All Ceylon Tamil Congress Decides to Boycott the Forthcoming Presidential Election

Colombo, 28 December,
Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam MPThe All Ceylon Tamil Congress has resolved to call upon the Tamils of the North and East to boycott the forthcoming Presidential Election.

The resolution to the effect was passed at a special meeting of the General Council of the Party held on Sunday at the Party Office, located at Main Street Jaffna. The meeting was presided over by A Vinayagamoorthy, the President of the Party and a former member of parliament.

The lengthy resolution calling for the boycott dealt with the underlying reasons for the boycott.

The General Secretary of the Party Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam, also a TNA Parliamentarian, moved the resolution for the boycott, that was passed with overwhelming support.

According to reliable sources, views aired at the meeting expressing expectation that the TNA too will take the same stance on the presidential election, when the parliamentary group meets on the 4th of January.

But some political observers in Colombo who have been closely watching the ongoing developments within the TNA, hold the view that it is extremely unlikely that the TNA, which is a political formation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the remaining last vestige of the terrorist organization, would be able to arrive at a collective decision in the absence of any consensus in this regard with All Ceylon Tamil Congress taking the lead, which is one of the constituent parties of the TNA to call for a boycott.

It is widely expected that three MPs from the Jaffna district are now in Jaffna engaged in gauging the mood of the people and would back the ACTC’s decision for a boycott. Those MPs who are presently in Jaffna are Selvarajah Kajendran, Mrs. Pathmini Sithamparanathan and Solomon Cyril. All these three MPs are nominated to contest in the parliamentary election held in April 2004, directly by the LTTE high command .

It is also likely that P.Ariyanenthiran, the TNA MP from the Batticaloa district, will also tow the same line.

In the meantime, Asian Tribune learnt that S. Mavai Senathiraja, the Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the TNA was not present at the recent discussion, the TNA leaders R. Sampanthan and Susil Premachanthran had with Ranil Wickremasinghe and General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka. It is rumored that Mavai Senathirajah was not happy with the TNA leadership negotiating with the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka without the prior authority of the TNA Parliamentary group.

Asian Tribune learnt that as Mavai Senathirajah was hesitant in participating in the talks, he quietly left for Trichy, Tamil Nadu where his family is living