Wednesday, April 28th, 2004
JAFFNA DISPATCH
by James Ross
Post date 04.28.04 | Issue date 05.03.04
Veerasingham Anandasangaree’s campaign headquarters is a bunker. Heavily armed soldiers and coils of concertina wire surround the one-story compound on a side street in Jaffna, the largest town on the peninsula of the same name in northern Sri Lanka. The unused metal detector and bullet-riddled, sheet-iron doors give visitors pause. But Sangaree, as Anandasangaree is known, at 71 years old and a member of Sri Lanka’s parliament since 1971, remains determined. A Tamil politician of the old school, he has bulldog jowls, a dapper moustache, and a smoldering fire in the belly. The two telephones in his windowless office ring incessantly.
This is not a scene of power, however, but of powerlessness. On the wall behind him are large photos of party leaders. The ornate Tamil script is beautiful, but the dates tell the real story: All these men are dead, assassination victims. And Sangaree doesn’t want to join them. “I have not left the compound to do any campaigning,” Sangaree told me two days before the April 2 elections. “I have not met with a single voter.” He described threats and violence against his supporters that made it impossible for them to canvass voters or hold public rallies. He held up a badly dented, large, white megaphone. “I won’t have any party agents at the polling stations. It’s too dangerous for them.” He sighed dejectedly. “They are animals, if you ask me.”
The “animals” preventing him and other politicians from campaigning in Jaffna are the Tamil Tigers, officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (ltte). For two decades, the Tigers waged a brutal war for independence from Sri Lanka, which is majority ethnic Sinhalese–a war that resulted in numerous atrocities and cost some 65,000 lives. In February 2002, the Sri Lankan government and the Tigers signed a cease-fire that has brought a welcome respite from the fighting. Young soldiers stopped dying, land mines started being cleared, and humanitarian assistance began to reach the worst of the island nation’s war-torn areas.
For two years, finalizing the peace has been the main issue in Sri Lankan politics. Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made the peace agreement the centerpiece of his government. And Norway, as primary peace mediator and leader of the five-nation Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (slmm), which oversees compliance with the cease-fire, has devoted considerable political capital toward reaching a final settlement. Unfortunately, the Sri Lankan government, and foreign donor states, have made no real effort to hold the Tigers accountable for grave human rights abuses and the absence of democracy in Tamil areas. So, for people like Sangaree, “peace” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Under the cease-fire, the Tigers retain formal control of most of the northern and eastern third of the country, which is inhabited predominantly by the largely Hindu Tamils. Excluded from these areas is much of the Jaffna peninsula, including Jaffna town. Although it’s been eight years since the Sri Lankan army recaptured Jaffna from the Tigers in bitter fighting, the pockmarked remains of bombed buildings belie the town’s return to normality. The restoration of government control is just as illusory: Real power lies with the Tigers. In classic Mafia style, the Tigers maintain a system of extortion, known as the “Tiger Tax,” against local businesses, travelers heading south, and truckers. Since the cease-fire, the Tigers have killed more than two dozen opposition Tamil politicians and party workers, as well as other critics. And they’ve made sure local government officials do nothing to stop them. When asked about the highly publicized assassination of respected Jaffna politician Thambirajah Subathiran ten months earlier, a senior police official conceded no progress had been made in the case–despite leads implicating a local Tiger leader. Indeed, not a single person has been prosecuted for any of these killings. Police are well aware that after the Tigers broke a 13-month cease-fire in 1990, their forces attacked and overran dozens of police stations, and killed some 600 officers.
Buoyed by the cease-fire, the Tigers this year plunged headfirst into the electoral process to obtain seats in the national parliament. And their intimidation tactics have proved effective. The Tigers endorsed a proxy party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), an amalgam of Tamil parties. Sangaree himself ran successfully on the TNA party list in 2001. But, a year ago, he openly rejected the Tigers’ claim that they are the “sole representatives” of Sri Lankan Tamils. The Tigers forced him out of his own party, and he soon found himself the target of death threats. When elections were called in February, he bravely decided to run as an independent. The Tigers responded similarly after their eastern commander, known as Karuna, split off with some 6,000 fighters in early March. Karuna rallied some support among eastern Tamils and sought (unsuccessfully) an independent cease-fire with the government. But days later a university professor close to Karuna was ambushed and wounded. Three days before the elections, the one eastern TNA candidate who had openly pledged support for Karuna was shot and killed.
