Elections to be held in Lankan areas freed from LTTE: Envoy

New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) With war in Sri Lanka's north
coming to an end, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government is planning
to hold provincial elections in the Tamil-dominated areas
freed from LTTE control, a step which India has been
repeatedly underlining.

"Our country is now free of terror. The president
(Mahinda Rajapaksa) has already made it clear that the
concerns of Tamil diaspora will be addressed. We will hold
provincial council elections in the northern region," Sri
Lankan High Commissioner C R Jaisinghe told PTI here Thursday.

To press his point, he pointed out that Sri Lanka had
already held provincial elections in the country's east in
last May after LTTE rebellion ended there.

"A young gentleman (S Chandrakanta) from the Tamil
community who renounced the ideology of LTTE was elected the
chief minister of the province," the envoy said.

As the war came to an end with the killing of LTTE chief
V Prabhakaran, India has been pressing Sri Lanka to undertake
devolution of powers giving political powers to Tamils and
hold provincial elections in the Tamil-dominated areas freed
from the rebel control.
(MORE) PTI