Elections

• We granted you freedom in 24 hours, says Chandrika
• The election is to save democracy, says Ranil
• Monitors 'fire' at each other
• UNP alleges vote buying to break Mahiyangana
• Election 'gundus' in the making as things get hot
• Posters down, up and down again
• Polls news in brief
• Wayamba's unknown documents - Focus on Rights
• Police prepare for polls day

We granted you freedom in 24 hours, says Chandrika

By Nilika de Silva

President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Friday said her Government had allowed absolute freedom even to harshly criticise the leaders but some media groups had prostituted journalism and the freedom of expression

Addressing a campaign rally at Kirillawala in the Gampaha district the President said, "You handed over the country to me in 1994 asking that you be allowed to live in freedom. That freedom was granted to you within 24 hours.

"You also have the freedom to harshly criticise me or the Ministers, but some sections of the media have abused this freedom and prostituted journalism.

"Journalism is a venerable profession, but it has been turned into prostitution. The mud slung at me alone by certain papers, if it was true, should make you people throw stones at me when I come before you. Our government rules in a very open manner. Everything we do is open. Anyone has the right to criticise," she said

"I know with what dedication and sacrifice the people of Mahara worked for Vijaya at that time. We worked together in this electorate. At that time the same UNP and JVP elements tried to kill Vijaya at Mahara. Yet as he had the fortune to live a little longer one of our brothers in Buthpitiya died by that bullet.

"You will remember JR, Ranil Wickremesinghe's boss, he said, 'defeat Vijaya by good means or bad.'

"They put the police to arrest people on their way to polling booths.

"Do you remember. Do you remember Ranil Wickremesinghe coming to this area on that day?

"Ranil Wickremesinghe, a minister in the government, do you remember what he said? We were totally unarmed, we did not even have a stick with us.

"Who was with Ranil Wickremesinghe on that day? Gonawala Sunil. Do you know who Gonawala Sunil is? A man who raped a doctor's daughter in Colombo. Went to prison, but came out in 3 years and was given posts.

"You remember when they came to power in 1977 how they attacked the people, saying sufficient support had not been given to the UNP.

"The people of Gampaha are a very courageous people. For that very reason the people of Gampaha were harassed. UNP elements assaulted them, burnt their houses. They poured boiling oil over the daughter of our Chandrasena Vedamaththaya.They killed a person in Mahara.

"We should be worshipped with flowers for not chasing these fellows off and taking the lands. We have made lists as to who has cheated and taken lands. And we promise you that we will get that land back for you.

"Wijeyapala Mendis has not yet been removed from the party. He has not been removed from parliament.

"Remove Punchi Nilame, the alleged killer of Nalanda Ellawala, one of our best young MP's, from your party, then the people might start listening to what you are saying.

"What the UNP did over 17 years, our people were infected with a little of this. Some people did a few small wrongs.

"Immediately we appointed committees and commissions to look into this. When the people who did these wrongs are found, it has been decided that they will be punished according to the law.

"In the same way that they poured petrol and burnt our people they thought they can put petrol on the Tamil peoples and burn them.

"In 1983 the Tamil people were burnt, beaten and oppressed. And after that the UNP pushed the Tamil people to war. When we came to power Rs. 16,000 million was being spent on Education, after we came to power we put it up to Rs. 30,000 million.

"When these students left school the qualifications they had did not suit the employment available. We started a very satisfactory education reform after having discussions over a period of two years. Science and technology will be taught anew. Technology will be taught in the Advanced Level. Computer Science will also be taught. We will start a new and broad system of training teachers.

"Vast improvements have taken place in roads, electricity, health and other spheres. We sent piles and piles of the book we published informing the people of the development work carried out by us. Did your'll receive the book in Gampaha? The books are with the Minister you can get them.

"Before the end of next year a great deal of work will be done in Gampaha town. To step into the 21st century we will develop Gampaha in everyway."

"Are you satisfied with what we have accomplished in four years? Friends, I am not satisfied, this is not enough"

"The Colombo-Katunayake express highway goes across our district. Shops will come up alongside the road. Jobs will be created. Many new employment opportunities will be created. Friends it is possible that there will not be enough people to do the jobs.

"We will never forget the support you gave us at the 1993 elections and that is why we never forget you at any time. I am sure you will give us that same support this time as well."

"I hope you will not be angry that this time I am unable to join you unlike the days when I was Chief Minister, and Prime Minister when I was always with you. In this election I cannot be beside you. Give us the strength and courage and vote for the chair on April 6.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said that when the UNP was in power nobody wanted posters removed, but when the UNP were in the opposition they wanted all the posters and cutouts pulled down.

