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According to neighbors who witnessed the events, a group of people arrived at the Bandara home in the outskirts of Colombo on Sunday night, Oct. 4, in two vans. They spread inflammable liquid everywhere and set the premises on fire.

The neighbors told Bandara, who was away at the time, that they did not go into the house to salvage anything for fear the arsonists might have planted a bomb inside, as has happened with other such attacks.

The police were informed of what had happened, and they in turn called the local fire department. Initially, the fire department asked for 15,000 rupees (US$130) to put out the fire. The police said they would pay, but as no order was given, the fire department did not act.

In fact, while Bandara’s house was burning, fire department vehicles were seen on streets in the area putting up flags for the ruling party. The police also have water hoses, but none were sent to the scene.

The house and office were next door to each other. All the documents relating to Bandara’s work as a member of Parliament, and five computers used in his work, were inside the destroyed buildings, not to mentions all of his household goods. He estimated the value of his lost property at around 11,000,000 rupees (US$96,000).

According to Bandara’s sources, the order to burn the house came from a member of the Provincial Council, who received it from a higher authority. Those who revealed this information said they would not come forward to reveal this publicly, for fear of reprisals. They included two police officers.

A complaint was filed with the police, and three witnesses made statements regarding what they had seen. “However, I do not have the least amount of faith that there will be any sort of credible inquiry. It is simply not possible for the police to do that kind of inquiry in Sri Lanka now because of the political directions that they have to work under,” said Bandara.

“I have no doubt at all that this is a completely political attack directed to ruin me completely politically and otherwise. Now all that I had is lost…I have been reduced to a position below zero,” Bandara lamented.

In Sri Lanka’s current political environment, opposition politicians are vulnerable to such attacks at any time, aimed at stopping their political activity. They also face frequent death threats. Bandara has tried to expose the misuse of the police force by politically powerful people, earning him personal enemies and exposing him to particular danger.

“My possible assassination by this regime is a very real threat,” said Bandara, who has had bombs planted in his office on two occasions in the past.

In addition to such efforts to intimidate him, Bandara also faced “constant attempts to buy me over.” He said he was offered “huge sums of money and positions” to side with the government.

In many places, the media provide a voice to opposition politicians. But in Sri Lanka, the media is afraid to give space to dissenting views. “The media do not report what we say properly,” said Bandara. “Sometimes when the media try to do their jobs properly I was told they are called by someone from the top and severely warned to desist from giving such publicity.”

“I have a wife and three children,” he said. “My son is 16 years old and my daughter 14 years old and they are both at school. The youngest child is very small. It is the political culture today to assassinate the wife and children if you cannot destroy the person who is your target. I am afraid that my family will be exposed to serious threats to their lives merely to teach me a lesson. That is how bad things are.”

For years Bandara has been writing to the United Nations and other international bodies to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government, but with no visible effect.

“I can do nothing but appeal to all those people in the international community to come to my assistance and ensure protection for me and my family,” he said. “So I appeal to all persons with good hearts in the international community.”

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(Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia. His blog can be read at http://srilanka-lawlessness.com.)