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On the same day, clashes between supporters of rival political parties were reported from Polonnaruwa, which injured several people. Some senior government politicians allegedly instigated the conflict at the town center.
Hungama and Polonnaruwa are far apart: one down south and the other in a north central province. However, the two incidents suggest a deliberately designed program being carried out in different parts of the country. Sri Lanka’s presidential election will take place on Jan. 26.
There have been several reports of overt violence to prevent meetings, including cutting trees on the grounds where opposition meetings were to be held. There are also reports that several buses going to Polonnaruwa were carrying criminal elements and gangs that were involved in the attack there. Election monitoring organizations have reported a rise in violence in many parts of the country.
Sri Lanka has witnessed periods of intense terror continuously since 1971. Since 1978 all elections, particularly those for the executive president, have been accompanied by massive-scale violence. The election campaign of 1988 was intensely violent, with the deaths and disappearances of thousands of persons. Subsequent investigations showed that the highest number of violent acts, including disappearances, took place close to the date of the election.
The use of terror during an election campaign is to intimidate the opponent and prevent his supporters from going to the polls. It also facilitates large-scale rigging of elections. The present escalation of tension has all the marks of previous experiences of interference with free and fair elections by generating terror.
The election commissioner has expressed doubts that the election can be conducted under existing conditions and at one point even offered to resign. The Daily Mirror reported:
“Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake threatened yesterday to withdraw from his duties related to the Presidential Election asserting that the authorities concerned had not aided him by adhering to the guidelines and regulations issued by him to create an atmosphere conducive to a free and fair election.“Mr. Dissanayake, at a meeting with the representatives of political parties, expressed his disgust and disappointment over the failure of the government to cooperate with him in this respect.
“However, he withdrew his threat after the political parties assured him that they would abide by the election laws in the run-up to the election. Mr. Dissanayake had reportedly told the meeting that the Competent Authority appointed by him had been humiliated by the state media.”
All the citizens of Sri Lanka and the international community must be alerted to the danger of another period of terror emerging in Sri Lanka in the coming days.
It is the duty of all democratically minded persons to intervene to prevent such an occurrence and to ensure a peaceful atmosphere in which Sri Lankan citizens can exercise their franchise. The safety and security of all persons should be the prime consideration at all times. All measures must be taken to prevent the re-emergence of the type of violence that Sri Lankans have encountered continuously in recent decades.
The Civil Rights Movement, one of the oldest human rights institutions in Sri Lanka, has called on the police to exercise their authority and to facilitate people’s peaceful participation in the elections. In a letter addressed to police stations the group’s head, Suriya Wickremasinghe, wrote:
“We are very conscious of the heavy burden that falls on the police during an election. Once again today police officers, from the highest ranks to sergeants and constables, are called upon to play a crucial, and at times very onerous, role in the defense of values prized by peace-loving citizens.“It is hardly necessary for us to emphasize to experienced police officers that the role of the police in steadfastly applying the law impartially is crucial in enabling the people to exercise their right of freely and fairly electing their chosen candidate. But a free and fair election is not only in the immediate interest of all the people of Sri Lanka. It is fundamental to the continuance of the democracy of our country. It is essential that people have genuine faith in the possibility of peaceful changes of government and leadership. If that faith is lost the prospect of a free and peaceful society, which we believe is fervently desired by the vast majority of Sri Lankans, is imperiled.
“In an election campaign police officers are expected to uphold the law regardless of their own political allegiances. We believe that this in itself is not difficult for them. It is a sad fact, however, that often, great pressure is put on police officers at various levels to favor particular parties and candidates, either by assisting their misdemeanors or turning a blind eye to them. It is a disgraceful feature of Sri Lankan political life that sometimes such pressures come from responsible people who should know better, and who are willing to jeopardize the long-term interests of the country in their indecent greed to seize short-term political advantage.”
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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.)
