Kandy voters intimidated, fail to vote

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 21 December 1999, 19:09 GMT]
Independent elections observers monitoring the Presidential polls today said that Tamils in Aniwatte and Mahaiyyawa in Kandy were threatened and prevented from voting today by supporters of the ruling People’s Alliance (PA) party.

PA supporters are reported to have attacked Tamil houses in Aniwatte near Kandy town last night.

The attackers had warned the Tamils against voting.

In an incident at Mahiyyawa also close to Kandy town, Tamils were threatened and their polling cards were snatched by PA thugs.

The Tamils in the area had requested a mobile unit of the Committee for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) that had visited the area to stay on to ensure their safety until polling was over.

Supporters of the PA believe that the majority of hill country Tamils would prefer to vote for Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP).