As the campaigning for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) election concludes, there are only a few absolute certainties as to the outcome � most notably that there will be no outright winner. Given the electoral system, the results of recent elections, the demography in the East and the general voting pattern along communal lines, it is more or less clear that neither the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) nor a possible Tamil National Alliance (TNA) �United National Party (UNP) combine will have a simple majority. In such a context it will be the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which is contesting independently that will hold the balance of power.

The strategic value of the Muslim vote is all too evident, not solely due to the SLMC having been the key focus of pre-nomination lobbying, but also that other political parties and alliances are attempting to shore up their Muslim votes.

Once more, the Eastern Muslim polity, like in parliamentary and presidential polls, finds itself in the strategic position of being a 'king maker'. While this role provides the community with significant leverage, it has not always delivered in terms of key objectives of the Muslim politicians or the demands of the polity. In an attempt to understand the dynamics of the Eastern Muslim polity in the upcoming EPC election and where the polity finds itself the current juncture, this article will examine larger patterns in Eastern Muslim politics, including the strength of Muslim minor parties, the struggle for representation and the post-war concerns of the polity. Even while the EPC election offers an opportunity for Eastern Muslim politicians to demonstrate their support and power, for the polity it is viewed as an opportunity to ensure representation of constituent communities and of issues.

Gains and Losses of Muslim Minor Parties

Although the SLMC will ultimately decide which alliance will take control of the EPC, it is unlikely that within the Eastern Muslim polity there will be an outright winner at the EPC poll, unlike in Tamil areas, where the TNA will most likely take a majority of the vote share or to a lesser extent in Sinhala areas where the UPFA is likely to dominate with some variations between districts. As in the previous post-war polls, the fate of individual political parties will significantly vary between the different areas, making clear that Eastern Muslim politics continues to be highly competitive and dynamic, at least in terms of electoral politics. In this context it would be useful to review the results of the Local Government Authorities (LGA) elections that were held in three phases in 2011. Two of three dominant Muslim minor parties, the SLMC and the National Congress (NC), contested independently in some authorities while competing in others as a part of the UPFA with whom they are allied with at the national level.

The SLMC was able to demonstrate its continuing dominance with significant victories particularly in LGAs in Ampara. For instance, in Kalmunai Urban Council it increased the number of seats it won from 10 in 2006 to 11 in 2011 with a miniscule improvement in proportion of votes it garnered from 48.69% to 48.88% of the total vote. The party however experienced some serious setbacks most notably in Batticaloa where it slumped to third place behind the UPFA and independent groups in two of the three LGAs that went to the poll. Even in Ampara, considered the base of the party, there were notable defeats including in the two main LGAs in Akkaraipattu where the NC, once more, proved their popularity and power, and in Samanthurai PS which it had won in alliance with the UNP in 2006. In Trincomalee, where the SLMC competed as part of the UPFA coalition, its candidates faced stiff competition from other coalition members so was unable to make a clean sweep. Hence, even while the party can claim to be the dominant Muslim minor party, it faces serious challenges but there were no efforts post LGA-polls to take action on reviewing and consolidating the party structure. The main lesson that was drawn by the party was that it was in a strong position to contest independently but that the results would be mixed. It can be expected that the SLMC will be able to shore up its base in Ampara, while Trincomalee will prove more competitive. In Batticaloa the party is facing a serious crisis with a senior leader, Basheer Segu Dawood backing a UPFA Muslim candidate. Notably, the SLMC has put forward a female candidate to contest in the district, Salma Hamza.

Like in the previous EPC and the LG elections, this poll will provide an opportunity for break-away parties from the SLMC, the NC and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) to prove their continuing relevance and viability. The NC in both polls was able to show their primacy in their bastion of Akkaraipattu but also successfully fielded candidates through the UPFA slate as far afield as Kathankudy and Muttur in the last EPC and Sinhala candidates in Ampara LGA elections. Minister N.L.M. Athaulla has been able to maintain his electoral power, and the victory of his son as the mayor of the recently upgraded Akkaraipattu Municipality suggests that steps are being taken to ensure the stability of the dynasty, if not the party.

