However, when contacted by Daily Mirror, Mr. Piyasena said he had not yet made any decision on how he would vote.
Mr.Piyasena said many including the fellow members of the party and his contact abroad had asked him not to support the government. “In this situation I have decided not to disclose my stand on the 18th Amendment to the Constitution yet,” he said."
Update:
TNA MP M.Piyasena has decided to vote with the government for the 18th amendment today, government sources said. The TNA as a party had decided to oppose the bill.
Tamil goons of UPFA conduct terror campaign against TNA MP Piyasena
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj - dated April 14, 2010.
Tamil goons of ruling UPFA conduct terror campaign against newly elected Tamil National Alliance MP from Amparai (Digamadulla).
Podiappuhamy Piyasena the Tamil speaking Sinhala MP from TNA is confined to "house arrest" due to threats and unable to move about freely.
In a pathetic interview to BBC Tamil service a terrified Piyasena said gangs had chopped at the doors of his house with axes to instill fear.The two police constables assigned to protect the MP had not stopped it & had advised Piyasena not to venture out due to safety reasons.
Piyasena said his supporters had been attacked in the presence of Police who had done nothing. He himself was unable to go out and help them.
Piyasena whose father was Sinhala & mother Tamil said that despite becoming an MP for the first time in his life he was under "house arrest".
Goonda supporters of Kumaraswamy Pushpakumar alias "Iniyabharathy" who contested & lost on the UPFA ticket are responsible for the intimidation.
Iniabharathi is President Rajapakses co-ordinator for Amparai district& a senior deputy of Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan alias "Col" Karuna. TNA leader R. Sambandan has contacted top Police officials&urged immediate action to protect the MP & prevent further intimidatory violence.
Unconfirmed reports say 15 goondas allegedly involved in the terror campaign including the "right-hand" of Iniyabharathi have been arrested. [Click for uodates: http://twitter.com/dbsjeyaraj]
The ‘Sinhalaya’ on the TNA ticket
Digamadulla voters reject racists and elect a Sri Lankan
Text and Pics by Wasantha Chandrapala
The election in the Digamadulla district was contested on ethnic lines, with some posters calling on voters to cast their votes only for Sinhala Buddhists.
But the reaction of voters who elected G.H.P. Piyasena of the llankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi ,now known as the TNA, as one of the Members of Parliament for the district, surprised many.
Piyasena’s father, Perumpuli Hewage Podiappu came to Akkaraipattu from Dondra and married Sitamma. Piyasena was the sixth of their seven children.
“All my brothers and sisters received their education in Sinhala schools Piyasena told the Sunday Times in an interview. “At my mother’s request the family decided at least one child should be educated in Tamil and that was me,” he said.
“My brother was shot by EROS in 1984 on suspicion of leaking information to the army. That was the first murder in this area. At school I was nicknamed ‘Sinhalaya’. I have given my children Tamil names.
“When the Tigers ruled these areas we faced many problems, while in our village back home we faced problems arising from the sourthern insurgenxcy.”
“Originally my ambition was to join the police force, but I later gave up this idea and went into business,” he said. Piyaena recollected after his father’s death the family lost contact with his (father’s) side of the family who lived in Matara. He remembered his father had a brother named Pieris Appu, but though they tried tracing his father’s origins they could not make much progress.
“Once when I was in Matara, I suddenly noticed a lorry bearing the legend ‘Peiris Appu Bro’. I felt sure this was my father’s brother. I followed the lorry and was able to trace the family.
“Shortly after this incident my mother died,” he lamented. According to Piyasena, in 1995, he intended contesting the Aalayadivembu Pradeshiya Sabha on the EPDP ticket, but on the advice of a friend who was in the police he contested as an independent candidate and was elected with a majority of 5,800 votes. He was also elected as vice chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha, but was forced to resign because of threats from the LTTE.
In 2000 he failed to contest the provincial council election as he was not considered by the party.
However, in 2006 he contested through the Tamil National Alliance and received 6,800 votes to become the chairman of the PS. However, his stint as chairman was cut short because of pressure brought to bear by a group backed by the LTTE. Piyasena said that during the presidential election he supported the candidature of General Sarath Fonseka which led to his shop being set on fire.
According to Piyasena though his name was submitted for the general elections, his ambition was not to be an MP but rather to serve as a member of the Pradeshiya Sabha.
He said although he was assured he would be appointed chairman on March 1, it did not materialize. It was after this he said, he agreed to come forward as a contestant at the general elections.
“During the campaign there was much speculation that I would join the UPFA,” he said.“But to the surprise of many I won a seat in Digamadulla,” he said.
“My father would have been happy had he been living today,” he said recalling the troubles he had to undergo during the campaign. “The situation got so bad that I was once hospitalized,” he added.
Piyasena said he joined the TNA to help the Tamils as the government did not do much for their cause.
“I will be the spokesman for the Tamils and Muslims in Parliament. A good Sinhalese should not rouse ethnic sentiments,” he said.
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