Mr. Hakim says the APRC is a 'fraud' by the Govt. to deceive the world

Ranil Wickramasinghe said Gotabhaya Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to live in the United States while the SLA engaged with the LTTE in the north and the east.

He was commenting on alleged threats by the powerful Defence Secretary to journalists and the defence ministry describing those criticise the SLA as ‘traitors’.

Mr. Wickramasinghe made the remarks as UNP eastern provincial councillors who boycotted the inaugural meeting of the EPC held on Trincomallee took oaths before him in Colombo.

APRC ‘a fraud'

“The traitor is the one who resigned from the SLA to leave the country,” the opposition leader told journalists.

	15 councillors boycotted the inaugural EPC meeting

The leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Rauff Hakim, was among the 15 EPC councillors took oaths in Colombo on Wednesday.

The SLMC leader said the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) is an attempt by the government to deceive the international community.

The opposition contested the EPC to reveal the government’s inaction to find a political solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem.

"The government's statements that they will find a political solution through APRC is a fraud," Rauff Hakim said.

The UNP councillors decided to boycott the inaugural meeting of the EPC to protest rigging of the election, Mr. Hakim added.

Election petition

The UNP, meanwhile, submitted a petition against the recently concluded EPC elections.

Citing 20 defendants including the elections commissioner, the petitioners appealed to the court to annul the results of Ampara and Batticaloa districts.

We have evidence that government ministers were involved in vote rigging SLMC leader, Rauff Hakim

Mr. Hakim, who was UNP’s chief ministerial candidate, told BBC Sandeshaya that they will produce evidence of government ministers rigging the elections on 10 May.

Because of intimidation and vote rigging, Mr. Hakim said, the elections were not free and fair in both districts.

The UNP won Trincomalee district, while the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) secured victory in Ampara and Batticaloa.

All opposition parties, including Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), accused the ruling party of rigging the elections and intimidating the voters using armed groups.