Lack of funds biggest obstacle
5,000 disarmed TMVP cadres idling without an income in Eastern Province..
By Franklin R. Satyapalan
All the sacrifices made by the valiant security forces to liberate the Eastern Province from the clutches of the LTTE would turn out to be in vain if the Government and the donor community did not take urgent steps to resolve the socio-economic aspirations of around 5000 disarmed TMVP cadres idling in their homes without any income, knowledgeable sources in the East warned yesterday.
The LTTE facing imminent defeat in their Vanni strongholds could possibly make attempts to lure these TMVP cadres with financial offers as an ‘idle mind is a devil’s workshop, the sources said. "It could only be a matter of time".
Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan as well as the Provincial Ministers and members of the Eastern Provincial Council who had not received Budgetary allowances for 2008 do not have sufficient funds to maintain the newly elected council members and embark on development, the sources pointed out.
The maiden Budget for 2009 is to be placed before the Council by the Chief Minister on November 18 and debated over a period of three days, said Secretary to the Eastern Provincial Council R. Thiagalingam.
As a result, they are unable to meet their expectations to host the 25th Chief Ministers’ Conference in Batticaloa this month, the sources said.
If not for the unstinted support and cooperation extended by Basil Rajapaksa and several key Ministers and INGOS and NGOS, impatience among the cadres could have had a destabilizing effect on the Eastern Province, they claimed.
The sources said the people who have been starved of freedom, democracy and development over the past three decades expect a lot from their elected representatives who are unable to solve a range of problems they themselves are confronted with now.
"The TMVP cadres who laid down their arms in the belief that there would be no burdens for them any more are frustrated today. Some of them are heard to say — would LTTE cadres in the Vanni disarm and surrender to the security forces when they observe us idling at home without employment?", the sources said.
Earlier, Governor of the Eastern Province Vice Admiral (Rtd) Mohan Wijewickrema had written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa requesting more funds to develop the Province. He had pointed out that without adequate funds from the Central Government the Council cannot carry out any development.
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