In the war-devastated Vanni, the Tiger-run region south of the Jaffna peninsula, there is considerable support for the TNA. But, because the Tigers do not permit Sangaree or other non-TNA parties to campaign there, there is little opportunity to change minds. In Jaffna, many Tamils who oppose the Tigers’ brutal methods nonetheless accept that they are the only game in town. The bishop of Jaffna, the influential leader of the area’s significant Catholic minority, recently told a group of visitors, “People want to send a message that the Tamils are united vis-à-vis the [Sinhalese majority] south. So the opposition [non-TNA parties] are viewed as traitors and have little support.” Indeed, the only news most Tamils receive about the opposition comes from a local Tamil press that routinely runs blatantly false news stories maligning the non-TNA parties. In March, when an independent Tamil radio station began broadcasting from London, the Tigers denounced its reporters as “traitors” and its journalists received death threats.
But the reality of Tiger terror really hits home when you leave the politicians and speak with its everyday victims. A rural couple from one of Jaffna’s islands, parents of four, was visibly nervous but willing to tell their story to me. At eleven the previous night, ten men had appeared at their home and demanded they step outside. The husband described how they questioned him about his volunteer work for an opposition party: “They grabbed me by the throat and pushed me into a coconut tree. I felt something stick in my ears. Maybe it was gun barrels, but I couldn’t see for sure. One of the men hit me hard in the stomach with a flashlight and said that, if they saw me at the polling station acting as a party agent, the next day I’d be shot.” His wife finished the account: “They said, ‘We are ltte, so be careful.’” Her fear seemed overcome by a sense of helplessness: “If something happens to my husband and me when we go home, what will happen to our children?”
Then, on polling day in the north and east, the Tigers resorted to large-scale vote manipulation. At a polling station on the Jaffna peninsula, I watched as some 40,000 enthusiastic voters scampered three miles past minefields under a blazing sun to cast their ballots. Random conversations left little doubt they were voting en masse for the TNA. So it was all the more astonishing to witness in the Tiger zone a systematic effort to rig the vote, complete with young men distributing thick stacks of unused polling cards.
The election fiasco in the north and east is the culmination of a failed effort at appeasing the Tigers. According to longtime Tamil human rights activist Rajan Hoole, former Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s “whole [peace] program was based on avoiding war and using foreign donor funds to firmly establish his control in the south. Never in his career did he show any regard for human rights.” The Norwegian-led cease-fire-monitoring mission has been ineffectual in addressing Tiger atrocities, failing to put the necessary resources, expertise, or political will into seriously investigating the killings. After a spate of reputed Tiger killings last year, slmm spokeswoman Agnes Bragadottir said it was beyond their mandate to investigate them: “The slmm should not be drawn into internal politics. This is not a monitoring issue for us, this is a criminal case.” And slmm Deputy Head Hagrup Haukland told Reuters in February, “In 2003 alone we have seen the killing of 30 to 40 local leaders and Tamil politicians who are against the ltte. But that is a case for the police. We have approached the Tigers about this, but they deny that they are behind the killings.”
By downplaying Tiger atrocities, the slmm has abrogated protecting the human rights of the Tamil population. Hoole believes the slmm has been “mainly interested in preventing war in the short term and has constantly veered toward exonerating the Tamil Tigers for accusations of violations. The slmm sees it as the surest way of maintaining the status quo.” When Karuna broke off from the Tigers in March, the slmm pulled out its monitors from the east, claiming they no longer had a role since Karuna’s forces were not bound by the cease-fire agreement. But, as the Tigers maneuvered their forces against Karuna in clear violation of the ceasefire, the international monitors were conspicuously silent.
Overall, in the Sri Lankan election, President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s opposition alliance grabbed nearly half the parliamentary seats and quickly formed a coalition government. This was bad news for the Tigers, who hoped to play kingmaker by keeping Wickremesinghe’s party in power. Instead, they unleashed their full fury against Karuna: A week after the elections, the northern Tigers launched a multi-pronged assault against Karuna’s forces, quickly routing them. While rumors surfaced of massacres of Karuna’s surrendered soldiers, the slmm met with the Tigers once more and announced, “We are back on track again.”
