Activists in Sri Lanka Under Threat

NEW DELHI: Three prominent human rights activists in Sri Lanka have received death threats via telephone, from sources who have not been identified but appear to be connected to the security establishment.

Brito Fernando, Phillip Dissanayake and Prasanga Fernando -- who work with the Right to Life organization and working with the families of the “disappeared” in Sri Lanka -- were threatened, having in the recent past actively campaigned for opposition candidate in the upcoming Sri Lankan elections, Maithripala Sirisena.

Brito Fernando and Prasanga Fernando have also received threats by way of hanging freshly killed dogs’ heads in their homes earlier this week.

One of the death threats made to Binto Fernando has been recorded. It can be heard here. A statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission provides a transcript of the conversation. It is reproduced below:

“During the conversation the speaker says that ‘he has already spoken to Brito Fernando and has already told him what “they” intend to do’. He further says that “we know all the details about you, your wifes and about your children; … and we know where they travel and where they can be found. We also know where your children go to school. We will teach you a lesson first, before we deal with your big people… before we do that we will get all the details from you about what you do… you have been involved in some matters relating to the Anuradhapura Police. We know all about that. We know how to get information from you once we get hold of you. It is after obtaining this information that we will finally deal with you… make your funeral arrangements at your homes.””

In the same statement, AHRC says, “The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns these dastard, coward, and mean acts of issuing death threats and we are also warning the public that carrying out of such death threats could actually take place in this environment of the upcoming presidential elections on 8th January 2015.”

Amnesty International has issued a similar condemnation. These death threats against activists who have been peacefully defending human rights are utterly deplorable. The Sri Lankan authorities must do their utmost to find and hold to account those responsible, and send a clear signal that threats and violence around the elections will not be tolerated,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

“These threats come against the backdrop of a violent election campaign, in which opposition activists have overwhelmingly borne the brunt of attacks. The government must ensure that people can vote without fear on election day, and that there are no repercussions afterwards regardless of the outcome.”

Sri Lanka heads to the polls today, with criticism mounting over the role of violence and state apparatus being used to the favour of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Monitoring group, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence in Sri Lanka and international watchdog, Amnesty International, have said that Sri Lankan military presence is deterring voters from casting their vote against current President Mahinda Rajapaksa ahead of this week’s polls.

Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu from the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said that concerns have been raised about the vote in the north, in particular as the deployment of security forces that could have "an adverse impact on the voter turnout."

Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director David Griffiths echoed a similar concern in a recent statement. "Reports of a potential organized plan to obstruct voters on election day - allegedly orchestrated by the government through the military - is also a matter of grave concern," Griffiths said.

These statements follow similar accusations by the opposition. Ranil Wickremesinghe, a former Prime Minister and a top backer of the opposing candidate Maithripala Sirisena, told the Colombo diplomatic corps that he had information about the "use of military officers and military personnel to interfere in the electoral process to prevent people from voting in the (mainly Tamil) north and the east.”

Wickremesinghe said that some 2000 troops in civilian clothing had already been deployed in the north to deter potential voters from going to the polls. He added the opposition would publish the names of the military officers involved saying, "I would like to ask those gentlemen (of the military) not to do anything foolish.”

There has been no immediate comment from the security forces but the military has earlier rejected similar accusations. A few weeks ago Mangala Samaraweera, joint opposition media spokesperson, accused the Commander-in-Chief of the Sri Lankan army, Daya Ratnayake of deploying troops to campaign for Rajapaksa, adding that the action was in violation of election laws. “The deployment of soldiers for such political work is destroying the dignity of the uniform," Samaraweera said.

The spokesperson alleged that the military had included Rajapaksa’s election leaflets in the soldiers’ pay packets, a charge that the army denied as "baseless and extremely presumptuous."

"The statement that the Army has employed soldiers for election related propaganda is baseless and extremely presumptuous", said military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya (as quoted by First Post).

These latest allegations come as Rajapaksa is dealt severe blows in his bid to seek a third term, with a series of key defections to Sirisena’s camp. Sirisena himself was a former Health minister in Rajapaksa’s cabinet and widely perceived to have been the ‘Number 2’ in Rajapaksa’s party. He quit the government a day after the snap elections were announced for January -- two years ahead of schedule -- and declared his candidacy.

More recently, last week, the key defender of Sri Lanka's controversial casino policy -- Faizer Mustapha, a president's counsel and deputy minister of investment -- quit the government and declared his support for the opposition.

