Sri Lanka's Tamil heartland escalated tensions as the country went to the polls Tuesday in the first presidential election since the end of its 37-year ethnic conflict.
The bomb attacks in the northern peninsula of Jaffna were a violent start to an already bitter contest between President Mahinda Rajapakse and his former army chief Sarath Fonseka that threatens more instability in the island nation.
"We have a complaint that two bombs were thrown at the home of Subramaniam Sharma, an organiser for the (ruling) Sri Lanka Freedom Party," the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) spokesman D. M. Dissanayake said.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, he said. Factfile: Sri Lanka
Last May, Rajapakse and Fonseka wiped out Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, who had fought for a Tamil homeland since 1972, in a military campaign since dogged by allegations of war crimes. Profile: Sarath Fonseka
But from close allies on the battlefield they have turned into irreconcilable enemies after Fonseka, a 59-year-old political novice, decided to challenge his former boss at the ballot box on an anti-corruption platform.
here are no reliable opinion polls in the country and political observers say the election is too close to call between the men, who are the only contenders in a field of 22 with any realistic chance of winning.
"We will have a great victory," Rajapakse told reporters after voting in his southern home constituency of Mulkirigala at a school named after his late politician father. Chronology on Sri Lanka
"We must be ready to face the challenges of reaching new heights after this vote," he added.
In the acrimonious run-up to the election, the opposition and government have made claim and counter-claim about each other's malevolent intentions, raising tensions across the country and the prospect of a contested result.
Fonseka alleged the government intended to unleash violence to intimidate voters and was preparing a coup if it lost. He was accused in turn of working with a militia of army deserters who could disrupt the vote.
In Jaffna, residents reported hearing four explosions before dawn Tuesday, but the monitors could only immediately account for two of them.
At least four political activists were killed and nearly 1,000 poll-related violent incidents were reported to police before the election. The house of a key opposition fundraiser was bombed last Friday in Colombo. Profile: Mahinda Rajapakse
The opposition has said it will not accept a result if the 68,000 police and 12,000 soldiers on duty fail to prevent violence.
In Vavuniya, a northern Tamil area, voters made their way to polling booths after they opened at 7:00 am local time (0130 GMT), though turnout was low and an international monitor at the scene said the blasts might be a factor.
Source : http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jXp6ZkG9C4WoO0k6zhR79dzNyAEA
The bomb attacks in the northern peninsula of Jaffna were a violent start to an already bitter contest between President Mahinda Rajapakse and his former army chief Sarath Fonseka that threatens more instability in the island nation.
"We have a complaint that two bombs were thrown at the home of Subramaniam Sharma, an organiser for the (ruling) Sri Lanka Freedom Party," the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) spokesman D. M. Dissanayake said.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, he said. Factfile: Sri Lanka
Last May, Rajapakse and Fonseka wiped out Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, who had fought for a Tamil homeland since 1972, in a military campaign since dogged by allegations of war crimes. Profile: Sarath Fonseka
But from close allies on the battlefield they have turned into irreconcilable enemies after Fonseka, a 59-year-old political novice, decided to challenge his former boss at the ballot box on an anti-corruption platform.
here are no reliable opinion polls in the country and political observers say the election is too close to call between the men, who are the only contenders in a field of 22 with any realistic chance of winning.
"We will have a great victory," Rajapakse told reporters after voting in his southern home constituency of Mulkirigala at a school named after his late politician father. Chronology on Sri Lanka
"We must be ready to face the challenges of reaching new heights after this vote," he added.
In the acrimonious run-up to the election, the opposition and government have made claim and counter-claim about each other's malevolent intentions, raising tensions across the country and the prospect of a contested result.
Fonseka alleged the government intended to unleash violence to intimidate voters and was preparing a coup if it lost. He was accused in turn of working with a militia of army deserters who could disrupt the vote.
In Jaffna, residents reported hearing four explosions before dawn Tuesday, but the monitors could only immediately account for two of them.
At least four political activists were killed and nearly 1,000 poll-related violent incidents were reported to police before the election. The house of a key opposition fundraiser was bombed last Friday in Colombo. Profile: Mahinda Rajapakse
The opposition has said it will not accept a result if the 68,000 police and 12,000 soldiers on duty fail to prevent violence.
In Vavuniya, a northern Tamil area, voters made their way to polling booths after they opened at 7:00 am local time (0130 GMT), though turnout was low and an international monitor at the scene said the blasts might be a factor.
Source : http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jXp6ZkG9C4WoO0k6zhR79dzNyAEA
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