Rampant misuse of state resources

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

Rampant misuse of public property has been reported in the election campaigns of the governing party in the run up to the North Western and Central Provincial Council elections scheduled for February 14.

With a couple of weeks left for D-day, complaints on the violation of election laws keep pouring in from many parties, mainly from those representing the opposition.

Employees attached to a state institution have even in writing informed the Elections Commissioner of the misuse of public property by a government minister for election work in his brother's campaign in the Central Province.

The Sunday Leader is in possession of a copy of the letter sent by several employees attached to the Milco Company that is under the purview of the Livestock Development Ministry which alleges that Minister C.B. Ratnayake was using the services of Milco employees including high-ranking officials for the government's election campaign in the North Western and Central Provinces. They have also alleged that orders have been issued for the company to release several vehicles that are currently being used for campaign work.

State vehicles used for campaign work

In the letter to the Elections Commissioner, the employees have also given a list of numbers of vehicles that are allegedly being used for campaign work in the Nuwara Eliya District. The vehicle number plates listed in the letter are GU 5003, HW 2445, HT 7516, HS 9020, HB 1762 and 59-4289.

Milco workers have alleged that Minister Ratnayake was using the services of company employees for his brother, S.B. Ratnayake's campaign for the Central Provincial Council.

According to the workers, some of the Milco employees have been granted leave from January 20 till February 12 under the guise of conducting a survey on a proposed UHT milk manufacturing factory.

The head of personnel and administration has approved the letter seeking permission for several Milco employees to 'conduct a survey' on the proposed milk factory sent under the marketing manager's signature.

Milco employees have alleged that Marketing Manager Sampath Gunaratne also performs as the officer in charge of Ratnayake's election campaign.

Milco employees

The Sunday Leader is also in possession of a copy of the letter sent by Gunaratne on January 13,  seeking permission for 18 Milco employees to be released from their duties from January 20 till February 12 to 'conduct a survey on the proposed UHT milk manufacturing factory.'

Accordingly, permission was sought by Gunaratne on January 13 to get several employees from the marketing, purchasing, storing, engineering, manufacturing and transport divisions of the company.

Meanwhile, Human Resources Development and Administration Manager, Priyadarshani Somathileka has issued an internal memo addressed to the divisional heads and factory managers of Milco requesting them to grant permission for several employees, whose names have been included in a separate list attached, to participate in a survey conducted by the company. "Official leave has been granted for the employees whose names have been attached in the list to participate in the survey mentioned on the dates mentioned," the memo states.

Also, on January 13,  Gunaratne has written a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Milco requesting several employees attached to the main office to be released to participate in a survey on a proposed UHT milk manufacturing factory.

Misuse of public property

Apart from the misuse of public property involving the Livestock Development Ministry, there have been several other similar incidents reported.

Employees attached to the state owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation have complained of institutional facilities being used for government election campaign work.

The Sunday Leader has received a copy of a letter issued by the Coordinator, Alliance Polls Campaigning Centre, Karu Paranavithana faxed allegedly from a fax machine belonging to the Rupavahini DS Office.

Meanwhile, UNP Kurunegala District Parliamentarian Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told The Sunday Leader that the government was using the services of principals in the Kurunegala District for its election campaign work.

He said that zonal education directors in the district have been issued directives to use the services of principals and teachers in the district for campaign work.

School principals 

Addressing the media last week, Kariyawasam said that principals of all schools in the district were taken in a bus and had been made to go campaigning from house to house in the area.

He had alleged the incident had taken place on January 26 and that orders had been issued to the zonal director of education to release them from normal duties.

Kariyawasam said he had spoken to the zonal director over the issue and he had replied him that nothing could be done.

"The zonal director told me he was helpless and he had to do it for his survival," he had said.

Meanwhile, UNP Puttalam District Parliamentarian Palitha Ranga Bandara has complained of the use of vehicles without number plates for election campaign work by the governing party in the North Western Provincial Council election.

Ranga Bandara has alleged that vehicles that belonged to the Fisheries Ministry are being used for campaign work of several UPFA candidates in the Puttalam District.

The misuse of public property was also taken up for discussion during a meeting representatives of political parties contesting the forthcoming North Western and Central Provincial Councils had with the Elections Commissioner last week.

During this meeting representatives of the UNP and the JVP had expressed concern over the poor media coverage provided by the state media institutions to the election campaigns of opposition political parties.

Rise in number of voters in North Western and Central Provinces

By  Nirmala Kannangara

The number of voters in the five districts coming within the North Western and Central Provinces have increased in comparison to the 2005 presidential election voter registry, according to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Elections.

More polling booths are to be introduced compared to 2005.

Deputy Commissioner of Elections, Nuwara Eliya District, Samansiri Ratnayake told The Sunday Leader that 12 recognised political parties and 10 independent groups would be contesting the February 14 polls in the Nuwara Eliya District and that those who do not have a valid identification document which is compulsory to cast their votes, could obtain  temporary IDs from their respective grama niladaris on or before February 4.

