Vadukoddai voters will be photographed

by a special correspondent in Australia

Australians opposed to LTTE's 'Vadukoddai Resolution referendum' scheduled in New South Wales, Victoria and Canberra yesterday and today (Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 ) have organised an operation to take pictures of those coming into poll to identify LTTE sympathizers and supporters. They have selected vantage points from which to take videos and pictures. These monitors will carry out their operations from a distance as they do not want to have confrontations with the LTTE agents running the poll, a spokesperson for the group said.

The spokesperson said that they are following the example of the LTTE to photograph the sympathisers and the LTTE supporters who will take part in the poll. One of the tactics of the LTTE agents all over the world was to take videos and photos of Sinhalese and anti-LTTE demonstrations to be sent to Vanni. These pictures were monitored and relatives of those in Sri Lanka were threatened by the LTTE agents.

The spokesperson said that these pictures will be sent to Sri Lanka to locate the connections between the Australian voters and the agents allied to them in Sri Lanka.

Some of these voters are drawing pensions from Sri Lanka and are also frequent flyers to Sri Lanka though they cry that the Sri Lankan government is persecuting them. They enjoy the trips to Sri Lanka and have a good time and when returned tarnish the image of Sri Lanka with false propaganda.

The spokesperson said: "How can these voters go back to Sri Lanka if they vote for this Resolution? They also have to be careful about voting for this Resolution as it can cause divisions and tensions in Australia. These people are getting out of hand and all what we want is a peaceful society in Australia. Bringing in violent and divisive politics of Sri Lanka is not going to help. We want to monitor their movements for the good of all Australians."Sri Lankan communities in Australia including Tamils are opposed to this move which is causing unnecessary tensions among the Sri Lankans. The spokesperson said that this referendum is a money-making attempt by some key LTTE operators in Norway, Australia, Europe, UK and USA. "This is the latest racket now that they cannot raise funds promising Eelam," the spokesperson said.

Asked whether it is fair to take pictures the spokesperson said: "Australia is a democratic country and we are not doing anything different from what they did. If they don't want to be photographed then they should stay at home."