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Sri Lanka presidential challenger campaigns in north
Xinhua,
jan 2.
COLOMBO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- General Sarath Fonseka, the challenger to incumbent Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in this month's election, toured the northern city of Jaffna on Saturday for campaign.
Fonseka met with religious and community leaders in Jaffna Saturday as part of his election campaign, his campaign office said.
Fonseka who retired from the military service last month had served in Jaffna as the district's security forces commander at the height of the military conflict with the Tamil Tigers.
He pledged a better future under his presidency for Jaffna residents with action to develop the economy and infrastructure in the war-battered region.
Jaffna was under Tamil Tiger control for several years before government troops wrested control of the city in 1995.Discuss this story
Published: Sat Jan 2 12:33:26 EST 2010
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Work for peace, prosperity, says Fonseka
Hindu,
Jan 2.
COLOMBO: Commander-turned-politician and major opposition parties’ consensus presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has urged the voters to seize opportunities to build on the triumphs of the island nation on the foundations of reconciliation, prosperity, development and true peace. The retired General’s first national address was aired by the state owned ‘Eye’ television channel as per the Election Commission’s guidelines to provide a level-playing field to all the candidates in the January 26 election.
A similar speech of Mr. Rajapaksa, who is seeking a second term two years ahead of his tenure, is to be aired in the next few days.
The campaign, mainly a contest between Mr. Rajapaksa and the retired General, is expected to gain momentum next week. While systemic changes like abolition of Executive Presidency and alleged corruption and nepotism of Mr. Rajapaksa are the focus of the former Army Chief, Mr. Rajapaksa has made development after the military defeat of the LTTE as his main poll plank.
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Published: Sat Jan 2 03:13:50 EST 2010
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Fonseka in Tamil heartland of Jaffna
HT,
jan 2.
Former army commander and the opposition's Presidential candidate general Sarath Fonseka took his campaign to the Tamil heartland of Jaffna on Saturday even as eminent rights groups said that instead of real issues election canvassing had been reduced to a smear campaign.
Fonseka visited a visited a Hindu temple and addressed a rally where he was accompanied by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe. Fonseka also met the Roman Catholic Bishop of Jaffna, Thomas Savundranayagam, a spokesman for his office said.
It was in Jaffna in 1983 where the ambush of 13 soldiers had triggered ethnic riots and the 26-year-old war, which ended May 2008.
Both Fonseka and incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa are from Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese community and are wooing the minority Tamil and Muslim communities in the run-up the election on January 26. Political experts say that the two leaders would split the Sinhalese vote and the voting patterns of the minority parties could be decisive.
Meanwhile, the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) said in a new report that while the establishment was using state power in the polls campaign to undermine democratic fair play, the opposition was narrowing political discourse by defending Fonseka.
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Published: Sat Jan 2 12:36:45 EST 2010
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