Meanwhile, political groups such as the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Douglas Devananda called on the LTTE to end intimidation and allow all political parties into their areas for election campaigning. Only the TNA has been permitted campaigning in LTTE territory. In late March, the Commissioner announced that polling stations cannot be set-up in neutral zones because of landmine threats, but assured that cluster stations would be established in Army-controlled areas.
Enthusiasm for elections did not curb human rights violations. Unidentified gunmen shot dead B Ajanthan at Pattannichchoor in Vavuniya District on 4 January. The police revealed in January that the bodies of V Fernando, 24, and T Dhushyanthan, 18, were found near Pambaimadu, five miles north-west of Vavuniya. They had been handcuffed and shot in the heads.
Shelters in a part of the Poonthottam refugee camp in Vavuniya were gutted by fire on 28 February. There were 5,000 refugees in the camp at the time of the fire. A child was injured and over 480 people lost their meagre possessions. Local NGOs and international agencies provided immediate relief.
Tamil observers have welcomed British High Commissioner Stephen Evans’ participation in the opening ceremony of a new office of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) in LTTE-controlled Kilinochchi on 9 March. The TRO has been the dominant group involved in rehabilitation in LTTE controlled areas during the war. TRO became a registered charity in Britain in 1992 but was later accused of acting as a Tiger front and taken over by Charity Commissioners in May 2002. The LTTE is banned in Britain since March 2001.