Throughout the long civil war, the military and political strategy of the Tamil Tigers remained constant: eliminate anyone deemed an obstacle to complete victory. Many in Sri Lanka hoped the demands of making peace would change that. But, instead of permitting pluralistic elements to emerge during the electoral campaign, the Tigers have sent the message that the same rules still apply.
Back on the Jaffna peninsula, the TNA took eight of the nine parliamentary seats. Sangaree fared poorly in the polls. He is filing protests against Tiger vote-rigging, but there is little chance he’ll succeed in overturning the outcome. Perhaps the waning of Sangaree’s political life will add years to his biological one. But, in the unyielding and unforgiving world of the Tamil Tigers, he shouldn’t let his guard down. Not for a moment.
James Ross is the senior legal adviser for Human Rights Watch, and has followed human rights issues in Sri Lanka since 1994.
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040503&s=ross050304
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Sunday, April 4th, 2004
Parliamentary General Elections 2004
PAFFREL Interim Report
Parliamentary General Elections 2004
April 4, 2004, 2.00 p.m.
The General Parliamentary Election of April 2nd took place in an atmosphere largely free of the violence and intimidation that had marked past elections, with the exception of the North East. In the North East the election period was marred by numerous acts of political intimidation and violence that made it impossible for parties not supported by the LTTE to campaign freely. Election related political murders of UNF candidate Mr. S. Sundarampillai and EPDP activist Mr. P. Nagendran were committed in Batticaloa at the commencement of the campaign leading to the withdrawal of four UNF candidates contesting from the Batticaloa district. TNA candidate Mr. Rajan Sathyamoorthy was assassinated at his home, together with his brother in law, Mr. Kanagasabai almost at the end of the campaign period in Batticaloa allegedly by the LTTE and the Government Agent, Battcaloa, the Chief Returning Officer for the districtwas shot at and critically wounded a few days before the poll. The fifth murder was of Mr. Kalam of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress in the Amparai district. These had a chilling effect on campaign activities in the east. On election day, PAFFRELs international observers monitors witnessed large-scale voter impersonation out of LTTE controlled areas [and in WHERE]. in Jaffna town and at the cluster polling station at Muhamalai in the Jaffna district, and in a number of locations in the [and Batticaloa district],
The April 2 election was the first since the cease-fire was declared between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government forces in February 2002. It was also the first time in nearly 15 years that voters from LTTE-controlled areas in the Vanni had unrestricted access to polling stations, although this was dependent on the availability of adequate transport facilities. In the December 2001 election, Tamil voters were prevented from traveling between homes in LTTE-controlled areas and clustered polling places in army-controlled areas after the military reported receiving warnings of a security threat.
In the course of the campaign, ten six prominent Tamils, including an election official, several two candidates, a party activist and a locally influential academic from the east were shot. A Muslim was shot at Amparai. Five died from their wounds. Their whereabouts remain unknown. The police have not successfully investigated any of these killings.
In the 2004 election the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) functioned as the LTTEs political proxy and only those candidates on the TNA ticket were free to campaign openly and without harassment in the North. The Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) could not campaign at all in LTTE controlled areas. Supporters of the EPDP and the Anandasangari group reported being
threatened and physically assaulted, prevented from using loudspeakers and holding rallies, were being harassed when circulating leaflets or canvassing door-to-door.
The role of the media was a source of concern throughout the country. For Tamil voters in the north and east, access to independent information about the candidates other than those with the TNA was limited, as few Tamil language news sources were willing to feature challengers to the LTTEs claim to be the voterssole representative. One news outlet that did so, the London-based Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (through a hook-up with the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation) received death threats demanding that it stop broadcasting news until after the election. It was also apparent that some private Tamil language media channels were misreporting or misrepresenting events in the east.
Political bias was also alleged in national media. On March 29, allegations of media bias in favor of the UPFA led the independent election commissioner to take control of state-run television and radio. It has been noted that the independent media has tended to favor the UNF, but cannot under law be similarly restricted.
