A group of Bishops have called political leaders to have a self-imposed code of conduct, especially during the upcoming general election.
A statement signed by six Bishops said they believed that many Sri Lankans strongly disapproved of three trends witnessed during the recent election campaign.
The Bishops who signed the statement are: Catholic Bishop of Jaffna Dr Thomas Savundaranayagam, Catholic Bishop of Trinco/Batticaloa Dr Kingsley Swampillai, Catholic Bishop of Mannar Dr Rayappu Joseph, Anglican Vicar General of Kurunegala Rt. Revd Kumara Illangasinghe, Anglican Bishop of Colombo Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera and Catholic Bishop of Anuradhapura Dr Norbert Andradi.
Explaining these trends, the Bishops said that due to continuous personal slander, provoked by undue media publicity, the norms of vigorous and healthy democratic debate were disregarded and the people were denied an objective understanding of the real issues. The other two trends were the willful violation of electoral laws and the unprecedented amount of money spent on the campaigning.
They said these disturbing trends raised ethical questions of leadership qualities in a country striving to eliminate poverty and bring justice to the displaced people.
“Our political leaders can still rectify these trends by setting self-imposed codes of conduct, especially as we approach a general election. A voter preference for those who demonstrate this change will result in a welcome transformation of our political culture. Such a change will endorse the sovereignty of the people,” the Bishops said.
They said promotions, transfers, termination of services and the resignations of some Military, Police and Public Service personnel sent worrying messages about rewards and punishments for certain styles of political behaviour.
“Competency in public officials is to be appreciated and those who have done their duty well, need to be commended. But administrative changes, immediately after a public event that requires the impartiality of all officials, undermines good governance.
“We should take serious note of the majority who did not vote in some Tamils areas. The lack of transport prevented thousands of IDPs from voting. The behaviour of those who could but did not vote may indicate a lack of confidence in an electoral contest between two primary candidates, who offered little in terms of the problems faced by Tamils. Their silence may be seen as a clear message that their expectations were not being addressed.
“It is bad practice when elections are followed by intimidation and harassment of candidates, their supporters and those in the media who have freely expressed their views. The total lack of information regarding journalist, Prageeth Eknaligoda, missing since two days before the election, is a most disturbing case in point. The Police have an immediate responsibility to investigate and prevent such happenings. The President, and all political, civil society and religious leaders are called to set the standards in healing tensions and ensuring justice and protection for all.
“From here we need to collectively address the pressing priorities of; political devolution, good governance, media freedom, economic development, the application of equal rights for the vulnerable, the total independence of the judiciary and poverty alleviation, faced by our country. We urge the President, the Cabinet and the Opposition to work towards these goals with purpose and commitment. The test of a campaign is the urgency and priority given to the needs of all the people by all candidates when the campaigning ends. None who contests has the right or the luxury to continue with personal hurts, personal glory or personal agendas,” the statement said. |
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