Any expatriate Tamils wanting consultant positions for Jaffna Municipality must contact Minister Douglas Devananda

By Palmyra Beetle

(December 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The controversial paramilitary leader and the non-cabinet Minister Douglas Devananda is currently spearheading his one man show in the northern Jaffna peninsula. Heavily backed by the President and the military, Douglas is said to be enjoying absolute control over the affairs of Jaffna. His dictates is said to extending beyond the Jaffna municipal boundaries and people in Jaffna peninsula are said to fear for the arms held by his group. Minister Douglas Devananda and other Tamil paramilitary groups patronised by the President have not surrendered their weapons to the authorities yet.

Hiring and firing of officials by Douglas Devanada are said to be taking place in Jaffna without any check and balance by the government. In addition, his tight grip on Jaffna with the backing of the military is preventing other Tamil political parties to conduct their affairs in the peninsula.

Douglas Devananda’s Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) is said to be a one man’s show of its leader. Except for managing his party offices in Colombo and Jaffna, there are no general membership or branch level political activities of members. Further, EPDP had never held elections to select its party officials.

Following the defeat of the LTTE, the EPDP leader is on the spree to recruit some diaspora Tamils to work for him. His very loyal friends overseas are said to be providing to their leader details of individual Tamils who are opposed to the LTTE. Douglas is said to personally approaching them and offering titled appointments as consultants for the Jaffna Municipal Council. These title offers are said to be his triumph card to lure the expatriates in the fringes.

His roping exercise has been successful and many of those who went on the delegation on a fact finding mission to Sri Lanka and met the President at the beginning of the year have become Douglas’s activists and consultants. So far, London based solicitor Rangan has been appointed as Municipal Councils legal consultant. Another London based Mylvaganam Sooriyasegaram has been engaged as consulting engineer. In addition, positions have been given to Dr Bala from London Dr Nadesan of Australia. According to information, many others have been approached and offered positions and they are said be undecided take on the positions.

With the help of these extraordinary consultants, Douglas Devananda is planning to hold an international conference on the theme of ‘Development’ in Jaffna to attract more expatriate Tamils.

According to news filed in a leading newspaper in Colombo ‘The Douglas Devananda-led EPDP, a constituent party of the ruling UPFA, has laid down several conditions including a demand for a political solution and power devolution beyond the 13th Amendment, if it is to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming presidential election’. Having failed to influence the President, to properly implement the 13th Amendment without any manipulations in the East whilst serving as Minister, Douglas Devananda is now up in arms for devolution beyond the 13th amendment to the constitution. This is said to be a combined effort of both the President and Minister Douglas Devananda to convince the Tamil voters to back the President in the forthcoming Presidential election.

A close Tamil ally of the President (name withheld) confirmed that whenever Douglas meet the President he always ask for ‘Sally’ (money). The President has said once: ‘I know how to handle Douglas. His main interest is money, once it is given he is subdued’.

-Sri Lanka Guardian