Saturday, January 23, 2010

Sri Lanka campaign enters final day



By Charles Haviland - The final day of campaigning is taking place ahead of Sri Lanka's presidential election on Tuesday.

Although the war in the north of the island is now over, the campaign in other parts of the island has become bitter, violent and personal.


The two main candidates are both closely associated with the government's defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May.

But now President Mahinda Rajapaksa and General Sarath Fonseka have fallen out bitterly.

Groups monitoring the conduct of the campaign say there have been hundreds of violent incidents, resulting in four deaths and many more wounded.

Early on Friday, one of Gen Fonseka's campaign managers had his house firebombed.

He blamed the president, but the government said it was "gravely concerned at this wanton act of violence".

Both candidates have toured the country, including the northern Tamil city of Jaffna from which the rebels once ran their self-declared homeland.

But Saturday will see them both addressing rallies in the capital, and hoping for huge turnouts.

© BBC News



Bookmark and Share

No comments:

Post a Comment

© 2009 - 2014 Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka

  © Blogger template 'Fly Away' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP