Lankan govt blamed for political violence; MP killed

The Sri Lankan government has been blamed for not disarming politicians and putting an end to the culture of political violence that claimed the life of a young lawmaker and triggered off nearly a week of riots in his hometown.

Sri Lanka's main opposition on Wednesday branded the campaign for the coming local bodies elections as the ''most violent'' in the island's history, and called on the government to disarm all members of parliament.

United National Party leader and former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the party had lodged 152 complaints of election violence so far and stressed the need for a joint declaration by all political parties against violence.

He referred to the mass transfer of police personnel from the Ratnapura division following the recent violence there in the wake of the killing of a government member of parliament and said the policemen were victimised for defending themselves after mobs attacked the police station.

''There is complete anarchy, and the government allowed that to happen,'' he charged.

Former finance minister Ronnie de Mel recalled that the ruling People's Alliance came to power promising to eradicate political violence, but the party's general secretary, who signed the nomination papers of the candidates, himself was facing murder charge.

He named the government MPs allegedly involved in violence and called upon the government to take away all arms from the MPs. ''If the MPs are frightened to go before the people, they should resign,'' he said.

The UNP leaders produced the alleged victims of the PA violence, including a candidate from Anamaduwa in Puttalam district who was allegedly taken out of his house, assaulted, stripped naked, and tied to a post by PA supporters.

Three UNP candidates from Ratnapura said they were forced to resign and state media, which reported their resignations, failed to report their complaint to the police that they did so under threat of violence by PA leaders.

A group of candidates from the southern Galle district alleged that higher education minister Richard Pathirana had personally threatened them with dire consequences, if they campaigned for the elections.

Wickremesinghe said his office was searched by the police and the army on Tuesday for illegal weapons and took away three shotguns issued to him by the police in 1989. He said the search was unnecessary and the weapons would have been returned if the police had asked for them.

A leader from Puttalam district said more than 2,000 firearms had been distributed to PA supporters in the last two weeks.

Human rights groups and some ruling party lawmakers said the large number of guns issued to MPs and to their security personnel has resulted in a sense of lawlessness in the country.

''Let us face it. Today's politicos have the power, the men and the guns. It is a dangerous combination,'' said a human rights lawyer who wished to remain unidentified.

''It is a shame this government hasn't so far taken a strong stand against political violence,'' government MP Dallas Alahapperuma told state television shortly after the killing.

People's Alliance legislator Nalanda Ellawala was shot and killed earlier this month during a roadside scuffle between Ellawala's supporters and those from the the UNP.

Ellawala, 29, the youngest member of Sri Lanka's 225-seat parliament, was a popular political figure from the gem-mining town of Ratnapura, 80 km southeast of the capital Colombo.

Police named seven key suspects, among them UNP legislator Susantha Punchinilame and the UNP's former mayor for Ratnapura, Mahinda Ratnatilleke. Police also put out arrests warrants for Punchinilame's two police bodyguards.

All four surrendered to police after absconding for almost a week. Police even offered a one million rupee (17,500 dollars) reward for information leading to their arrest.

Eleven suspects are currently in police custody. They are expected to be produced before a magistrate in Ratnapura on February 27, Justice Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris said.

''The government is greatly disturbed by the enormously large number of guns out there and the number of people who are able to use them,'' Peiris told a news conference last week in Colombo.

''This government is determined to do something about it. The people of this country expect it of us,'' he added.

Ellawala's killing sparked nearly a week of violence in Ratnapura and nearby towns as ruling Alliance supporters burnt homes and buildings belonging to rival UNP supporters. Angry mobs threw stones and caused damage to the Ratnapura police station, blaming the police for having been unable to stop the killing.

Ellawala was gunned down a day before nominations closed for next month's local government election, seen as the first test of popularity for President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who came to power in 1994. The poll date is fixed for March 21.

Lawmakers of the ruling Alliance have been quick to criticise the UNP for continuing to resort to violence, like it did during its 17 years in power. But opposition party members claim the government was seeking to win votes in next month's election.

The UNP was widely criticised when it was in power from 1977 to 1994 for allegedly killing political opponents, suppressing the media and winning elections by using the gun. ''The democratic value system in this country has been slowly dying ever since the UNP came to power in 1977,'' said Jagath Balasuriya, a government member of parliament.

''When these people were in power, they killed to achieve political objectives. Now in the opposition, their culture of violence and assassinations are continuing,'' Balasuriya said.

The UNP moved quickly to repair the damage. The party suspended the memberships of the suspects and publicly condoned the killing. ''Now we would like to leave the matter to the police and courts and carry on with a peaceful election,'' said senior UNP MP Karunasena Kodituwakku.

''Unfortunately, the government is using this unfortunate incident to win votes in the election. They are blowing it out of proportion to cover up their own weaknesses and unpopularity,'' Kodituwakku said.

Members of parliament were issued guns for their security during a leftist insurgency in the late 1980s, when several MPs were assassinated. Human rights groups say more than 60,000 people, mostly youth, were killed in the uprising, which was crushed by security forces and pro-government death squads.

The security of MPs continue to be tight, to protect them from separatist Tamil guerrillas who are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in this predominantly Sinhalese Indian Ocean island.

Justice Minister Peiris said he had no idea how many guns had been issued to politicians during the leftist uprising, but assured the government was about to embark on a programme to disarm gun-toting politicians.

''The government views this situation very seriously. It plans to do something substantial about it very soon,'' he told the news conference.

But some analysts see this month's violence as a continuation of the bitterness the two main political parties have felt towards each other.

''Both sides have violent fringes. It's a very dangerous situation when two sides consider themselves mortal enemies,'' said political analyst Dayan Jayatilleke.

''Sri Lankan politics has long become akin to a cold war between two main political parties, frequently punctuated by hot wars. What happened at Ratnapura is only the latest case in point,'' said Jayatilleke, who is editor of the Lanka Guardian magazine.

''Sure, Ellawala's killing will help the Alliance do well in the election. But in the long run, pushing the point will only widen the political divisions among our people and create more enemies,'' he said.