Sri Lanka's Tamil party demands confinement of army before key elections

Sri Lanka's Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has reportedly demanded that army be confined to barracks before key elections after accusing them of campaigning for the ruling party in the former separatist stronghold of Jaffna.

The TNA told President Mahinda Rajapakse that soldiers were campaigning for his United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the Jaffna peninsula, where the minority party was expected to do well.

The party accused the soldiers of selectively discouraging Tamils in TNA strongholds from voting at the region's first ever provincial council election, scheduled for September 21, Daily Times reports.

The TNA said that even before the announcement of the polls, the military, without invitation, is engaging with the civilian population in many exclusively civilian matters.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan in his letter to Rajapakse said that the election authorities were unable to stop the military involvement in the region adding that there cannot be a free and fair election if the military continues its interfering presence in the Northern Province

Meanwhile, the military has denied being engaged in election propaganda work.

Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya said that the allegations are baseless adding that the army has been engaging in civil affairs since the end of the war and have always worked at the invitation of the people, the report added.