"There would be 393 polling booths in the Nuwara Eliya District and each political party that contests the PC election could assign two members to each polling booth.

Valid identity

A valid National Identity Card (NIC), passport, driving licence, postal identity card, pension identity card issued by the Pensions Department, Bhikku ID, elders ID issued by the Divisional Secretary and the Social Service Department or the Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) folder would be considered identification documents  to cast one's  vote," Ratnayake said.

According to Ratnayake, there are 452,395 registered voters while 245,529 are from the Nuwara Eliya polling division while the rest are from the Kotmale, Walapane and Hanguranketha polling divisions.

"It has been highlighted that more than 70,000 estate workers in the Nuwara Eliya District do not have NICs and have to be issued with some form of identification before the election. This is incorrect. We could say that the number of people that do not have their NICs are much less than highlighted. When voters failed to give their ID numbers in the electoral list they too are considered as those who do not possess IDs. Since most of the people in the district are living elsewhere the person who fills their electoral list fails to give the ID numbers," Ratnayake said.

Increase in registered voters

Meanwhile, sources from the Deputy Commissioner of Elections Kandy told The Sunday Leader that 10 registered political parties and eight independent groups are to contest the upcoming PC election and added that there are 955,108 registered voters in the district which is higher than the previous presidential election in 2005.

"There would be 680 polling booths in the district and each contesting political party could deploy two polling agents to each polling booth. Those who do not have a valid identification document could obtain a temporary ID from the respective grama niladari before February 4," sources told The Sunday Leader.

Sources from the Deputy Commissioner of Elections Matale, meanwhile told The Sunday Leader that there are 338,946 registered voters in the district, which is around 10,000 more than the previous election.

"Twelve registered political parties and eight independent groups are to contest the forthcoming election and there would be 296 polling booths in the district," sources told The Sunday Leader.

In the Puttalam District in the North Western Province, 489,852 registered voters would vote in 387 polling centres according to Assistant Commissioner of Elections - Puttalam, A.O.M. Nafeel.

"According to statistics received there are 78,000 people who do not possess valid IDs in the district and we request them to obtain their temporary IDs. In Puttalam District there are 12 registered political parties and 12 independent groups contesting the PC election," Nafeel told The Sunday Leader.

Media mayhem and half hearted probes

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

The dawn of 2009 has dealt a severe blow to media freedom in Sri Lanka. It has been a nightmare January for the media in this country.

The first three weeks of January saw three incidents shake the fourth estate to the bone leading to over a dozen senior journalists fleeing the country fearing for their lives. The arson attack on the MTV/MBC network in Pannipitiya, the assassination of The Sunday Leader Editor in Chief Lasantha Wickrematunge and the attack on Rivira Editor Upali Tennekoon have left the media in a state of shock and it is yet struggling to regain its composure following the well coordinated attacks. These attacks have raised concern globally, focusing the world's spotlight on the media here.

Investigations into these attacks are moving at snail's pace with little progress made. However on Friday evening police reported arresting a 23 year old three wheel taxi driver from Attidiya over the killing of The Sunday Leader Editor in Chief Lasantha Wickrematunge. Details were unavailable at the time this edition went to press. Earlier a black Bajaj Pulsar bike that was said to have been used in the assassination was recovered from a nearby canal in Attidiya. The bike had a Jaffna registration address according to reports.

A breakthrough

Meanwhile police last week reported that there was a breakthrough in the investigations into the assault on Tennekoon.

President Mahinda Rajapakse last week during a meeting with editors and heads of media institutions was to also refer to Tennekoon's case.

The President had told the editors and heads of public and private media institutions that the government had not given up investigations into the attack on Tennakoon.

Rajapakse had gone on to say that the institution that published the Rivira newspaper was owned by one of his relatives and the paper had never published anything that could be considered detrimental to national security or the security forces.

"Upali Tennakoon is a good friend of mine, and police have entrusted the investigations into his attack to the Head of the Colombo Crimes Division, SSP Anura Senanayake," the President had reportedly said.

Rajapakse had assured the editors and the heads of media institutions that he would not allow the law of the jungle to prevail in the country. The President had also made a statement during the meeting that all the information on the incident would be revealed shortly.

While a breakthrough  seems to have been made in Tennekoon's case  as stated by the police as well as the President, the investigations into other journalists assassinated in the past couple of years remain at a dead end.

Civil society and media organisations along with opposition political parties and trade unions meanwhile continue to agitate against media suppression and the threat to democracy in the country.

The steering committee of Platform for Freedom - a committee formed by several members of civil society - met last week and decided on several issues.

Platform for Freedom is to campaign across Sri Lanka in support of the right to life and freedom of expression that all citizens should enjoy. The committee that met yesterday decided to broad base the movement by including a wider spectrum of people to participate in the movement.