North East Situation:
In the North East there was a climate of intimidation due to the fear of assassination and assault by parties and groups that opposed pluralism in Tamil society. The assassination of three candidates in the East and the climate of terror affecting non TNA candidates, prompted several of them to publicly announce their withdrawal from the electoral contest. The LTTEs
insistence that Tamil politicians in the North East should contest the elections under one party, and of being deemed traitors if they did not, exerted a chilling influence on the ability of rival Tamil political parties to contest the elections. This had serious implications for voters capacity to vote for the candidates of their choice. There was no possibility at all for candidates from such political parties to conduct their campaigns within the LTTE-controlled areas.
The split in the LTTE with the breakaway of its eastern leadership also added to the climate of violence and intimidation. A further factor that marred a free and fair election in the North East was the difficulties placed in the path of people in the North East, both those living in LTTE-controlled areas, and those who are internally displaced, from casting their votes. The Election Commissioner decided not to set up polling stations in LTTE controlled areas. He directed that clustered polling stations be set up in the government-controlled areas, as in the past, and
that transport be provided to voters to facilitate access to these stations.
It was observed that there was a reasonable presence of polling agents from different parties in Jaffna town. No incidents of violence were reported from this area. However according to our international observers the voter turn out appeared to be low and large numbers of youth were also observed with stacks of polling cards, particularly in the vicinity of the Jaffna campus.
There was enthusiastic participation of voters from the LTTE controlled areas, some of whom were voting after a period of twenty years. However, our international observers in Muhamalai in the Jaffna district reported large scale distribution of polling cards taking place in an organised manner. The EPDP withdrew their polling agents at 11.30 am.
In the Batticaloa district also, our international observers saw large scale impersonation taking place in Vavunathivu, Vantharamoolai and near the ferry from Kokkadichcholai, and in the latter place they saw some of those distributing polling cards being arrested by the police. In Kaththankudy the situation was very tense, and our observers saw an unauthorised pink polling card being used by some voters.
PAFFREL observers in the Batticaloa district noted that nearly 70% of polling stations visited had no polling agents from any political party. Where polling agents were present they were from the TNA and in some instances TNP polling agents were observed directly influencing voters while the SPO was reduced to the role of a spectator.
One of PAFFRELs major concerns at this election, as at previous elections has been the difficulty to call any election free and fair when large numbers of eligible citizens in the north and east do not have access to polling stations due to distance and lack of transport facilities, or, in the case of internally displaced persons, are not registered to vote. While in the north, the Election Commissioner undertook to provide transport facilities to clustered polling stations, this did not prevent inconvenience to the voters or address the level of fear and intimidation
of voters that served to prevent free voting.
Harassment During the Campaign PeriodThe EPDP and the Anandasangari groups raised many security concerns that made it impossible for them to fairly compete against the TNA in the elections. The PAFFREL international observers were only able to examine a handful of individual cases. Given the context of political violence in Jaffna district, and the failure to date of the police to make arrests in major cases (such as the killing last year of an EPRLF leader in Jaffna town), these allegations must be treated with utmost seriousness.
The EPDP and the Anandasangari groups said they were unable to carry out normal campaign activities, such as public rallies, because of the lack of security. They reported that threats had been made against campaign workers out on the streets. The police provided security to campaign lorries, but this, according to the parties, did not reduce the general public fear of being seen participating in such events. The Anandasangari group showed international observers a destroyed megaphone that they said was smashed up by LTTE supporters. One teacher told PAFFREL international observers that she was stopped and threatened on the street by two persons who cited her involvement with the EPDP, and told her to report.
The EPDP alleged, and international monitors were able to confirm, that they had considerable difficulty hiring transportation for political party use. After the TNA complained to PAFFREL on April 1 that the EPDP had stolen two buses, international observers investigated and discovered that EPDP had legitimately rented the two buses. After the bus owners were threatened by the LTTE, they returned the EPDPs deposits and took back the two buses so the EPDP could not use them on election day.
An international monitor followed a bus that evidently was transporting voters to a polling station. The bus tried to evade the monitors van and only stopped when its path was blocked. A person on the bus admitted that it was transporting TNA candidates and their familiesto the polling station.
