Colombo: 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.
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 to a news agency.
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.
"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 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.
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.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 27, 2009, 16:26