Warring factions emerge as campaigning enters final week

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Despite government pledges to make the Batticaloa polls free and fair, there is a tangible fear that March 10 is likely to prove bloody. At the least, it is predicted that the poll result may not reflect public will.

The presumption is that the overall result is already written on the wall. The government, with the aid of the three Tamil party coalition (which includes PLOTE, EPDP and EPRLF (NABA Faction) hopes to sweep the polls in main areas and in the Batticaloa Municipal Council area, feels sure of victory with the TMVP's backing.

It is in this backdrop that the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) on Thursday (28) filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court calling for free and fair elections in the Batticaloa District after disarming armed groups.

Measures for a fair poll

They cited 35 respondents including the Defence Ministry Secretary, the Minister of Local Government, the Elections Commissioner and the Inspector General of Police and called for an invalidation of votes at polling centres if vote-rigging and other malpractices take place.

PAFFREL Chief, Kingsley Rodrigo who considered the FR plea as a 'necessary pre-emptor of undemocratic practices' said that the plea sought a mandate on three issues.

"We wish to strengthen the election process. The three issues are, the prevention of the use of firearms for election related purposes by groups other than security forces and police, banning of the use of state vehicles by candidates and thirdly, a re-poll in polling centres where rigging is reported."

In the meantime, as campaigning enters the final week, the political intensity is palpable.  

In the meantime, Batticaloa is a hotbed of political activity as the campaign enters its final week. Local reports alleged government security forces and the Defence Ministry had a hand in some of the violent incidents having 'convenient Tamil proxies' to carry out orders. It is regrettably noted that due to the manner in which the Batticaloa polls are being conducted, the government and its allies have destroyed the 'well-deserved goodwill' the security forces earned by selflessly rescuing civilians during the tsunami of 2004 and sacrificing their lives in doing so.

Goodwill gone

"It is a pity that the security forces are being used to terrorise the area. The machinery is in full swing. Civilians who feared militant groups now fear security forces as well, one time their defenders," claims SLMC activist, M.L.M. Hizbullah.

Locals also claim armed Muslims aided by the intelligence services are being used to fight the LTTE alongside the Karuna Group and now used to harass the SLMC, the only opposition party in the fray.

In the meantime, the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) in its Special Report No.29 refers to child proscription/abduction by both the Karuna camp and the opposing Pillayan group.

The latest incident contained in the report refers to the abduction of 14-year-old Indran Indraraj of Thiruchenthoor, Kallady, abducted on February 14.

The schoolboy went missing on February 14 and the mother suspects the Pillayan group for the abduction.

According to the UTHR, the mother inquired from the TMVP Pillayan camp in Arasady, Batticaloa and was unconvinced by their denial. Local people in Batticaloa have received reports about a child soldier training camp in Pulipanjakal near Kudumbimalai (Baron's Cap).

Old habits

"It is a continuation of practices Pillayan and Karuna were famous for when they were comrades in the LTTE. The mother continued to pursue the matter and complained to the police and UNICEF. A few days later she received an anonymous call saying that her son would be released and not to raise a noise," adds the report.

What is more, as opposing armed Tamil groups roam the area, there are also fears about Muslim armed groups operating in Batticaloa.

The UTHR (Jaffna) points out that the Muslim armed groups were raised to fight against the LTTE and that the Karuna Group trained these groups, a claim supported by locals.

According to the UTHR, a leading figure, Auto Kaleel, as a young boy was in LTTE intelligence and later ran away and surrendered to the army.  This was when the LTTE turned against the Muslims in the early 1990s.

"In 2006, army intelligence used him to recruit scores of Muslims to be trained by Mangalan Master of the Karuna Group to assist the army in 'liberating the east.' In 2007 they moved away from the Karuna Group and Kaleel and his followers took on a veneer of religious zeal. He was named as the leader of the gang responsible for the ritual murder of the 15-year-old girl Hidaya who was abused by a number of people (UTHR Special Report No.26). The police have not touched him."

Level of impunity

The report notes that with Muslim militants being divided, the impunity different groups enjoy is directly related to the political backing they command.  

The UTHR adds that Kaleel according to information available is now aligned to an intelligence outfit aligned to Pillayan. "This now we learn had a total of about 35 Muslim agents in Valachchenai, Eravur and Kattankudy. In one instance, members of this group exploded a claymore mine targeting a Karuna Group leader. Yet both Karuna and Pillayan function under government patronage and protection," it adds.

In the meantime, it is Valachchenai that has maintained its high prevalence of violence during the campaign. According to M.L.M. Hizbullah, Muslim militancy emanates from only SLMC defector Ameer Ali, and none other. But the clashing Tamil groups are diverse and many, he says and operate in Tamil dominant areas with the blessings of the government.

With militancy on the rise with a communal twist, there is mounting fear that March 10 is likely to prove a repeat of the infamous Wayamba poll when nothing is likely to be spared to secure victory.