Voter Impersonation in Jaffna:
Two international observers at the Muhamalaiahamalai cluster polling station independently witnessed serious large-scale vote rigging originating from the LTTE-controlled uncleared area. Between 11 a.m. and noon, international observers saw young men collecting pollingvoter cards from persons crowded into open-air vehicles. In other instances, young men were handing out pollingvoter cards to persons in vehicles, seemingly checking them (perhaps for sex) before handing them over. At least three persons were seen holding two-inch wads of voter cards while young men stood nearby grasping cards apparently just given to them. When an international monitor approached one such man, he turned and walked away. People were also seen washing the ink off their finger. In general, all of this activity was taking place openly with no apparently regard for the presence of vehicles containing election observers.
At the Muhamalaiahamalai polling station, the voting by the great majority of the population was completed by noon. After this time, virtually the only people voting were young men who were voting in groups of six to twenty. Some of these were clearly under eighteen years of age. While it was not possible to confirm that these young men were voting with illegal voter cards, the overall circumstances strongly suggest that this was the case.
International monitors in Kayts saw seven persons arrested for impersonation. Another person was observed voting twice.
In Jaffna town where young men were seen with wads of polling cards in the vicinity of the University of Jaffna and appeared to be engaged in voter impersonation.
Harassment of Polling Agents in Jaffna:
The EPDP and the Anandasangari group both said it was extremely difficult to find volunteers to serve as polling agents because of fear of LTTE retribution. In fact, the Anandasangari group decided not to field any polling agents at all because of security concerns.
Prior to election day, international observers interviewed an EPDP polling agent who provided detailed information on serious harassment and death threats from LTTE cadres. According to the polling agent, at 11 pm on March 31, ten persons in plainclothes and wearing kerchiefs over their faces arrived by van at his home while he was sleeping. He and his wife were ordered outside. Five of the men questioned him about his going to the EPDP office and demanded to know whether he would be a polling agent. They demanded to know the names of the other EPDP polling agents from the area. One grabbed him by the neck and pushed his head against a coconut tree. Thin objects were stuck in his ears which he believes were handguns. With a torch (flashlight) they hit him very hard in the stomach (his stomach still hurt the following day) and said that if he was seen acting as an EPDP polling agent he would be murdered the day after the election. The men departed but drove their vehicle back and forth in front of the house until about 1 am.
The EPDP sent several polling agents to the Muhamalai cluster station. In at least one polling station, the SPO removed the EPDP polling agents after they have raised concerns about some of the people voting for instance, that their age did not match that of the polling card, men were voting for women and vice-versa, people were voting for dead people. At one point, the SPO told the polling agent that he was disturbing the voting process and called the GA, who intervened and ordered the removal of the EPDP agent on the grounds that the agent was not a resident of the polling station and therefore, was violating the electoral law. This is not a requirement for being a polling agent, however, which merely requires a properly authenticated letter from the persons party, which the polling agent had. An hour later, after consulting the Election Commission, the GA reversed his decision and permitted the EPDP polling agent to continue in his function.
Batticaloa Pre-Election Violence:
In early March, LTTE eastern commander Karuna announced that he was splitting from the LTTE because of the unfair treatment of eastern Tamils from the LTTE leadership in the north. Prior to this, a Tamil UNP candidate and a party worker from EPDP were murdered, allegedly by the LTTE. These killings occurred shortly after the LTTE had reportedly announced that no Tamils should contest for the two main parties in the north and east. The two killings had a major impact on the political atmosphere in the region.
In Batticaloa district, unidentified gunman shot and killed TNA candidate Sathyamoorthy on March 30. The following day an announcement was circulated, its source unknown, indicating that Jaffna Tamils should leave Batticaloa. One reason given was that it is because the northern was accused of being responsible for the killing of Sathyamoorthy. Of the 8 TNA candidates in the district, one is not openly pro-Karuna, Joseph Pararajasingham. Karunas supporters put him under house arrest and announced with loudspeakers in front of his house that he should leave Batticaloa within 24 hours. An unknown number of Jaffna Tamils soon left,
evidenced by the closure of a number of shops in Batticaloa. On the night of March 31, a bakery owned by a Jaffna Tamil in Chenkalady was set on fire. Seventeen doctors of Jaffna origin reportedly left from Batticaloa hospital. On April 1 there was a funeral procession for Sathyamoorthy where his body was taken to a number of places, including LTTE controlled
areas. This was done without incident.
