Reiterating her refusal to tow the party line and endorse the common opposition's presidential candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, the Northern Provincial councillor, Ananthi Sasitharan said she could not ask the Tamil people to vote for someone who was responsible for the genocide of the Tamil people.
Stating that she went to the people and asked them to vote for me in order to voice the aspirations of homeland, nation and self-determination. Given this, it would be wrong for me to go and ask them now to vote for someone else.
"Maithri was the minister responsible for defence during the end of the armed conflict in Mullivaikkal when most of the genocide [of the Tamil people] took place," Ananthi told journalists at a press briefing on Saturday.
"Moreover, Maithri was with the President for over 10 years and yet not one day did he speak out against the killing of Tamil civilians - forget the LTTE, we don't even expect that - but not even for the civilians. He never said one word, instead he smiled and celebrated with kiribath."
"He, who is associated with a genocide, is someone I will be calling to face justice at the UN. Therefore I cannot ask our people to vote for him."
"These leaders have not even asked for forgiveness from the Tamil people for the crimes they committed," Ananthi said, adding that the election was merely highlighting the Sinhala chauvinism present where both sides were running their campaign based on who defeated the Tamils.
"I cannot endorse them. I cannot ask the [Tamil] people to vote for them and so I decided to boycott the election."
The press briefing came after the senior TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah called Ananthy on Friday and ordered her to tow the party line, warning her that she would be thrown out of the party if she failed to obey.
"I have no desire to break up the TNA, but it is agonising to watch this election," Ananthy said, describing the day to day suffering of the Tamil people still tormented by the events of 2009.
Related articles:
Second NPC councillor refuses to endorse Maithri (01 Jan 2015)
'I cannot vote against my conscience' – Ananthy Sasitharan (31 Dec 2014)
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
