COLOMBO, Oct 23: The LTTE would permit presidential candidates to canvas for the upcoming elections in rebel-held north east areas but will not support any candidate, Tiger sources said.
The decision comes after consultations with the pro-LTTE Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance, which has representation in parliament.
“We will let the Tamil people make their choice but we will not tell them whom to vote for,” an LTTE spokesman said.
Meanwhile, only one presidential candidate has so far expressed desire to campaign in LTTE controlled territory and is reported to have got permission from the Tiger hierarchy.
Victor Hettigoda, an Ayurvedic physician and traditional medicine baron who is in the run for the presidency, confirmed that he would be heading off to the LTTE base of Killinochchi this week.
“I have been told that I would be welcomed,” he said when contacted.
No confirmation was received from either the opposition leader’s office or the prime minister’s office as to whether the two main candidates would take the rebels at their word and campaign in the Tiger areas.
“As it is we are trying hard to avoid getting hit by an LTTE suicide bomber in other parts of the country,” quipped a campaign organizer for the government’s presidential hopeful, Mahinda Rajapakse.
