Audio: Govt. molly-coddling former terrorists: SF WEDNESDAY, 24 APRIL 2013 The Government has permitted separatists and terrorist leaders to contest the upcoming elections, DNA Leader Sarath Fonseka said today.  He was referring to the news item that Daya Master will contest on the ruling UPFA ticket. ‘Daya master was a known terrorist leader, who surrendered to the military during the final stages of the war,” Mr. Fonseka said and added that the Government was protecting culprits and terrorists by taking them to its side. It is safeguarding the terrorists and preventing them from facing criminal charges. “The government is protecting criminals. A minister and a former chief minister, both former terrorists, are being molly-coddled by this government, which has now given the permission to Daya Master as well. Very soon even KP will also be allowed to contest elections or may be appointed to parliament through the national list,” he said. Mr. Fonseka said this kind of behavior by this Government had affected the judicial procedure of the country. “The government is maintaining files on those who are against it while protecting anyone who supports it. This is the message the government is giving the international community today,” he said. (Sanath Desmond) Gota meets Daya Master in Jaffna

By Ananth Palakidnar-2013-04-24 Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has met former LTTE media head, V. Dayanithy alias Daya Master and 23 others in Jaffna over the Northern Provincial Council polls to be held later this year, informed sources said. The meeting was held on Monday at the 52 Division Headquarters in Varani, where the Defence Secretary had a detailed discussion over the Northern Provincial polls and also on the possibilities of spearheading the political and the development activities through a possible UPFA-led Provincial Council, sources said. The meeting had also focused on the candidatures for the Northern Provincial polls where Rajapaksa had outlined that by contesting alone, the UPFA could work out its own strategies towards the development activities in the North, sources added. The UPFA is planning to field several new faces at the Provincial polls, sources explained. Meanwhile, informed sources said Daya Master is most likely to contest the polls under the UPFA. The UPFA's coalition partner, Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), which had earlier contested in the parliamentary polls under the betel symbol of the UPFA, has still not taken any decision on aligning with the UPFA in the provincial polls, sources said. In the meantime, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has also embarked on working out its provincial polls strategy, despite the differences over registering the TNA as a political party. The old guards in the TNA, including its leader R. Sampanthan and Mavai Senathiraja are not for registering the TNA as a political party and they prioritize the main constituent party, Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), instead of the TNA, sources said.

2013-04-24