Impersonation of voters in Batticaloa:
Voters came from the LTTE controlled areas and voted in cluster stations in the government-controlled area. In Vavunativu, international observers witnessed voter impersonation on a large scale. At the cluster polling station, they witnessed the distribution of voting cards and persons carrying many voting cards in their hands. Those involved in the activity did not seem concerned by the presence of international observers. The impersonation was also observed by the police who took no action. Near the Kokkadichcholai ferry, another cluster station, police arrested a group of young men who were carrying large numbers of polling cards. In Chenkalady, observers watched people removing the ink from their fingers; they also saw numerous people vote whose fingers were clearly inked but were still allowed to vote.
Observers noted that civilians were checking poling cards at the entrance to the polling station at the Siththandi MMV polling station. A gang of alleged impersonators were turned away by the police. Monitors also observed a JPO attempting to influence a voter at Hall No.4 at the Siththandi MMV. The access and exiting arrangements here were in general confusing and disorganised.
TNA polling agents were observed attempting to influence voters at Chenkaladi MV or watched while TNA polling agents directed voters. Monitors observed groups of under aged youth arriving to vote at Kumavellayar Kiramam Selvavinayargar Vidyalaya and Koralakerny Vidyalaya in the Kalkuda polling division in Batticaloa indicating large scale impersonation.
Events observed at Kaluvankerny Vivekananda Vidyalayam and the Vandaramoolai Vishnu MV indicates highly irregular behavior of election officials including the SPO where voters were influenced and had no privacy when casting their ballots.
Large scale impersonation was obvious at the Vandaramoolai Ganesh Vidyalam and the Vantharamoolai Vishnu MV where only three transport tractors crossed the Uppodai bridge once from the LTTE controlled areas to the government controlled areas for the day but nearly 900 votes were polled from voters in the LTTE controlled areas.
Police were stopping voters outside the Mavadivembu Vigneswara Vidyalam Hall No.2 and scrutinising polling cards while civilians were issuing polling cards to potential impersonators outside the polling station.
Posters of TNA candidates were conspicuously pasted outside polling stations and at the entry point from the LTTE controlled areas and all along the main road between Batticaloa and Kiran. TNA party symbols were painted on the roads.
Transportation facilities were extremely inadequate at Karuththanpalam where many voters who had cast their votes were stranded and unable to return to their homes in LTTE controlled areas.
Violence and Voter Impersonation in Kathankudy
In this predominately Muslim area, during the campaign there were many clashes between the SLMC and UPFA, and also among candidates vying for the SLMC. There was serious tension at polling stations on election day but no reported violence. International monitors witnessed numerous persons removing ink from their fingers; in several polling stations the ink pens were dry. In the Musin Mowlana Quoran School polling station by 1 p.m. almost all votes were cast, apparently because fake polling cards, bright pink in color, were being accepted by the election officials. Election officials said they were accepting these blatantly fake cards because they
were being threatened. Organised voter transportation was observed at Kathankudy.
Violence at Digamadulla
The Secretary and supporters of a leading candidate of the SLMC were seen threatening voters at the Abdul Majeed Vidyalaya polling station in Samanthurai. The group was armed with poles and sticks and it was noted that the police security was inadequate and could not deal with the situation.
It was also observed that voters were transported in large numbers to the polling stations at Kalmunai. These included polling station 41, 3, 5, 12, 13, 2 and 8. Unidentified persons allegedly snatched voter lists from polling agents at polling stations in Kalmunai.
Supporters of the UPFA allegedly opened fire at voters in Samanthurai and were also involved in fighting SLMC supporters in Sammanthurai allegedly fired at a vehicle carrying the members of the UPFA. One person was injured.
The SPO of the Samanthurai Muslim Girls School was threatened by the supporters of the SLMC
When observers reached the polling stations of Kalmunai Al Jalal School (No.4) at 12 noon there was a gathering outside and gun shots were heard. The SPO, informed the PAFFREL observers that a voter had assaulted a polling agent who had objected to his voting and the polling agent had to be hospitalized. The poll was interrupted for 30 minutes as a result of this incident .
PAFFREL observers were told by voters looking for transport to polling stations in the Sennai Kiraman Zaheera Vidyalaya area in the Sammanturai electorate that they had polling cards of deceased persons and could use them to cast ballots.
A motor cycle ridden by a SLMC supporter allegedly rammed into two UPFA supporters at the Al-Arsan Vidyala area in the Sammanthurai electorate.