The ACMC has found the post-war context more difficult as none of its Eastern leaders were able to secure parliamentary seats in the 2010 general election, and are now attempting to win seats as EPC members. The ACMC competed through the UPFA and was able to show that they retain support in their stronghold by helping win Korallaipattu West PS in particular. While the ACMC is confident of securing representation through Batticaloa, with the former parliamentarian, Ameer Ali contesting as a candidate, it could also re-claim representation in Trincomalee. Muslim politics in Batticaloa is divisive with politicians having individual strongholds and independent groups such as People's Movement for Good Governance in Kathankudy being able to retain significant vote share and are testing their political strength at a provincial level.

Minor gains, National losses:

For the UPFA Alliance as a whole, and the SLFP in particular, the post-war context offered the opportunity to expand its base, particularly in offering access to state resources. The defeat of the LTTE consolidated the position of the UPFA and it seemed that the entire political landscape had changed and the opposition was unable to assert itself. Among some sections of the Eastern Muslim polity the victory over the LTTE was seen as a defeat of Tamil nationalism and of minority politics at large. Other factors including the splintering of Eastern Muslim politics, the emergence of minor political parties from other ethnic polities and the Machiavellian stratagems of the current administration have resulted in Muslim minor parties losing their king maker position.

Following the death of the SLMC founder leader A.H.M. Ashraf, the party has had a number of factions break away from the party and it has been vulnerable to efforts by governments to encourage the cross over of party leaders, including in 2010 when the SLMC joined the UPFA Government partly due to averting another split. During the EPC election the party is facing another internal crisis that could result in another cross over. It is apparent that the heyday of the Muslim minor parties is over, not just in terms of their strategic importance at the national level but they are also hard pressed to prove their electoral strength at the district level.

That the politicians from the National Unity Alliance (NUA), headed by Ferial Ashraf decided to join the SLFP in the lead up to the parliamentary elections was symbolic of the insecurity of the Muslim minor parties, but this strategy did not deliver for the party's leaders. While the SLFP claimed that there was a need for a new type of politics that went beyond communalism and ethnic political parties, it was all too clear that the party was not beyond using ethnic cleavages to shore up its own position. For instance, the SLFP did not publicly condemn a poster campaign calling on Sinhalese to vote only for Sinhalese candidates in Ampara prior to the general election 2010.

The UPFA leadership also used the strategy of encouraging a maximum number of Muslim candidates to contest in Ampara and Trincomalee under the UPFA list so as to accumulate more votes for the alliance while consolidating preference votes among the few Sinhala candidates. This strategy was seen at the 2010 general election in Trincomalee and Ampara with more Muslim candidates than Sinhalese on the UPFA slate so that the vote split between the Muslims. In Ampara the leader of now defunct NUA, Ferial Ashraf lost her seat while in Trincomalee this strategy along with the limited popularity of Muslim candidates allowed for the UPFA to elect two Sinhalese elected as MPs.

The post-war context has, however proved disappointing for the SLFP. The opposition to the Government was made all too clear in the Presidential Elections of 2010 when Sarath Fonseka won in all Muslim majority electorates in the East and was also a game changer in terms of off-setting the UPFA�s hegemony. Even while the UPFA and the SLFP secured significant victories, including winning control of individual LGAs in Muslim majority areas it is all too apparent that the SLFP has not been able to secure a position of primacy within the Muslim polity. In its electoral strategy the SLFP continues to rely on its UPFA coalition partners in Muslim areas and has not made serious in-roads in building up the base of the SLFP. One of the two SLFP organizers for Batticaloa district and former Chairman of Eravur Pradeshiya Sabha, Ali Zahir Moulana is running for the EPC so his victory may mark a symbolic post-war gain for the party.

As the LGA results demonstrate the primary battle for popularity in most areas continues to be between Muslim minor parties. However, it needs to be noted that in some areas there is a different dynamic. For instance in Kinniya, the electoral battle is between the national political parties and the UNP is expected to reverse its loss at the LGA elections. The Muslim base of the once powerful UNP, like the SLFP, has suffered significantly as a result of its alliance with Muslim minor parties as Muslim candidates from the national parties were often not placed on nomination lists or supported by the party hierarchy in favour of coalition cohabitation. The UNP has yet to re-organise its party structure in the East.

Securing Representation

For the Muslim polity securing representation has been a critical political driving force. This desire to ensure maximum ethnic representation in elected authorities and appointed positions is by no means unique to the Muslim polity. In fact, Muslims developed mass communal political parties well after the other ethnic counterpart. The strong desire for Muslim representation is also a result of a historical experience of political marginalisation that contributed to the emergence of a popular Muslim minor party, the SLMC. That neither Trincomalee nor Ampara has made a Muslim District Secretary over the past few decades reinforces the perception of ethnic marginalization.