The election is to save democracy, says Ranil

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

UNP and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe charged the PA government of criminalising society and promoting proliferation of bars and casinos.

Addressing a rally in Kandy on Friday he said the elections on April 6 involved the grave issue of saving democracy in the country.

The UNP wanted the people to have the opportunity to freely decide. This was why the entire legal establishment had also mobilised to thwart undemocratic and arbitrary action.

After four and half years of PA governance there have been no solutions to burning problems. Despite the lack of performance the PA had the singular distinction of destroying paddy and potato cultivations.

He said the promised peace through a lasting solution was still an elusive dream. So the people had to be wise and act prudently.

Mr.Wickremesinghe said the socialist dogma dead and hanging on its tail served no purpose. Soviet Russia had crumbled and its leaders changed as regularly as President Kumaratunga changed sarees.

'The world price of crude oil has come down and in order to alleviate the burdens of people the price of oil should be reduced by one third. Until the President learnt to act positively and help people instead of heaping scorn on others there was no future," he said.

The people had a sterling opportunity to mark their protest and should be bold enough to eliminate anti-democratic forces from the political fabric, he said.

Mr.Wickremesinghe said he did not wish to scuttle moves for ushering in a new political culture. When the UNP initially promised a high- powered election monitoring committee, President Kumaratunga refused scorning the UNP proposal, he said.

It was when the President was cornered by the people, political parties and the international community, that a monitoring committee was set up. The UNP ,JVP and other parties have sincerely cooperated despite threats to their lives, he said.

"We did it for the people. The UNP never scoffed and disagreed with the move just because the PA rejected ours.Trading insults or scuttling democratic processes has never been our style", he said.

Criticising several attempts to thwart its progress, he said that certain PA members did their utmost to prevent its functioning.

He urged the government to enhance the Election Commissioner's powers. That was the first step to ensuring free polls.

The rights of the people were won at a great cost. Some had paid the supreme sacrifice and some candidates were languishing in prison for upholding them, he said.

It was the duty of an intelligent electorate to elect people who could deliver the goods rather than people who hoodwinked the masses and robbed their rights.

He said the government should not try to tamper with the judgments on election petitions. If the judiciary declared the Wayamba election fraudulent, he said popular agitation should persuade the government to invalidate the election.

Sarath Kongahage said the government has robbed the cardinal rights of all people in order to secure a PA victory at any cost. Several leading candidates and the UNP district leader have been victimised by PA thugs. This was PA- style democracy, he said.

Mr. Kongahage said that while it did not surprise Vijaya Kumaratunga's confidantes, deserting party men came naturally to his wife. She had resorted to putting forward various theories about the Wayamba fraud to justify it.

Nowhere in the world has an electorate of about 2000 voters cast their votes by 9 am. If this was no farce or fraud the words needed to be redefined, he said.

UNP General Secretary Gamini Atukorale noted that this was not a normal election.

A normal election is what a government holds at the end of a term. This was a well- fought out one which politicians, media personnel, individuals and human rights activists fought and gained. The PA was simply driven to this by the judicial decision against its arbitrary move to postpone the PC polls.

The President only knew one thing and that was to blame the UNP for the formation of clouds, the falling rain, drought and famine.

If this made her win once, people would not repeat the mistake twice, as such a mistake would cost them dearly, he said.

Monitors 'fire' at each other

By Shelani de Silva.

While members of political parties are continuing the acts of violence in the run up to the April 6 Provincial Polls, two election monitoring groups have also started firing at each other.

A polls watch group formed by the People's Alliance has accused the independent Committee for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) of blowing up the incidents in a bid to promote its own political objectives or hidden agenda.

PA Polls Watch Co-ordinator S A Sripathi said most of the reports by CMEV were found to be lacking objectivity and exaggerated.

He said lawyers working with Polls Watch would take legal action against any monitoring group or any media group that reported false complains or carried exaggerated versions of incidents involving PA candidates or supporters.

But CMEV Coordinator Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuthu flatly rejected the claims and charges of the Polls Watch group.

'The allegations are baseless, what we cannot understand is why they are attacking us rather than monitoring the violence. We are not working on behalf of any political party. These allegations are made against us so that we will stop monitoring. That will not happen, it will not stop what we have set out to do," Dr. Saravanamuthu said, insisting that every report of the CMEV was checked and double checked by responsible officers.

While the PA Polls Watch group has recorded a total of 182 incidents, the CMEV figure is very much higher at more than 800.

The other monitoring body People's Action Front for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has reported 139 incidents. Topping the list are the Central and the Western Provinces.

UNP alleges vote buying to break Mahiyangana

In a new twist to political vote buying, an allegation of political bartering comes from a village in Mahiyangana.