Omanthai and Mannar Voter Impersonation:
International monitors observed youths obviously below age voting at cluster stations in Omanthai and on Mannar. In Omanthai, two youths apparently known to TNA polling agents voted without being properly inked. In Mannar town, one youth was arrested after trying to vote for times. Groups of youth at one polling station were viewed rubbing the ink off of their fingers.
Trincomalee Voter Impersonation:
In Kakkamunai, the SPO reported that 60-70 people had cast votes without polling cards in the morning and afternoon. Because there was no objection from the various polling agents, the SPO permitted the voting. After Muslim prayers one person who had already voted tried to vote again and was turned away. Later some 50 people appeared and tried to forcibly stuff ballots, but the SPO prevented this. Voting was suspended between 1:45 and 2:30 but was restored without incident. The SPO issued alternative ballots to those voters who said that there votes had been cast by others.
Incidents of Election Violence and Violations Elsewhere:
Some incidents of violence and violations were reported from a number of electoral districts. In relation to previous elections and to the poll in the north east at this election, the violations in the rest of the country were relatively minor and did not appear to be of a systematic nature. These included serious assault, shooting, grenade attacks, and forced entry into polling stations, intimidation and chasing away of voters, impersonations, damage to vehicles and property and the illegal transportation of voters. Brief summaries of these incidents are provided below. Observers from some places reported active canvassing and the distribution of polling cards. A few PAFFREL observers were also intimidated. These incidents were primarily reported from Kurunegala, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Petaluma. The lowest number of incidents recorded was from Kegalle, Galle, Badulla, Kalutara, Anuradhapura, Colombo and Polonnaruwa districts. The highest number of infringements was reported from Wayamba. A fair number of incidents were reported from The Southern and Western Provinces.
Voter Impersonation in Puttalam district:
PAFFRELPaffrel monitors arrived at the two polling sections for Vanni and Jaffna at the Palavia Sinhala school at 11.40am. These were polling stations set up for the internally displaced. The police reported that twenty people had arrived with voting cards for Jaffna but the Senior
Presiding Officer (SPO) had refused to let them vote because their names did not appear on the list. The voters had apparently left without incident.
The international monitors returned at 1.30 pm. No voters were at the station but the Jaffna candidate, for the Muslim Congress was inside the Jaffna section. The police met the PAFFREL observers outside the polling station to explain that after the monitors had left the denied voters had returned with the candidate and a mobof around fifty people. The mob complained about the SPOs refusal to allow them to vote and the length of time the voting process took because of the disparity between the voting cards and the voting list. The police told us that there had been fights and verbal arguments and one of the candidates supporters had tried to take the ballot box and burn it. The supporter was then arrested.
When the PAFFRELaffrel monitors tried to speak to the SPO, the candidate stood right there, preventing him from speaking freely; the other polling agents would not speak but merely noded in agreement with the candidates version of the story. The international monitors then went to the Vanni side and the SPO agreed with the polices version of events. The seal on the ballot box looked as if it had been broken but the PAFFRELaffrel monitors were not allowed to touch it and the polling agents told us that it was still sealed and there had been no attempts to break it.
A number of impersonations were observed from many electoral districts. Some of the polling stations at which impersonations occurred are listed below.
Colombo district:
Bloemandal College Hall No.1, Community Centre of the Colombo Municipality, Siri Parakumba Vidyalaya, Obesekerapura;
Matara district:
Denipitiya MV, Werella, Boralapanathara Vidyalaya, Akurugoda MV
Kurunegala district:
Weuda Boyagoda Polling Station, Pothugowa MV, Mawathagama Udanagama Polling Station.
Nuwara Eliya district:
Hanguranektha Sangaraja Vihara Dharma Shalawa A 30, Hapuwela KV A 36, Arakgama Vidyalaya A 32, Ambariaththa Viharaya A 37, Madanwela Piriwena A 39, Udagalauda poling station A 23, Ekiriya pollimg station A 46, Pallebowela polling station A 48.
Badulla district:
Haputale Haldunmulla Vidyalaya, Kalupahana Viduhala, Soragune polling station, Craig Estate polling station, Atampitiya Vidyalaya.
