TNA abstain from voting; wants EPDP Delft office shut
[November 20, 2002 - 10.30 GMT ]

Tamil National Alliance, a constituent party of the UNF government abstained from voting on Monday when the Interior Ministry financial allocation was put to the vote during the committee stage debate.

"The TNA parliamentary group decided not to vote for the Interior Ministry financial allocation to register our dissatisfaction to the government for its inaction regarding Kanchirankuda and Trincomalee incidents in which several Tamils were killed," Tamilnet reported quoting the leader of the group, R.Sampanthan. 

The Island newspaper reported today that it is also a part of the TNA’s strategy to press the government to close down the EPDP office in Delft Island. TNA parliamentarians were not available for comments. 

The EPDP political office in Delft was temporarily closed on 5th October 2002 following an LTTE attack. The office was reopened on Saturday, 16th November 2002.

In the morning of Monday, 18th November, a large number of people protested against the EPDP preventing them from re-opening their office. Some members in the crowd fired with pistols. Thereupon the police fired teargas and dispersed the crowd.

The EPDP says that the protest was organized by the LTTE to get the EPDP out of Delft claiming that the people of Delft were opposed to them.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry financial allocation was passed with a majority of thirty-one votes. 103 MPs voted with the government and 71 voted against. Parliamentarians of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) and the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) voted with the government. Parliamentarians of the Peoples Alliance and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna voted against the allocation. 

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Last Updated Date: November 20, 2002  - 10.30 GMT.