Badulla district UNP parliamentarian Lakshman Seneviratne has alleged that a PA politician has been distributing building materials among poor people in this village in exchange for their polling cards.

Mr. Seneviratne said that since the Mahiyangana electorate had always been a UNP stronghold the PA was resorting to various tactics to snatch this vote bank.

The UNP won the electorate in the 1994 presidential elections-

Election 'gundus' in the making as things get hot

By M. Ismeth

With elections just ten days away various projects that should have been implemented months or years ago are now being implemented along with a number of promises.

Distribution of school uniforms that normally takes place at the beginning of the year and had been put off for various reasons will take place this week.

Areas that had not seen the colour of tar, sand and gravel are seeing them in many places.

Housing schemes where the roads have knee deep pot holes which had not been repaired todate even after many a reminder by its residents, are now those roads likely to have attended to shortly, probably before April 6.

Foundation stones for industrial parks have been laid with the promise that thousands of unemployed youths would be given jobs once the parks are completed. The promises have been taken with a pinch of salt by many.

In a recent TV programme, a resident from Maharagama asked a PA MP who was on the panel whether all the gravel dumped to build or repair roads in the area would be put to use or would be removed after the elections.

Posters down, up and down again

By Tissa Liyanage

Political posters have been pulled down in most places but they are being put up again and the Elections Department with the Police will launch fresh operations to pull down the whole lot before the polls on April 6.

Assistant Elections Commissioner K.Senanayake said the department would remove all remaining posters before the elections.

The police last week provided security for labourers who were deployed to remove the posters and banners, but the operation lasted only three days and party supporters started displaying posters again.

Police in various parts of the country said they were unable to remove the posters as the labourers were provided only for a short period.

But Wellawatte OIC W. Wickramaratna said that most posters in his area have been removed except the ones near the party offices and those which are placed at the houses of candidates. He also said that all posters and other material which are unlawful have been produced at the Mount Lavinia Magistrate's Court on March 25.

According to Dematagoda Police more than 3000 posters have been taken off in the area by four labourers provided by the Assistant Government Agent's office.

Kandy Police Superintendent G. Navaratne said most cut - outs and banners have been taken off. He said they had requested for fifty labourers but only ten were given.

"Posters are still being pasted by supporters of candidates, while the police are going all out to remove them," Ella Police Inspector Dharmadasa said. In some places the police officers are themselves removing the posters without waiting for labourers.

Teldeniya Police Inspector S.B.Wickremasinghe said, from Kegalle junction up to Moragahamulla junction on the Mahiyangana Road posters have been removed within a day.

"Supporters of both main political parties are pasting posters during the night when no monitoring could be done," he said. Bandarawela Police Inspector Jayantha Seneviratne said most posters in Bandarawela had been taken off. "But posters have come up in Haputale and Diyatalawa areas and have to be removed," he added.

Polls news in brief

Hundred thousand on duty

The Elections Department has decided to engage more than some 100,000 public servants who have been called up for elections duty in five provinces on April 6, an Elections Department official said

He said all arrangements have been finalised and polling officers would report for duty at different stations on April five.

All- party show at Kegalle

Preparations have been made in the Kegalle district to conduct campaign meetings on a common stage in a bi-partisan atmosphere.

Accordingly the PA, UNP, JVP, Liberal Party, Ceylon Workers Congress, and the Communist Party have already expressed their desire to come together on a common platform.

The first meeting with speakers of all the parties on a single platform took place at the Kegalle Town Hall at 3 pm last Wednesday.

All candidates and party leaders in the Kegalle electorate were given the opportunity to speak.

Safe house for poll cards

A man who was found to be in possession of 390 poll cards has been arrested in Welikanda last Friday. The poll cards had been parcelled and hidden in the house of the suspect. On being questioned the suspect said that they were given to him by a post office worker for safe keeping.

I am still alive

The death notice of a candidate contesting the Provincial Council elections in the North Central Province has been put up in the Hingurakgoda area.

The candidate belonging to the Sinhale Maha Bhoomiputra party had made a complaint in this regard to the Hingurakgoda Police.

Close tab on criminals

Photographs and fingerprints of criminals, have been sent to police stations in areas where the elections are to be held.

CID officials said this was a measure to keep a close tab on criminal elements and polls violence.

Among details provided, were the particulars of terror gangs who were responsible for the Wayamba mayhem and murders.

Political fire

Political party supporters are allegedly responsible for the recent destruction of the rubber store in Grandpass in a fire. Two adjoining rubber stores also caught fire when revellers threw crackers while passing. The police put the loss at Rs. 15 lakhs.

