Withdraw the STF camps in East Pillaiyan urges the government

(Lanka-e-News, 2008 March 20, 5.45 PM) Pillaiyan Group has asked the government to withdraw all Police Special Task Force (STF) camps prior to holding Provincial Council elections in the Eastern Province.

Pillaiyan Group has announced that it would not support the government at the election if the STF camps were not withdrawn.

UNP media unit chief Lakshman Kiriella exposed this at a press conference held today at the official residence of the Opposition Leader.

MP Kiriella said that the STF camps in Akkaraipaththu, Thirukkovil, Bakmitiyawa, Muwamikade and Kanagarayanpuram would be withdrawn accordingly since mid noon today (20) to Kebithigollewa area. He said that the Pillaiyan Group has announced that it would not contest the Provincial Council election and would not support the government if all STF camps from Sangamamkanda to Pottuvil were not withdrawn by the day the nominations would be called.

The MP said that one STF personnel named Sunil Kumara of Kolonna was shot when a group of STF personnel went to a scene of crime in Kalmunai to investigate the killing of a Sinhala youth named Premasiri. The officials recovered a key tag in which the name Sarathi was engraved from the place the STF official was killed. Sarathi is the Pillaiyan Group leader of the area.

Police or the security forces have not taken Sarathi into custody yet and if he was arrested and investigated it was likely the truth might be revealed. The Pillaiyan Group is urging the government to withdraw the STF camps to undermine the investigation, said the UNP MP.

The UNP warned that the withdrawal of the STF camps would lead to a dangerous situation. MP Kiriella said that the government promised to the international community at the peace talks in Geneva that the armed groups would be disarmed. However, the government did not abide to its promise.

The MP questioned why the government is afraid to disarm the armed groups prior to election. He said that the government would lose the election in the Eastern Province if it could not gain the support of these armed groups to fill the ballot boxes and to avoid the voters coming into the polling booths. He accused that the government is withdrawing the STF camps that were there for more than twenty years to prepare the ground for polls rigging.