RSSCOLOMBO (UCAN) — A group of bishops have urged politicians to stop politics-related violence in the country so as to further lasting peace and democracy.
“It is quite normal for people to side with a candidate before and during a democratic election, but it is unacceptable for them to be victims of reprisals once the election is over,” Anglican Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe of Kurunegala told UCA News.
More than 900 cases of violence, including five deaths, were reported before the presidential election of Jan. 26. Over 300 cases of violence and one death were reported following the election.
Sri Lanka has a tradition of election-related violence and President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to dissolve parliament to make way for general elections likely to be held in April.
Political parties have begun making preparations for the election with some prospective candidates pasting posters on city walls.
Anticipating violence, a group of Catholic and Anglican bishops issued a statement to media on Feb. 8.
They urged politicians to correct the trend of election-related violence by setting “self-imposed codes of conduct especially as we approach a general election.” They pointed out that “reconciliation and harmony should be the end result of an election,” but unfortunately “we see violence.”
Fears over election-related violence
The bishop’s statement was signed by Catholic bishops Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna, Rayappu Joseph of Mannar, Joseph Kingsley Swampillai of Trincomalee-Batticaloa, Norbert Andradi of Anuradhapura, and Anglican bishops Illangasinghe and Duleep de Chickera of Colombo.
According to the bishops, people are scared about continuing election-related violence across the country. Rampaging armed mobs are on a witch-hunt for people who openly side with or work for particular politicians, they said.
The bishops mentioned in their statement that in the past they have seen pre- and post-election violence directed especially toward the ethnic Tamil minority community. The country is presently experiencing peace following the end of 26 years of civil war last May.
In the presidential election that saw incumbent President Rajapaksa elected back to office, violence disturbed voting in the north, where Tamil people were not provided with adequate transport to go to polling stations, the bishops said in their statement.
Many of them had not been provided with voting cards, they said.
Healthy democratic debate needed
Elsewhere, promotions, transfers, termination of services and the resignations of some military, police and public services personnel send worrying messages about rewards and punishments for certain kinds of political behavior, the bishops said.
They also pointed to personal slander, provoked by undue media publicity. If norms for a vigorous and healthy democratic debate are disregarded, people will be denied an objective understanding of real issues, they said.
The willful violation of electoral laws sadly demonstrates that might is right, they said. Moreover, large amounts of money spent on campaigning raises ethical questions of leadership qualities in a country striving to eliminate poverty and bring about justice, they added.
Meanwhile, retired general, Sarath Fonseka, who lost the election to Rajapaksa was arrested for fraud connected to his tenure in the armed services. He alleged that Rajapaksa rigged the elections to win.
SR08771.1588 February 9, 2010 59 EM-lines (514 words)
Religious groups pray for peaceful election
Religious demand end to election violence
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