Sri Lanka cracking in heat of polls
By Amantha Perera
COLOMBO - Call it a novel election propaganda ploy.
On January 1, millions of mobile-phone users in Sri Lanka received an unusual
text message amid the flood of New Year's wishes. The sender's name read simply
as "President". This was no joke by a prankster; it was a message by President
Mahinda Rajapaksa. It wished millions of Sri Lankans the very best for the new
year and noted that he had kept his promises to the nation.
Rajapaksa is heading into three pivotal weeks of his four-decade political
career. He will battle his former army commander, retired
general Sarath Fonseka, at the January 26 presidential elections.
The erstwhile comrades, who were credited with defeating the separatist
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) only eight months back, have turned
bitter political rivals, making the upcoming election one of the most keenly
contested since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1947.
Rajapaksa is seeking re-election on the track record of his first term,
claiming he was instrumental in ending the LTTE insurgency. Vying for another
term, he said he would work to develop the economy.
Fonseka, on the other hand, hopes to be the first military officer to hold the
highest elective post in the country on the strength of his military record. He
has also been critical of the incumbent president, alleging that the country is
sliding toward nepotism under his watch.
If the long Christmas and New Year holidays created a false sense of calm,
within just days of the new year it was back to business as usual. The
campaigns that began on December 17 have heated up, giving signs that things
are driving to a crescendo.
On January 3, clashes between supporters of the two candidates were reported
from Kiribathgodda town, about 15 kilometers north of the capital, Colombo, and
in Nawalapitiya, a town in the central hills some 120km from the capital.
Similar incidents on a smaller scale were reported in Negombo, 40km north of
Colombo, and in the eastern town of Eravur.
Election monitoring groups said they feared the run-up was turning violent. The
People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), the country's foremost
election monitoring body, told Inter Press Service there were indications that
the intensification of the campaigns could lead to more untoward incidents.
"The tension on the ground is likely to increase as election day nears," said
Rohana Hettiarchchi, PAFFREL's executive director. The Center for Monitoring
Election Violence (CMEV) also acknowledged that violence had spiked in the
first three days of this year.
"CMEV notes with concern the escalation of violence in the presidential
election," it said in a communique on January 4. The center said it had
received reports of four major incidents of election-related violence on
January 3. "Instances of the use of fire arms have gone up."
Election observers said the race between the two main candidates, Rajapaksa and
Fonseka, was so close that supporters were unlikely to back down. "Both sides
appear to be ready to face violence head on, which is very dangerous," said
Keerthi Thenakkon, the spokesperson for Campaign for Free and Fair Elections.
Police, however, say that compared with the last presidential election in 2005,
the first three weeks since nominations were handed in on December 17 have been
marginally calmer. Deputy inspector general Gamini Navarathne, head of the
police election unit, said that only 250 incidents had been reported during the
current campaign compared with 280 in 2005. "There is about a 30% drop in
[violent] incidents," he said.
But since the campaign will not end until January 24, such incidents are still
likely to increase.
Concerns have also been raised on the rampant misuse of public resources for
propaganda work. "The trend seems even more ominous at the current presidential
election," Transparency International's Sri Lanka chapter said in a report on
the abuse of public resources released on December 31 last year.
"It is extremely important that the public resists the use of public resources
for election purposes because it is the public who bears the cost of abuse of
public resources," added the anti-corruption watchdog.
Observers note that Fonseka's entry as a candidate has re-energized an
opposition that was looking for an alternative to counter the popularity of
Rajapaksa.
"I think he has offered a viable counter to the president's popularity,
especially within the Sinhala majority voters," said Jehan Perera, executive
director of the National Peace Council, a civil rights body. As the majority
ethnic group in Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese make up about 70% of the national
electorate.
The two main opposition Sinhala political parties, the United National Party
and the People's Liberation Front, have joined hands to support Fonseka as a
common candidate. The entry of the former army commander has also led to
Buddhist monks, once among the core support base of the pro-nationalist
political parties, to protest in Colombo, both for and against the government.
During the last week of December, a group of monks protested in Colombo against
the alleged statement made by Fonseka implicating Defense Secretary Gotabaya
Rajapaksa in possible rights violations in the last phase of the war against
the LTTE.
"It is a very irresponsible statement by someone who was a former army
commander; we want to register our protest," said Bengamuwe Nalaka Thero, one
of the protesting monks. On December 28, the monks handed a letter to the
United Nations, urging it and other countries to refrain from meddling in Sri
Lanka's internal affairs.
As the monks marched in parts of southern Colombo, another group staged a
protest in the city center, venting their anger against the arrest of a
pro-Fonseka monk. "He was taken in on trumped-up charges; this is political
revenge," said Pujitha Thero, who also took part in the protest.
The run-up to the vote has even split the main Tamil political group, the Tamil
National Alliance (TNA). One of its members of parliament, M K Sivajilingam,
has come forward as an independent candidate over disagreements within the
party.
On December 6, the TNA announced that it was supporting Fonseka at the
election. Its leader, R Sampanthan, said that they held discussions with both
candidates, and Fonseka had pledged to address the needs of those affected by
the war. "He understands that there should be a political solution for durable
peace in this country," said Sampanthan.
"The TNA's unanimous view was that the president should not receive a mandate
for the second term based on his performance," he was quoted as saying to the
local media early last month. "We held discussions with him on a political
solution. We are most disappointed with the manner in which he deals with the
issue."
On January 26, the rest of the country will pass its own judgment on
Rajapaksa's performance.
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