil village Kannagipuram East in Poratheevupattu Vellave’li DS division in Batticaloa are in the danger of losing their voting rights due to the discriminatory action taken by a Sinhala village officer T.Sugathadasa who is responsible to register their names in voters’ list by visiting each house in the village. The village is located between two Sinhala villages Bakkiella and Nugalanda along the border of the two districts Batticaloa and Ampaa'rai. Instead of visiting each house and register their names the Sinhala GS has asked Tamil people to come to his office located at Paalaiyadiveddai, several miles away from Ka'n'nakipuram.

Mr. Sugathadasa has warned that names of those fail to register would be removed from the current voters’ list.

Majority of residents of Ka'n'nakipuram are labourers and will not be able to travel to GS office due to the expenses and lack of proper transport service, local sources said, indicating that the Ka'n'nakipuram Tamil voters are in danger of being disenfranchised.

More than eight hundred Tamil families were earlier living in the village. About 250 of them were killed in due to military offensive by the Sri Lanka Army on June 11, 1990. Presently less than 250 families are resident there.

Several complaints have been made against the discriminative actions by the said GS causing difficulties in providing state assistance to Tamil people in Ka'n'nakipuram village.

Residents allege that the GS still he continues to cause hardships to the Tamil residents.