Matale district:
Laggala Wilgamuwa MV, Nugagolla Vidyalaya, Kaluganga Aggabodhi KV, Panamure KV.
Shooting
Hambantota district:
An independent candidate, Kelum and his assistant B. L. Kamal Prasad, believed to be pro UN, traveling in jeep 23 C 3364 was shot at by an unidentified gang from a Dolphin van at Talapotha in Beliatta. The jeep had crashed into the Ampitiya lake and the injured were hospitalised.
Hand Bombs
Puttlam district:
A group of UPFA supporters were attacked with a hand bomb by an unidentified group traveling in vehicle with black glass windows at Bandaranaike Pura in Wennappuwa. One of those attaked Laus Appuhamy was hospitalised at the Lunuwila.
Assault
Kurunegala district:
An UNF supporter allegedly attacked an UPFA supporter at Inguruwatte, Mawathagama and suffered head injuries.
At Weuda, Boyagoda UNF supporters allegedly attacked UPFA supporters.
At Nikaweratiya, Kobeiganai an UPFA supporter was attacked by an unidentified gang. At Herathgamuwa an UPFA supporter was also attacked.
Absence of Election Officials
Ratnapura district:
PAFFREL monitors noted that the full complement of election officials were not present in a number of polling stations visited in the Ratnapura electoral district. While some of these officials were minor staff, one of the polling stations in Eheliyagoda (station #60 Meneripitiya Sri Sudharshanaramaya Temple) did not have the services of a Junior Presiding Officer.
Party and candidate propaganda:
While election propaganda in the form of symbol and preference number displays were markedly less in many areas, some candidates flagrantly flouted the ban and had their posters prominently displayed at the entrance to polling stations. This was mainly in areas where the police were reluctant or unable to act independently to prevent the infringement. In Colombo a leading Minister of the UNF had billboards advertising the Mahapola in school premises adjacent to polling stations. His preference number was also noted on a bill board at Ethul Kotte junction. In the Kurunegala districtthe symbol of the UNFA was hand-painted on the street
opposite polling stations.
Party offices with propaganda material and posters were also observed in the vicinity of some polling stations while a group of Buddhist monks allegedly of the Jathika Hela Urumaya were located in an open structured office opposite a polling booth at Obeysekerapura in Rajagiriya, Colombo.
Newly pasted UNP posters led to violent incidents in the districtof Monaragala. At the police station in Wellawaya, international observers witnessed a disagreement over posters. One of the groups opposing party supporters showed his bloody handkerchief and said he had been beaten up. His opponent denied this and made his own accusations.
The Role of the Police:
In February, the Inspector General of Police set up three new units to minimise election violence. In addition, 35 units established under Assistant Superintendents of Police to collect information and pass them on to nine provincial level communication units were set up to facilitate rapid response to incidents of election violence. The National Police Commission and the IGP took steps both to prevent bias and to promote impartiality in the execution of official duties by police officers during the election. Such steps included measures to prevent politically motivated transfers of police and provision of incentives for police to perform their duties without partiality. Beyond this, the police committed 64,000 police officers for election-related duties including protection of candidates, mobile patrols focused on prevention and curtailment of election violence. 400 police officers were designated for duty at or patrolling of polling
stations.
PAFFREL’S Role:
This statement is based on information provided by PAFFREL’s stationary and mobile monitoring teams in the field and international observers. During Election Day, PAFFREL deployed a total of 19,865 election monitors, of whom 2655 were mobile monitors operating in 605 mobile teams, and 17,210 were stationary monitors and 102 international observers. They covered a selected number of polling stations in all 22 electoral districts. 10,660 polling stations were in operation throughout the country on the day of the poll. PAFFREL wishes to acknowledge the recognition granted to stationary monitors for the first time at this election by the Election Commissioner. PAFFREL was active throughout in monitoring the ongoing situation, issuing its situation reports and media releases, reporting election violations and in appealing to the Election Commissioner, the police and to the public to ensure that the eletions could be carried out in as free and fair a manner as possible.
People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)
93/10, Dutugemunu Street, Colombo 06, SRI LANKA
Tel: (94 1) 824425, 818675, 075 557010-13
Fax: 075 557012,
Web site:www.lankaworld.com/paffrel
http://udara2004.tigblog.org/post/15463
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