The political and human security crisis the community faced as a result of the war also contributed to the party establishing its dominance over the Eastern Muslim polity in under a decade. Although the effectiveness of a Muslim political party for the polity, as opposed to the politicians, is increasingly questioned, the SLMC, as the primary Muslim party continues to utilize the insecurity of the community to mobilize support for it. Interestingly, the attack on the Dambulla Mosque in April 2012 which heightened the feeling of insecurity in the community, has provided a significant boost for the party.

This political desire for representation has meant that there is significant support for a unified Muslim list at the provincial level as a means of securing power and in order to address needs. At the EPC elections in 2008 and 2012 there were efforts to pursue such a strategy but the suspicions among Muslim politicians, especially among the Muslim minor parties, proved too overwhelming. The intra-Muslim political violence has been one of the most serious forms of election violence during the 2012 EPC elections. Given the number of Muslim candidates both in Muslim minor parties and in other political parties , coupled with competing political compulsions on the part of voters such as the interest in securing representation from the locality and rivalries with politicians from other localities has meant that the results from parliamentary and LGA elections have not been straightforward.

In terms of ensuring a maximum number of Muslim councilors from all political parties, this current line-up of parties and alliances is perhaps ideal. If the SLMC had contested within the UPFA and secured its demands for a significant share of the positions in the UPFA's nomination lists, it would have played straight into the Government's strategy of flooding the UPFA nomination lists in Ampara and Trincomalee districts with Muslim candidates so as to better ensure that more Sinhala candidates get elected.

Given their demographic strength many Eastern Muslims expect the position of a chief minister to be awarded to a Muslim. In 2008 the UPFA assured the position to the most popular candidate but the results showed a higher vote for the main Tamil candidate, P. Chandrakanthan of the TMVP while more Muslim provincial councilors than Tamils were elected to the EPC on the UPFA list. Ultimately, the UPFA was able to exploit the divisions within the Muslim minor parties to appoint Chandrakanthan. Even while the UPFA has stated that they will re-appoint sitting chief ministers across all three provincial councils going to the polls, given that the SLMC will be in a position to decide who will have the majority in the EPC, it is assumed that securing the position of chief minister will be the main bargaining chip, although the interests of the party leaders could also come into play. As noted above it cannot be assumed that Muslim voters will automatically vote for other competing groups on this count along, even while the SLMC may well make this a part of its electoral platform.

In the run up to nominations, the SLMC party was split as to whether to contest alone, with the UPFA or even the TNA. Even while its decision to contest independently is a popular choice within the party there are suspicions within the polity as to whether it is purely tactical for accruing more votes and that the outcome has been decided. The party contested with the UNP in the general election of 2010 but in October 2010 justified joining the Government on the grounds of providing stability for the Government in order to address critical issues. There are suspicions that the party leadership will automatically join a UPFA coalition in the EPC once the results are announced, not because the party wants to avoid losing whatever limited space it has for advocacy with the Government but due to the vulnerability of the party leadership. There are, however some sections of the party and the polity who feel that an alliance with the TNA in the EPC is important in order to ensure that minority rights are safeguarded.

Hidden costs of representation in government

While the main Muslim minor parties will justify their alliance with the UPFA as imperative to securing access to state resources and protection, the Eastern Muslim community has found it challenging to have their core needs addressed. Having secured cabinet portfolios these politicians have been able to access state resources and influenced state policy to address specific issues particularly relating to development but it has become evident that there are also costs, including the loss of oppositional voices to give voice to community grievances.

When the SLMC joined the Government there was significant support among their support base for this decision but there was also some apprehension that the community would lose their ability to voice their problems. Furthermore, it has become apparent that securing cabinet portfolios is more about accessing systems of patronage as the ability to influence policy and address fundamental structural problems relating to democracy, peace and development is seriously limited. Hence, even though the EPC will see a high number of Muslim representatives there are serious concerns as to whether they will take up the concerns of their constituencies or merely raise issues that are convenient. The weakness of the provincial council system is an added factor that constrains rather than prevents members from advocating on issues impacting their constituencies. Having all the main Eastern Muslim parties on one side has also meant that they have very limited leverage.

The Muslim politicians find themselves as pawns, unable to impact or influence key policies and vulnerable to the Government�s machinations, especially given the ability of the Government to buy over, encourage and coerce leading members of political parties. The rivalry between Eastern Muslim political leaders has proved so problematic that they are unable to unite even on a specific issue, however this cannot account for the challenges faced by the community in raising a diverse range of issues, particularly those deemed controversial.

