Political Column

For more reasons than one, international attention turned to Sri Lanka this week. The Government's high priority military campaign, intensified since the abrogation of the Norwegian brokered Ceasefire Agreement in January this year, suffered a major debacle on Wednesday. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was presiding over the weekly National Security Council (NSC) meeting when the news arrived. Initial reports trickling in spoke of two digit casualty counts. Yet, there was reason for concern.

It transpired that the Army had launched a major offensive to break through Tiger guerrilla defences at Muhamalai. A fierce counter attack followed. It was only after the NSC meeting ended that a fuller picture of the debacle emerged. The death toll soon reached three digit figures. On the opposite page, Our Defence Correspondent gives an account of what happened on the battlefield.

For almost all independent media, the task was enormously difficult. The reason was not that they were unaware of the facts. The majority of them knew the facts. The problem was how to relate them in the backdrop of their accounts varying from that of the Government. Officially, what transpired at the Muhamalai defences on Wednesday, as spin-doctors wove it, was a success. Troops had smashed through some 500 metres into guerrilla territory. They vowed, the previous contradictions notwithstanding, that the Tiger guerrilla menace would be ended by 2008.

If that was the story in the battlefields of the media, it was different in Muhamalai. Hospitals in Colombo were full with injured soldiers. Radio and television were appealing for blood donations. Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, cabinet ministers, opposition leaders and members of the clergy were visiting wards in hospitals to speak with wounded soldiers and extend solidarity. Media personnel, particularly photographers, were left out. Was it only because the soldiers had a different story to relate than that of those in and out of uniform who speak for the Government? One need not labour to provide the answers. The anguish of the soldiers in the hospital beds told the story.

The Muhamalai military offensive seems to have been expected - at least by the enemy. When Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sambanthan and others met Opposition United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe last week to discuss the Eastern Province elections, they had said that there was some military build-up in the Muhamalai area, and that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were getting ready to challenge the offensive.

For the LTTE to have told the TNA MPs of a military build-up in the Muhamalai area, and of an imminent assault on the LTTE positions meant that the surprise element of the attack was missing, and the enemy was waiting for the Security Forces to move in.

But on the political front, the Opposition felt that the Government was looking for a military victory to coincide with the May Day celebrations that have been planned in the Eastern Province this year, in turn to coincide with the May 10 Provincial Council elections in the Eastern Province.

The Government is determined to go ahead with its plans to hold its May Day rally in the East, but earlier plans to have its main celebrations in Ampara, a predominantly Sinhalese town, but now have shifted it to Dehiyattakandiya, a still more secure Sinhalese populated township. The shift points to Government's twin concerns of security as well as wanting to assure the rest of the country that the Eastern Province has been completely dominated by the Government and it can even hold a mass rally there - like before.

The UNP has picked on the much safer Kurunegala town for its May Day celebrations, though today no town can guarantee safety given the machinations of the LTTE to cause mayhem in the Sinhalese populated cities in what they call are retaliations for the aerial bombings in the Wanni.

Campaigning in the Eastern Province is now gathering momentum. Our Correspondent Chris Kamalendran reporting from the East states, "Enthusiasm among voters in the eastern province is reaching its peak as no party is taking the eastern province election campaign lightly with the parties throwing in all their men and resources in the last two weeks ahead of the poll."

UPFA ministers and members of Parliament, both from the government and the opposition, are taking security risks to carry out campaigning in the three districts - Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee. Presidential Advisor and MP Basil Rajapaksa is spearheading the campaign for the Government from Trincomalee while Minister Nimal Siripala Silva is directing the campaign in Ampara. Former LTTEer Pillaiyan is directly in charge of the campaign in Batticaloa.

With the intensity of the campaign increasing and the provincial election reaching the proportions of a national election campaign, supporters from both parties from out of the province have camped in the three districts while election-related violence and cases of abuse of state property were also on the rise.

Over the week at least 22 cases of violence or election irregularities were reported from the three districts. On Friday morning a UNP supporter was seriously injured after he was attacked by a group of UPFA supporters in Valachchenai.

