By Munza Mushtaq
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has urged Tamil Nadu politicians to intervene on its behalf to stop the impending Eastern Province Provincial Council elections scheduled for May 10, it is learnt.

According to informed political sources, the TNA is boycotting the election and is opposing any form of elections in the de-merged east. The North and East Provinces were de-merged consequent to a Supreme Court ruling, following an application initiated by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which sought the de-merger of both provinces.

The Nation reliably learns that TNA front-liners M.K. Sivajilingam, Selvam Adaikalanathan, N. Srikantha and Suresh Premachandran are currently in India.

The team of TNA MPs which is in Tamil Nadu is lobbying political support to push a resolution through the National State Assembly to persuade the Central Government to stop the Provincial Council elections in the east.

Ram Doss, a supporter of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, led a 5,000-strong protest campaign in Tamil Nadu recently, demanding the closure of the Deputy High Commission in Chennai, banning of the film Prabhakaran and repossession of the Kachchativu Island.

He urged the centre to take possession of the island, an issue which was resolved in the 1960s after talks between then Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike and the Indian Government.
Karunanidhi, however, has maintained silence in this regard.
Political sources opined that an election in the east would affect the LTTE badly since the people in the east would appoint their own leaders under the Provincial Council system.

“This may cause a setback to the LTTE politically,” sources said. “So there are moves to stop the election by getting Tamil Nadu to protest against Sri Lanka.”

When The Nation contacted TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah, he said that he was unaware of any such move since no such official decision had been taken by the party.

However, he added, “I don’t know whether such an initiative has been initiated by any TNA MP on a personal level.”
Meanwhile, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe left for India on Friday morning and is scheduled to return today via Chennai. Wickremesinghe was reportedly in New Delhi yesterday.

Senior UNPers were tightlipped on the visit but claimed that it was for both official and personal reasons.
The visit, it is learnt, comes hot on the heels of a meeting between Wickremesinghe and Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad in Colombo.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of Chennai-based Manitham Human Rights Organisation, Agni Subramaniam called on authorities to close down the Sri Lankan Consulate in Chennai, accusing it of carrying out false propaganda, unlawful intelligence gathering and tipping off exercises.

He claimed that his organisation had received very reliable information that the Consulate had collected cell phone numbers, residential addresses, official addresses, etc., of persons such as film directors and politicians who are supporters of the LTTE-mooted Tamil Eelam.

“The Embassy in Delhi is adequate enough to handle its affairs. Why should there be a Sri Lankan Consulate in Chennai? Is it for intelligence gathering? The Tamil Nadu Government and the Central Government must take steps to close down the Sri Lankan Consulate in Chennai,” Subramaniam had said.

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