Basil Rajapakse announces election concessions in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 07 January 2010, 03:39 GMT]
Basil Rajapakse, the brother and senior advisor of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who arrived in Jaffna Wednesday, announced several concessions in an attempt to get Tamils to vote for Mahinda Rajapakse in the forthcoming presidential election. The concessions are being promised to counter the rising wave of support in the peninsula for the joint opposition candidate General (retd) Sarath Fonseka, political observers in Jaffna said. One of the concessions announced by Basil Rajapakse is the opening of A9 route, 24 hours a day, with effect from Wednesday midnight, sources in Jaffna said.

Hundreds of persons, evacuated from their homes in Valikaamam north by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for establishing of High Security Zone (HSZ), who had come to Thellippazhai Union College hoping resettlement in their places were disappointed as Basil Rajapakse failed to announce a definite date for their resettlement. Ealam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) had said in its press notification that they would be allowed to resettle in their own places.

Basil Rajapakse was accompanied by Northern Province Governor, Major General (retd) G. A. Chandrasiri, and Minister Douglas Devananda in the meetings with IDPs in Union College.

Basil Rajapakse, however, said in the meeting that Mahinda Rajapakse will officially announce the decision on resettlement in HSZs on 10 January when he comes to Jaffna.

Many more verbal concessions were promised by Basil Rajapakse when he next met the representatives of co-operative organizations in Jaffna Veerasingham Halll and later in Veala'nai where he spoke to the representatives of fisheries societies in the peninsula.

Basil Rajapakse had also announced that resettlement will be allowed in 75% of the area of all the HSzs in the peninsula. He did not specify the date.

In Thellippazhai Union College, nine persons selected for resettlement in Valikaamam North were given a bicycle and 5,000 rupees each.

Basil Rajapakse also announced that the prevailing SLA restrictions in the peninsula will be relaxed while IDPs will be given special concessions for resettlement.