More significantly, the country’s main ethnic Tamil political party and biggest Muslim party have both announced their support for Sirisena.

Tamil National Alliance leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan said his party will back Sirisena because Rajapaksa has failed to bring to a close the country’s long-standing ethnic conflict, despite ending 25 years of civil war in 2009.

“We are inclined to the view based particularly on the performance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the past, that we would rather repose our faith in the joint opposition candidate Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, rather than expect what has not happened in the past 10 years to happen hereafter," Sampanthan said.

A few days earlier the country’s largest Muslim party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, defected to support Sirisena. Ameer Faaiz, a leader of the party that represents minority Muslims in overwhelmingly Buddhist Sri Lanka, cited the Rajapaksa administration’s “intolerance toward religious minorities” and disagreement with his style of rule. The decision served a major setback for Rajapaksa as with it more than 20 lawmakers and ministers defected to the opposition.

Before that a key minister and his minority Muslim party quit the coalition government. Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, leader of the All Ceylon Muslim Congress, said that he was switching allegiance to Sirisena.

Bathiudeen explained his switch by alleging that Rajapaksa had failed to restrain radical Buddhist groups involved in attacks on mosques, churches and businesses run by religious minorities in the Buddhist-majority country. "I asked the president to stop these religious hate attacks, but he failed to take action against offenders," Bathiudeen told reporters in Colombo.

Although Muslims, the second largest minority in Sri Lanka after Hindu Tamils, account for only 10 percent of the electorate -- they could be a key vote bank if the Sinhalese vote is split, given that both Rajapaksa and Sirisena are members of the majority Sinhala Buddhist community.

The country’s main party of Buddhist monks, the Sri Lankan National Heritage Party (JHU), have pledged support to Sirisena, delivering another blow to Rajapaksa, who has the support of the Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Force.

The JHU was one of the first political forces to raise fears of violence, saying that President Rajapaksa’s regime may resort to violence to maintain political authority. "This election has the potential to be one of the most violent," said the JHU's Udaya Gammanpila, a former provincial minister.

The warnings are not unfounded. There have already been five non-fatal shootings. The private election monitoring group -- the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) -- records at least eight serious poll-related incidents since Rajapaksa called the elections two weeks ago. "About half a dozen people have been admitted to hospital and many more had been hurt in clashes unleashed by government supporters," CAFFE director Keerthi Tennakoon told AFP, adding, "The unique feature is that police have failed to arrest a single person in connection with these attacks although CCTV and photographic evidence had been provided on the perpetrators.”

Rajapaksa, who came to power in 2005 when Sri Lanka was embroiled in a decades long civil war, enjoys widespread popularity because of his success in defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. The feat ensured that he was re-elected with a wide margin in 2010.

Since then, however, allegations of corruption and nepotism have sprung up. Two weeks after Rajapaksa was re-elected, the losing candidate -- a leading general in the fight against the LTTE -- was jailed. The government took legal action against the opposition and critics, and reports on the curtailment of press freedom continue to pour in.

Rajapaksa also appointed his two brothers to head major government ministries and his cousins as ambassadors to key countries, including Russia and the United States. Another brother was appointed Speaker of Parliament.

Perhaps because of the perceived attempt at concentration of power, Rajapaksa’s share of votes plunged in the by-elections and provincial elections earlier this year. The decision to announce the elections two years ahead of schedule is linked to this, with Rajapaksa gambling on the belief that he stands a better chance of being re-elected now, as opposed to waiting for two years and risking a further decline in support.

The political environment however, got more complicated with Sirisena’s candidacy. The joint opposition has since agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding. If Sirisena wins, Sri Lanka’s Presidential system will be replaced by a parliamentary system within one hundred days. The 18th amendment to the constitution will be appealed -- meaning that crucial institutions such as the police and judiciary will regain their independence. The 18th amendment, passed in 2010, also eliminated presidential term limits, allowing Rajapaksa to run for a third term.

Sirisena has made an effort to distance himself perceptions of corruption and nepotism that have come to be associated with the governing party. Announcing a series of reforms, Sirisena has vowed to stop Sri Lanka from “moving towards a dictatorship.” He has also raised issues such as the rising cost of living, wages, corruption, the rule of law, and the welfare state.

However, despite these factors, the election still remains Rajapaksa’s to lose.