New Series - Focus on Rights

Wayamba's unknown documents

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardena

Kipling's pessimistic reminder that "East is East and West is West and ne'er the twain shall meet" stood confounded in the Supreme Court last Tuesday during hearings in what is inevitably becoming known as the "imminent infringement" case.

For those needing a brief refresher, the case concerned five voters of the Western Province who went before the Court arguing that by reason of the extreme violence during January's Wayamba Provincial Council elections, their free, equal and secret ballot in the upcoming elections stood in imminent danger of being violated, unless speedy action is taken by the Commissioner of Elections and the IGP to safeguard their rights.

In a two hour hearing before the Court, an astonishing number of circulars, minutes of meetings and documents were read out on behalf of the State in support of the now famed phrase that Wayamba had indeed "opened the eyes" of the executive authorities.

The duties imposed on election staff and police officers by these documents, some issued after the petition was filed but many before, are multifarious, and indeed coincide to a large extent with the requests made by the petitioners, in an apparent and somewhat amusing "meeting of the twain."

It is particularly interesting that, as revealed by the minutes of a conference of DIGG and SSP Divisions in the five provinces chaired by the IG, Police on 25/02/99, the police appear to have taken to heart, criticism of their conduct during the recent Wayamba elections.

OIC divisions have been instructed to act firmly and effectively against all those who violate the law regardless of their political affiliations. Bodyguards provided by local police to MP's have been ordered to be in uniform and all police officers directed to take firm action against those in possession of illegal weapons within and in the vicinity of the polling station.

Identified as top priority at this conference were allegations made by members of the opposition that their complaints have not been inquired into and sometimes not even entered at police stations.

Discussed as matters of concern have also been the need to check the presence of unnumbered vehicles and strangers in each area during election time, display of posters and banners in public places in such a manner that causes hindrance to the general public and the robbery of polls cards from individuals as well as from post offices.

Accordingly, all complaints received by candidates contesting the Provincial Council Elections and their supporters have been directed to be recorded in an Election Information Book, the responsibility for which is made to rest personally with the OIC of the station.

Again, all vehicles coming into the area are to be scrutinized by police officers manning roadblocks in the respective police areas and SSP Divisions directed to commence additional mobile patrols to prevent violation of election laws. Security has been ordered for the protection of post offices and sub post offices.

The reason why the police should clean up their act is indicated very clearly in a letter sent by the Attorney General's Department to DIG, Elections in late February, again part of the court record in Tuesday's case.

Here, it is pointed out that while a presiding officer at any polls station has authority to direct any police officer to eject any person misconducting himself within the polling station, a police officer on duty at a polling station has a corresponding duty to carry out such an order.

However, this does not mean that a police officer on duty at a polling station has no other responsibility apart from such an order issued by the presiding officer. On the contrary, he is bound by the normal law of the land and is duty bound to arrest without warrant any person who commits any breach of the peace in his presence.

"The mere absence of a direction from the presiding officer is no excuse for an officer on duty to remain passive in the face of any flagrant breach of the peace committed in his presence in or outside the polling station. Indeed, to remain silent in such a situation would be a gross dereliction of his duties in terms of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act" it states

Meanwhile, similarly hard-hitting duties are imposed on elections staff preceded by reminders that they are accountable only to the Commissioner of Elections and Courts of Law. In circulars issued by the Commissioner of Elections and placed before the Court this week, all Senior Presiding Officers have been directed to guarantee the freedom of the voter to cast his vote in an unhindered manner and equality in treatment of all contestants, preventing discrimination or privileges to any group.

It is stipulated that candidates with firearms seeking admission to the polling station not be allowed inside and personal bodyguards of anyone with firearms be kept out.

Where unauthorised persons in several numbers or in groups forcibly enter the polling station and intimidate polling staff, removing ballot papers, stuffing or creating any violence or disturbances at the polling station, the Senior Presiding Officer has been directed to immediately inform the Returning Officer and the senior police officer of the area over the phone from the nearest place where telephones are available.

The incident should be entered in a Journal maintained by him at the polling station and the serial numbers, number of ballot papers lost or stuffed into ballot boxes should be recorded with messages being sent immediately to the Returning Officer and the Commissioner of Elections thereafter for a determination. Suspected impersonators should not be allowed to go away in search of their Identity Cards but should be handed over to the police mobile as quickly as possible, to be taken to the police station for further inquiry and the suspect should be produced before a Magistrate.

The contents of the circulars issued by the Commissioner disclose other important safeguards.

The Senior Presiding Officer is expected to maintain complete vigilance in the Polling Stations and when the elector enters the cubicle to mark his ballot paper, without interfering with the secrecy of the vote, he is under a duty to ensure that the voter does not either attempt to put in any other paper than the authorised ballot paper.