Platform for Freedom is to campaign for the right to life and freedom of expression with the participation of members of opposition political parties as well.

The Campaign Against Media Suppression steered by the JVP is to also take the fight to the districts in order to muster the support of the masses to safeguard media freedom and democracy.

The killing of journalists has been referred to as the death of democracy - assassination of journalists armed only with pen and paper.

A courageous journalist

Referring to Wickrematunge's assassination and media suppression in the country, JVP Parliamentarian K.D. Lalkantha told a public rally in Kurunegala last week, "Wickrematunge was a courageous journalist who was killed for only arming himself with a pen. When he was killed, it was not blood that was spilt, but the ink of a pen that was silenced."

He had also said that assassinating a journalist would not silence dissent, as the inspiration created by such a journalist would give strength to the media to move forward amidst obstacles.

Amidst the lobbying by various groups in the country against media suppression, the international community continues to express concern and impress upon the government to take action against the 'disturbing indicators of the deteriorating atmosphere for media independence in Sri Lanka.'

The United States State Department last week said it was appalled by the continuous physical attacks and threats against media personnel in Sri Lanka.

Acting spokesman Robert Wood in a media note has said, "The serious reports of media attacks in Sri Lanka are disturbing indicators of the deteriorating atmosphere for media independence in Sri Lanka."

A free and independent media is vital to ensuring the health and continuation of any democracy, he has stressed.

"We call on the Government of Sri Lanka to protect all of its citizens by enforcing law and order, preventing intimidation of the media, and by conducting swift, full, and credible investigations into attacks on journalists, and other civilians," he has also said.

Rule of law undermined

Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the conflict had reached a critical stage. "While the government has made military gains on one hand, the rule of law has been undermined on the other. The killing of prominent newspaper Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge earlier this month was the latest blow to the free expression of dissent in Sri Lanka. The searing article he wrote prophesying his own murder is an extraordinary indictment of a system corrupted by more than two decades of bloody internal conflict."  

The UN High Commissioner had also observed there had not been any successful investigations or prosecutions into political killings, disappearances and other violations committed in recent years.

"It is the government's duty to provide safety to all Sri Lankan citizens, whatever their ethnic origin or political views," Pillay has said. "That means not only protecting civilians during military operations in the north, but also ensuring space for journalists and human rights defenders to seek out the truth and expose abuses."

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in its Impunity Index has identified the countries with the worst records for impunity. CPJ's 2008 report ranks Sri Lanka in fifth position.

Referring to Sri Lanka CPJ has said, "Fighting between government and separatist forces has long bled the nation. But journalists are more likely to be assassinated than to die in crossfire, with many of the victims being Tamils."

Alarming failures

Iraq, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Colombia are the countries ranked ahead of Sri Lanka. While Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia have been mired in conflict, majority of the 13 countries on CPJ's Impunity Index are established peacetime democracies, pointing to alarming failures by those elected governments to protect journalists.

"Every time a journalist is murdered and the killer is allowed to walk free it sends a terrible signal to the press and to others who would harm journalists," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon had said when releasing the index.

"The governments on this list simply must do more to demonstrate a real commitment to a free press. Lip service won't help save journalists' lives. We are calling for action: thorough investigations and vigorous prosecutions in all journalist homicides."

In releasing the Impunity Index CPJ has said that journalists in South Asia were particularly vulnerable. "Countries from that region make up almost half of the index. They include Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India."

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to US President Barrack Obama on January 12, 2009, CPJ Chairman, Paul E. Steiger has emphasised the need for the US to defend media freedom in the backdrop of growing repression, censorship, and attacks on journalists around the world and said, "I cannot emphasise enough the importance of Washington's resolute defense of media freedom at this time of growing repression, censorship, and attacks on journalists around the world.

"I encourage you to make press freedom integral to both your domestic and foreign policy. As Thomas Jefferson noted, Our liberty depends on freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."

However, a government member made a shocking statement last week by issuing a date when the government is to make an official statement related to the MTV arson attack and Wickrematunge's assassination.

A senior government minister was last week reported as saying that important information regarding the arson attack on MTV/MBC network as well as Wickrematunge's assassination would be revealed on February 15.

Minister and Defence Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella addressing the media last week had said that the government was aware of those behind the attacks but would not divulge any details till the said date as investigations by the special police teams were still in progress.

Rambukwella had reportedly said President Mahinda Rajapakse had decided on the date on which an official government announcement would be made divulging the culprits and the information.

"Currently all we can say is that investigations are still ongoing. There is no update and we will not divulge anything now as this could hamper the inquiries. The President has made his decision to reveal to the media on February 15 some very important details behind both the attacks so we will have to wait till then," Rambukwella had said.

It is now February and going by the statement made by the Minister, in little over two weeks time the people will be able to find out those behind the heinous crimes that were committed with the dawn of the New Year.