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Election-Related Violence Escalates as Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Nears
January 19, 2010
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly

In Sri Lanka, the presidential election between General Sarath Fonseka and incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa will take place on January 26, 2010, but incidents of election-related violence have marred the campaign process.  The escalating violence has gained attention within the international community, prompting the United States embassy in Sri Lanka to assert that the violence is directly undermining “the democratic rights and traditions of Sri Lanka,” reports AFP. 

According to an article by BBC News, the Sri Lankan police estimate there have been approximately 600 incidents of violence connected to the upcoming election.  In the last month, pre-election violence has become deadly.  In the city of Waryiapola, supporters of Fonseka were attacked while putting up election posters.  The police report that one person died and several other supporters sustained injuries.  A second attack occurred hours later in the city of Kurunegala, when a bombing killed one person and injured six others.  Rajapaksa, running for a second term in office, has ordered a “security crackdown” in an effort to help diminish incidents of violence. 

Fonseka resigned as chief of defense staff in November 2009 after a disagreement with the government about the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, a rebel group within Sri Lanka that fought for the establishment of their own state.  According to an article by Voice of America, Fonseka is largely credited with orchestrating the rebel group’s defeat.  The Tamil Tigers were defeated by the Sri Lankan military in May 2009, ending a civil war that originally began in 1976.  Jehan Perera, the head of the capital city of Colombo's National Peace Council, said that the Tamil community is likely to be a swing population in this election because the majority Sinhalese community stands divided between the two major candidates.  The Tamil community comprises 12.5 percent of the country's 20 million people.  This election marks the first time in nearly thirty years that the Tamil community has been able to freely participate in elections.

After a visit to the city of Jaffna, “the heartland of the Tamils,” Voice of America reports that Rajapaksa has pledged to rebuild the country’s infrastructure by spending billions of dollars to develop war-torn regions mainly occupied by the Tamil Tigers.  In addition, Rajapaksa has announced that he will consider the political demands of the minority group in order to give the Tamil community more autonomy within their occupied areas.  Recently, the Sri Lankan government has taken steps to address the suffering of the civilian Tamil members that were affected by the civil war through rescinding all travel restrictions and by releasing thousands of individuals from detention camps.  According to political analysts, Rajapaksa is trying to gain the support of the Tamil community in order to help win the election.  Fonseka is also trying to actively campaign within the Tamil community, and has reportedly been more successful than Rajapaksa.  The dominant Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance, is said to have endorsed Fonseka.

A press release by the International Crisis Group states that Rajapaksa’s political policies have not helped to alleviate the conditions in post-war regions, and that his practices have further deepened the already existing conflicts between the Tamil community and the majority Sinhalese community.  The release also identifies Fonseka as a target of criticism, accusing him of involvement in attacks on journalists and committing human rights violations.  The release also identifies that the collapse of the rule of law within the country has led the Sri Lankan government to craft policies that allow them to abuse state power at the expense of free and fair elections, human rights, and freedom of the press.

Sources:
International Crisis Group - Sri Lanka: A Bitter Peace
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6462&l=1&m=1

Voice of America - Sri Lankan President Woos Tamils
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Sri-Lankan-President-Woos-Tamils-81233627.html

BBC News - Two people killed in Sri Lanka pre-poll attacks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8465202.stm

AFP - Deadly unrest flares in Sri Lanka ahead of vote
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jx8c1G2zuilXBURo6x1ee8bdqFQA

Also See:
CIA World Factbook – Sri Lanka
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ce.html