For instance, the Mosque in Karumalaiuttu, Trincomalee, dating back from the early nineteenth century, has been occupied by the security forces and the largely fishing community of the village (over 100 families) has not been allowed to resettle and reclaim their land. The exact reason for why the navy and now army are preventing civilian return and use of the mosque has not been made clear. Despite Muslim politicians being aware of the issue, there has been little public advocacy by them over the last few years and there has been no progress on the issue. Similarly in Ashraf Nagar in Addalaichennai the military has established an army camp and attempted to take over the land of 69 families who are largely chenna farmers. While a few affected families have attempted to seek legal redress Muslim politicians from all parties have not provided any support and a few have even attempted to encourage the community to accept alternative solutions. The unwillingness of elected leaders to raise such issues, coupled with the apprehension of district-level civil society leaders to do so, has placed great pressure on community leaders to front efforts at highlighting their own problems.

The change in the political and security context with the end of the war did have a significant impact on the position of the Eastern Muslim polity. Hence, there are questions regarding the relevance and potency of key issues that dominated during the ceasefire period, including security, land and a political solution, including a Muslim Self Governing Region. Even while the Government might claim that the major post-war concern in the region is development, it is apparent that these issues have not disappeared, if at all they have altered in nature and scale. For example on the issue of the political solution, there is disagreement within the community as to the framework and even whether a fundamental reform of the state is required, but there is also a very clear demand from sections of the community for pushing forward on a settlement between the Government and the TNA, with the Muslim community being recognised as an equal partner to any such settlement.

The lack of debate and dialogue within the Eastern Muslim community on post-war concerns and needs facilitated by politicians and/or civil society is all too apparent. This in turn limits the space for advocacy. Hence a key challenge for the Muslim members of the EPC will be whether they will take up the concerns of the communities who elected them and advocate on their behalf. There are clear risks in not doing so, not just in terms of Muslim politics but also for the region and country at large in terms of the transition from war to peace.

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The US State Department says intolerance of, and discrimination against, Muslims by some Buddhists saw an increase in Sri Lanka last year. The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 released by the US State Department on Monday, also said that last year, U.S. embassy officials conveyed U.S. government concerns about religious freedom, particularly attacks on churches, to government leaders and urged them to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. The report which looks at religious freedom, or the lack of it in all countries for 2012, noted that in certain instances, local authorities in Si Lanka failed to respond effectively to communal attacks, including attacks on members of minority religious groups.

A group of Govt MPs have informed Minister Basil Rajapaksa that they are not going to support the 19th Constitutional amendment bill if it attempts to hinder the Provincial council powers or make any suggestions regarding the Executive Presidency. Govt sources say that under these circumstances the Govt has faced a problem of rallying a 2/3 majority in the Parliament as this has caused a 8 MP shortage. Lanka News web site reports that although the Govt had previously planned to call upon a Presidential election on March next year after bringing in the 19th Constitutional amendment, changing the Presidential election time period from 4 years to 3 years and changing its period of office from 6 years to 5 years, due to the lack of majority, it has faced trouble.

The eldest daughter of the former JVP leader, Rohana Wijeweera was arrested by the police after a complaint was filed against her by her mother, Police Spokesman SP Buddhika Siriwardena stated. Rohana Wijeweera has four daughters and a son while the arrested daughter was the eldest. She is due to be presented to courts for allegedly assaulting her mother, police further stated.

Articulating right demands and slogans in Genocide Remembrance events is crucial at a time when the Eezham Tamils in their homeland are barred from even silently mourning their heroes and civilians who sacrificed their lives in the culmination of the genocidal war at Mu"l"li-vaaykkaal, said a Tamil political activist from Jaffna commenting on the slogans used by protestors at the May 19 event at Marina beach in Chennai. Civil society activists, artists, political leaders and ordinary people had participated a mass gathering near the Kannagi statue in the honour of those Eezham Tamils who perished in Sri Lanka"s genocidal war despite dissuasion by the police. Speaking to TamilNet from the gathering, Umar, an activist from the May 17 criticized the failure of UN in preventing the genocide, stating that Sri Lanka must be hauled in the UNSC.

Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Minister Douglas Devananda, an advocate of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, yesterday said the delegation of land and police powers to the provincial councils should be held back for the time being when constituting to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC). In an interview with Daily Mirror, Minister Devananda said there appeared to be dissension in the south over the delegation of such powers to the Provincial Council (PC) and therefore, it should be held back till an understanding between the two major communities - Sinhalese and Tamils - was built up. "If there is no delegation of such powers when forming the Northern Provincial Council, the Tamil people will be concerned. Likewise, Sinhala people will be concerned if these powers are delegated. Therefore, it is advisable to hold it back for the moment until there is understanding," he said.

Respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This week marks the fourth anniversary of the brutal civil war's end. Since the end of the 26-year-long civil war, the Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has resisted taking meaningful steps to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes by government forces and the LTTE, end the crackdown against the independent media and human rights activists, and stop ongoing abuses against suspected LTTE supporters. Government pledges to address the concerns of the ethnic Tamil population have gone unfulfilled. "Four years after Sri Lanka's horrific civil war ended, many Sri Lankans await justice for the victims of abuses, news of the 'disappeared,' and respect for their basic rights," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead, the Rajapaksa government has rejected investigations, clamped down harder on the media, and persisted in wartime abuses such as torture."

Protests by the fishermen community and political parties have yielded result with the Sri Lankan government ordering the release of the 26 Karaikal fishermen on Monday. The fishermen who are in the custody of the Sri Lankan government will be released after being produced before the Lankan court, said Union Minister of State V Narayanasamy. "Orders for the release have been issued after the intervention of Union Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid, Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Ministers of Tamil origin," Narayanasamy said. As the relations between India and Sri Lanka were not good due to agitations against Sri Lanka in Tamil Nadu, securing their release took lot of time,he added.

Former Colombo Deputy Mayor Azath Salley who shot to fame as a result of his arrest, today said President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the ideal person to bring about proper peace and reconciliation. Mr. Salley told a news conference that President Rajapaksa's own family comprised members of different religions and ethnic groups who lived peacefully. Therefore he said it would be easy for the President to establish peace in the country in the same way he had maintained peace among his own family members. The Former Deputy Mayor thanked the Ministers in the government, several countries and opposition politicians who played a role in securing his release from prison. He recalled that many had worked towards his release, although he was not even a member of a local authority.

Vanni district parliamentarian Sivasakthi Anandan has received a written order to report to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) regarding a function held at the Vavuniya Town Council Hall on May 18th to commemorate the war victims. Mano Ganeshan, the leader of People's Democratic Front has stated that by ordering Sivasakthi Anandan to report to CID the government has violate the public right to commemorate dead which is recommended in a report in the Presidential Commission. Speaking to 'BBC Sandeshaya' he has stated "the provisions in Learned Lessons and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) report clearly indicates that the public must be provided with an opportunity to commemorate dead. However the government has not allowed it. The MP who was involved in the commemoration has been ordered to report to CID".

The Russian Federation has requested Sri Lanka's support to win the bid for hosting EXPO 2020, the Government Information Department reported. The Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independence States-Russia, Konstantin Kosachev when he met Sri Lanka's Prime Minister D.M.Jayarathna has emphasised how important the vote of Sri Lanka is for Russia to host EXPO 2020. Russia is competing for the votes of 162 countries along with Thailand, Turkey, Brazil and UAE. Kosachev has briefed the Sri Lankan PM that Russia expects to conduct this exhibition in Yekatennburg which links Asian and European countries and around twenty million people from foreign countries are expected to attend this exhibition. Kosachev has reiterated that it would help Sri Lanka to meet its goal of attracting 2.5 million tourists.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka has commenced recording statements from the family members of people disappeared in the Matale area during the 1988-1989 insurrection of the Marxist party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). The CID has so far recorded the statements from the families of 13 persons who had claimed that their loved ones were among those killed and buried in the Matale mass grave. The mass grave in Matale was unearthed at the Matale Hospital premises last November and 154 skeletal remains were exhumed from the grave. It is believed that the skeletal remains unearthed from the Matale mass grave were of insurgents from the JVP killed during the 1988-89 violence. Matale magistrate and additional district judge Chaturika de Silva earlier this month ordered the CID to record statements from the relatives of the missing persons.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is now being drafted by the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), is expected to be released to the four Tamil National Alliance (TNA) political partners to resolve the longstanding stalemate in registering the TNA as a political party before the announcement of polls to the Northern PC , political sources said yesterday. The Bishop of Mannar, Dr Rayappu Joseph also earlier intervened to invite the leaders of the Tamil political parties - TULF, TELO, PLOTE, EPRLF and the ITAK - to bring about a settlement to this longstanding problem of registering the TNA, but gave up after deliberating at length after TULF leader V. Ananda Sangari stormed out of the meeting, the sources said. TNA parliamentarian, M. A. Sumanthiran told The Sunday Island that the Elections Act stipulated that any application for registering a party should be forwarded during the month of January each year and it could not be done if there was a pending election.

