In his bid to win hearts and minds of the Tamil electorate, opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka will undertake a gruelling tour of the war- ravaged northern Sri Lanka, a weak spot for him as the former general is considered an architect of victory over the LTTE.
"We are hurriedly making arrangements for Fonseka's rallies in Killinochchi and Mullaitivu on January 4," the Opposition Presidential Candidate’s poll Manager said adding he was hopeful the rallies would go ahead as scheduled.
"In the East, we have planned a meeting (of Fonseka) in Batticaloa town followed by a rally in Ampara town on January 5," he said.
Fonseka in his resignation letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa last month had stated, "There is no clear policy to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil people, which will surely ruin the victory, attained paving the way for yet another uprising in the future."
The victory of Lankan security forces during the Eelam war IV which began in 2006 led to the killing of 23,000 LTTE cadres and injuring another 12,258.
As many as 6000 Sri Lankan security forces personnel also lost their lives besides 23,000 suffering injuries in the war that culminated with the killing of LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Fonseka is scheduled to commerce his painstaking campaign in the North on January 2 by attending a religious ceremony at the historic Nallur Kovil in Jaffna, the campaign manager said.
He said this would be followed by a discussion with Jaffna University students and teachers. Leaders of the Opposition parties including those from the UNP and Tamil Parties are expected to rally strongly around Fonseka to boost his campaign.
They are also expected to speak at the rallies in Northern Sri Lanka to support Fonseka's candidature. The campaign manager said this would be followed by a meeting with Tamil and Muslim businessmen of the Jaffna peninsula.
With just a month left for the crucial Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka the former general plans to tour the region next week.
"Though only over 15,000 Tamil IDPs have registered for voting from the welfare camps and efforts are on to increase it as much as possible, there are lakhs of Tamils voters all over the country," a campaign manager of Fonseka said.
The Opposition United National Party which is backing Fonseka had a history of getting large amount of Tamil votes. The Tamil vote is considered a weak spot for Fonseka as he is considered the architect of the victory over LTTE.
The UNP is sparing no efforts to mobilize a huge crowd for his rally in the Jaffna district. Next Sunday he will move to the Mannar town followed by a meeting at Vavuniya town, the manager said. His schedule on January 6 involves rallies in Muttur and Trincomalee Town.
"Your Excellency’s government has yet to win the peace in spite of the fact that the Army under my leadership won the war," Fonseka has stated in his resignation letter to Rajapaksa
No comments:
Post a Comment