By Simon Gardner
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Residents in Sri Lanka'swar-ravaged east voted for the first time in more than a decadeon Monday, but with armed former Tamil Tiger rebels seen as thelikely poll winners, peace remains precarious.
The local elections are seen as a dry run for a widerprovincial vote in the north and east -- the government'sblueprint for devolution in minority Tamil areas it hopes willgo hand-in-hand with its push to win a 25-year civil war.
"Our prayer is for calm and no war," said 53-year-oldAlagaiah Kouindasamy, who was displaced after the Sri Lankanarmy recaptured areas of the lush district of paddy fields,scrub jungle and lagoons from the Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam last year.
"Because of the conflict we were displaced, lost ourlivelihoods. There was tension and fear, artillery was beingfired. We just want normalcy."
Rights groups and diplomats have questioned thegovernment's decision to endorse in the elections a breakawayrebel faction, the TMVP, which helped it defeat the Tigers inthe eastern district of Batticaloa. The group is accused ofabuses such as child soldier recruitment, abductions andkilling.
Pradeep Master, Batticaloa political wing leader of thenewly-registered party, is a former Tiger who joined the rebelsas a child soldier. He is tipped as Batticaloa's next mayor andis running on a ticket with the government.
A host of other former militant groups who joined thedemocratic mainstream in the 1980s are also taking part in thepoll, as well as the island's main Muslim party.
But with the TMVP given free rein in Batticaloa for monthsas the military battled the rebels, and the main opposition UNPand Tiger-backed TNA boycotting the poll, some say the electionis a farce.
Thousands of troops and police stood guard at razor wirecheckpoints as residents voted in a poll for one municipalcouncil and eight local bodies, patrolling in armoured vehiclesfor fear of Tiger attacks or internecine fighting.
After the polls closed, election officials and monitorsestimated voter turnout at around 45-50 percent, which theyviewed as reasonable. There were no reports of violence.
LIVING UNDER THE GUN
Ordinary Tamils repeatedly displaced by a war that haskilled an estimated 70,000 people since 1983 -- some displacedyet again by the 2004 tsunami -- long for lasting peace.
But the TMVP's Tiger heritage is never far away. Like themainstream rebels, its emblem is a roaring golden Tiger baringits claws against a red background. The party has replaced theTigers' crossed rifles with a pair of shaking hands.
TMVP president Sivanesathurai Chandra Kanthan, a formerTiger fighter who goes by the nom de guerre Pillaiyan, says hisgroup will eventually give up arms.
"To safeguard our party we have them," he said, casting hisvote in his native village of Pethalai. "If there is no threatagainst our lives, automatically we will (give them up).
He denies accusations of human rights abuses like childsoldier recruitment, abductions and killings. But admits thereare former Tiger child recruits in his faction's ranks.
"There are 30 or 40 children. No-one is considering theirfuture, they just think about making complaints," he added. "Ifthey provide livelihood programmes for the children, then wewill be in a position to hand them over."
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has long-refusedto disarm the TMVP, arguing it could not find anyone carryingguns to disarm -- despite the fact residents and aid workerscould until a few months ago.
Initial results of the election are due out later onMonday.
(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