Thousands of people came together to take part in a rally through London, in remembrance of the hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians who were killed, maimed and displaced by Sri Lankan forces in Mullivaikkal in May 2009. Leaving Marble Arch at 1pm, the crowd - from toddlers to octogenarians - braved the unseasonably cool May weather to walk to Waterloo Place, near Piccadilly Circus. With the generous co-operation of the Metropolitan Police, busy London thoroughfares such as Park Lane and Piccadilly were closed on a busy shopping day in order to let the procession pass.

The differences of opinion over the 13th Amendment to the Constitution among the constituent parties of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) have come to the surface with Parliamentary Group Leader of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) threatening to take to the streets, if the government goes ahead with the Northern Provincial Council elections scheduled for September this year. Speaking to a packed audience at the Public Library Auditorium yesterday, Parliamentarian Rathana Thera said his party would present a private member motion to abolish the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council system. "If the government does not listen to us, and proceeds to conduct the election, we will be on the streets," he warned to an appreciative audience.

Norway has asked Sri Lanka to comply with "well established international rules on diplomatic immunity" after a Colombo Court ruled that the former Norwegian Ambassador and three officials did not have immunity in a huge transaction involving an NGO. Norway's Ambassador Grete Lochen said yesterday that her government had held the position that the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations should be respected since Sri Lanka was a party to this convention. "Diplomats and state officials from Sri Lanka are enjoying the same privileges when serving their government," she said in an email interview. The ambassador said the Norwegian embassy was carefully studying the translation of the Colombo District Court order in which four Norwegian nationals including the country's former Ambassador Hilde Haraldstad were being held accountable for the non-fulfillment of a financial transaction with a local NGO.

Sri Lanka's Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya criticized the foreign representatives expressing different opinions about maintaining army camps in the North. Participating in a radio program on the state-run SLBC, the Army Commander noted that there are only three Army camps in the Jaffna peninsula at present, although there were sixteen army camps at the end of the war in May 2009. He told the state run radio that, as the Army Commander he is well aware of what has to be done to safeguard the independence gained by defeating the terrorism. "Foreigners have no right to decide where the army camps of this country should be maintained," he said during the program.

The body of the Navy sailor who went missing following the capsizing of a Navy boat at the Galle Face on Saturday during the victory day parade was found from Bambalapitiya this morning. Four navy personnel had fallen off a small Sri Lanka Navy vessel which had been involved in an accident during the Victory day Parade but three sailors were rescued yesterday at sea.

It is reported that the SLFP has decided to hand over the operational leadership of the future elections in the party to Minister Basil Rajapaksa. The powers have been vested upon the National Organizer of the Party. However, internal party sources say that most of the powers which MP Maithripala Sirisena had enjoyed as the Party secretary has now been given to Minister Basil Rajapaksa. Sources say that this has triggered an internal dispute among its members. Previously, Party secretary had the power to call upon meetings an d to give direct orders to seat organizers. BUt the new decision has releived all these powers from the Secretary.

Election monitors are concerned about the possible strong military presence in the North if elections are held in September. Executive Director of CaFFE, Keerthi Tennakoon said that the political environment, the political freedom, the freedom of press and freedom of movement in the North needs to be addressed before the elections take place. 'There are still restrictions in those areas that could hamper the movement of people engaged in election campaigning. The freedom of assembly on the other hand is always a question mark, because in Mullaitivu, Jaffna and even in Kilinochchi we see that if there are a group of people gathered, there are so many questions being asked by the security forces.

Having consulted External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday afternoon, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Sunday Island that contrary to media reports, acquiring land by the government for the expansion of Palaly-Kankesanthurai security zone hadn't been raised by Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid when he phoned his Sri Lankan counterpart on Friday morning. Rajapaksa said that positioning of armed forces during the war as well as post-conflict situation would be the prerogative of the government. The deployment of troops and military assets would be done in accordance with overall post-war security plan hence it couldn't be amended owing to domestic as well as external factors.