By Shamindra Ferdinando
Election monitoring groups yesterday commended the exemplary conduct of the armed forces and the police during the parliamentary election campaign as well as on the day of the general election on Aug. 17.
Monitoring groups said that they hadn’t received allegations against the military or police as in the past.
Campaign for Free and Fair Election (CaFFE) chief Keerthi Tennakoon, Transparency International Sri Lanka spokesperson Shan Wijetunga, CMEV National Organiser Manjula Gajanayake and PAFFREL leader Rohana Hettiarachchi said that the military and the police hadn’t intervened on behalf of political candidates in any part of the country.
Polls monitors carried out a countrywide operation. They were backed by international monitors, including those from the EU.
Tennakoon with years of experience in monitoring national level elections said the cooperation extended by the military as well as the police facilitated the electoral process. Tennakoon said that they hadn’t received any complaints against the Civil Defence Force (CDF) either during this period.
Nadesapillai Vithiyatharan, senior spokesperson for Crusaders for Democracy, a political group comprising ex-LTTE cadres told The Island that the military hadn’t interfered in the Jaffna peninsula. Crusaders fielded an Independent Group there at the recently concluded general election, though they hadn’t been successful.
Army Commander Lt. Gen. Crishanthe de Silva said that in accordance with overall plan to dissociate with the electoral process, a series of instructions were issued to officers and men. De Silva said that remedial measures had been largely successful in curbing certain practices. Responding to a query, the Army Chief said that specific instructions were issued during the polls campaign warning officers and men of punitive action.
"We’ll make our constitutional obligations and function as a professional outfit," De Silva said.
During 2001 parliamentary polls, the army caused controversy by blocking the movement of people from the then LTTE held area to the government-held region. The military action resulted in a fundamental rights application.
Responding to a question, Lt. Gen. De Silva said that though there had been provision for the deployment of the military in support of the police during an emergency there was no such requirement. The Army Chief pointed out that even the police had no reason to use force even once during the voting or the ballot counting periods.
(Courtesy: The Island)