Indelible ink should be applied around the top of the voter's finger, including the nail and cuticles which will make it difficult to remove the ink. Additionally, polling agents who stay at the polling station should not wear on them symbols of any party/group which can influence the voter and if they do, such persons should be removed from the polling station.

All this is, of course, to be welcomed. A basic question however arises hard on the heels of these disclosures. Why is it that the contents of these documents were substantially unknown to the public beforehand even though they relate to fundamental responsibilities by public officers, the breach of which would hold them accountable to any member of the public?

The documents were, in fact, unknown to even polls monitors and observers working closely with the Elections Commissioner's Department. The scramble therefore to obtain copies of the documents consequent to the court order had to be seen to be believed. But then, why should one be surprised?

This is after all, Sri Lanka, where a culture of secrecy rules questions of public accountability and skeptics raise their eyebrows at the very notion of challenging the workings of the system.

The bottom line is that these documents should have been immediately available to any individual with a bona fide interest, who would then be spared the tortuous process of moving the Court to disclose them.

Which would, of course, have been the case if we had a right to information in the country. Proposals of varying liberality with regard to the enacting of a Freedom of Information Act by both the Law Commission and the Media Law Reform Committee have been disregarded to date. While a Draft Act put forward by the Law Commission a full two years back, concedes the right of access to information only in a limited context, the 1995 Media Law Reform Committee proposals are much broader.

The Committee has made the very relevant point that public access to government held information in Sri Lanka is restricted by administrative and bureaucratic procedures that violate the citizen's right to freedom of expression. It has suggested therefore that a Freedom of Information Act be enacted along the lines of the US act where disclosure is made the rule rather than the exception, all individuals have an equal rights of access, justification for non disclosure rests with the government and individuals improperly denied access can petition the courts. While the Law Commission Draft Act appears to have disappeared into limbo, the Media Law Reform Committee proposals remain caught up in the ongoing discussions before the Parliamentary Select Committee.

Thus it is that we are treated to the spectacle of citizens being compelled to resort to the courts in order to look at documents that should be available as a matter of right to them.

The wider question, of course, is about the actual efficacy of all the assurances given by the Commissioner of Elections and the IGP on Tuesday. While Kipling may be right after all and the meeting of the twain only an illusion, the only consolation one can have is that post April 1999, more elections are on the cards. The future, in other words, is indeed filled with all kinds of glorious possibilities.

Police prepare for polls day

By Anoma Tillekeratne

Thirty two thousand Policemen and 1,200 mobile patrols will be deployed to ensure a free and fair elections in the Provincial Council Elections on April 6.

The Police elections duty will commence from 6 p.m. on April 5 when about 70,000 elections officials arrive at 5,942 polling stations and counting centres in the provinces of Central, Uva, North Central, Western and Sabaragamuwa.

Director of the Police Elections Secretariat, SSP Mohamed Bakeen Raban told The Sunday Times, that one armed mobile patrol will be in charge of maximum of five polling stations and will constantly visit them to ensure that the voters or the polling staff is not harassed.

The mobile patrol cars will come under the supervision of a police officer in the rank of ASP or above for each electorate, SSP Raban said. A total of 7,126,283 voters will go to poll on April 6 to elect 273 members to the five Provincial Councils. A total of 76,882 postal voters have already cast their votes on March 3. There are 2,446 candidates contesting from 12 political parties and 11 independent groups.

SSP Raban said that out of 32,000 Policemen half will be on direct duty at the polling stations and the counting centres and the other half will be on duty providing security. A total of 19,000 Policemen are from the five provinces and the balance 13,000 will be taken from the provinces where there are no elections.

Each polling station will be manned by two armed policemen. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake is expected to provide a list of polling stations that have a history of problems to the police to provide more security.

Police will also request the armed forces to take over the duties of providing security to the vital installations completely till elections are over. After the polling ends at 4 p.m. on April 6 the Police will continue the moblie and foot patrols to prevent any post elections incidents.

The elections campaign comes to an end on midnight on Saturday, April 3. Elections officials said that they expect the first results after midnight.

Meanwhile, there were 506 elections related incidents reported to the Police Headquarters till 6 a.m. Friday. Out of this one killing, 119 simple hurt, 228 abuse, threat and intimidation, five attempted murders, ten threat with firearms and other minor offences.

There were 167 elections related violence reported from the Central Province leading the list. This was followed by North Central Province with 105 incidents, Western Province 102 incidents and finally Uva and Sabaragamuwa Provinces both with 66 incidents each.

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