On Mondaay Mohan Velu, the son-in-law of UNP Candidate for Padirippu, Mr. Nagalingam, was abducted by TMVP or Pillaiyan group supporters and was released subsequently with a warning that he should support their party. On the same day a UNP sub office close to Uksiripura Vidyalaya, Damana was attacked by suspected JVP supporters.

Last week a woman carrying 10,000 polling cards without official seals was arrested at a police check point in Trincomalee while other forms of attempts to influence the voters have also been brought to the notice of the Commissioner of Elections. In one such case, Minister Susantha Punichinilame had allegedly summoned Samurdhi officials to the Ampara District Secretariat and told them to vote in favour of the UPFA while in another case, a UPFA candidate is distributing applications for loans under a government scheme.

But the violence was not confined to the east. A garment factory of Ampara district UNP candidate Daya Gamage in Pepiliyana, Boralesgamuwa was bombed and three employees were injured. In another incident a group of PLOTE supporters campaigning in Thalankuda, Batticaloa were attacked by TMVP supporters and five PLOTE supporters were hospitalized. Though a police complaint had been made, police have taken no action so far.

In Ottamavadi, an SLMC party office came under attack on Monday. In Batticaloa town, SLMC supporters who were campaigning were driven away by TMVP supporters on Tuesday. These were some of the incidents reported from the eastern province.

The JVP stepped up its campaign with a major a public rally on Sunday in Ampara with party leader Somawansa Amarasinghe and other stalwarts including General Secretary Tilvn Silva and MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka addressing the meetings.

Due to restrictions of the use of loud speakers the party was using ancient systems such as 'Andabera' (drum beaters) to get its message across to the supporters.

The UPFA campaign is being spearheaded by a group of ministers who are camped in the Trincomalee and Ampara districts with most of the state guest houses and the defunct Kanthale sugar factory premises being used to accommodate them and their supporters from outstations. The ministers are involved in opening ceremonies, laying of foundation stones for a range of projects and distribution of relief.

In addition to Minister de Silva, ministers Susantha Punchinilame, Jagath Pushpakuamra, Mahinda Wijesekara were also in Ampara. A series of public meetings have been organized by the UPFA in Trincomalee mainly concentrating around the Kanthale area.

The TMVP which is contesting along with the UPFA in the Batticaloa district has taken charge of the campaign in the absence of any senior UPFA members. Its chief candidate Pillaiyan himself addressed some of the meetings under a tight security cover. On Thursday alone, he addressed three more meetings.

SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem is carrying out a strong campaign in Trincomalee, addressing pocket meetings and larger meetings in Muttur, Kinniya and Thampalagamam while UNP parliamentarians Johnston Fernando, Jayalath Jayawardena, Sajith Premadasa and Thalatha Athukorala are assisting.

But, Mr. Hakeem's main worry is that the opposition parties were not allowed to campaign beyond 6 p.m. ostensibly for security reasons but the government members were allowed to campaign until 9 p.m. In addition loads of workmen from government departments have been sent on duty to leave to help in the UPFA campaign.

SLMC former MP Hassan Ali is leading the campaign in the Ampara district. For security reasons some of the meetings were being held in houses or coconut estates where limited gatherings were allowed.

One of the UNP's main election rallies is to be held in Batticaloa presided over by party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on May 5.The Government has now decided to give an Air Force helicopter for the UNP leader to tour the East, but no firm date has been given for the release of a chopper with the SLAF saying that Presidential trips need to be given prioroty.

The cases of abuse of state property are on the rise with government vehicles, buildings and employees allegedly being used for election work."If you go there these days, you will see that Trincomalee is filled with government vehicles and they are being used for the UPFA's election campaign," JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said.

He said the government was prevented from using state vehicles during the last Presidential election as wide powers were given to the Election Commissioner under the 17th Amendment and thus malpractices were controlled to a certain extent.

The JVP's campaign is on a low key. This is largely because of the split in the party, but the party membership seems to have not given up.

Political war hots up in east