Jan 24, Colombo: US Ambassador Robert Blake said free and fair elections cannot be held in the Batticaloa district if one party is allowed to bear arms and intimidate and threaten voters and other contestants.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Marvell Sarvodya Vocational Training Center in Batticaloa, Blake said that “Unchecked paramilitary activity also discourages the private sector investment that will be crucial to the future of the east.”

“That’s why the United States believes that paramilitaries including the TMVP must not be allowed to carry arms, but should instead compete with the strength of their words rather than the threat of a bullet,” he said.

Free and fair elections without violence or intimidation will help stabilize this region and give its inhabitants new promise and hope for a secure and prosperous future, he added.