Sri Lankan church leaders condemn presidential poll

Catholic and Anglican bishops in Sri Lanka have criticized recent presidential elections as beyond the boundaries of democratic rule and failing to address the concerns of the Tamil minority.

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa secured a landslide victory over former army chief Sarath Fonseka in acrimonious elections in January. 

Since the elections Fonseka has been arrested, parliament dissolved and parliamentary elections called for April, riots have occurred in the capital, and a journalist has disappeared.

The statement was signed by Catholic Bishops Thomas Savundaranayagam of Jaffna; Kingsley Swampillai of Trincomalee and Batticaloa; Rayappu Joseph of Mannar; Norbert Andradi of Anuradhapura; and Anglican leaders Kumara Illangasinghe, Vicar General of Kurunegala; Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo.

The bishops characterized the elections as disregarding the norms of democratic debate by focusing on “personal slander”. It said there was “the willful violation of electoral laws which sadly demonstrated that might is right.”

The bishops said, “Our political leaders can still rectify these trends by setting self-imposed codes of conduct, especially as we approach a general election. A voter preference for those who demonstrate this change will result in a welcome transformation of our political culture.”

The election came in the aftermath of last year’s victory by the government over the Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels. 

The bishops said, “We should take serious note of the majority who did not vote in some Tamils areas. The lack of transport deprived thousands of Internally Displaced People from voting. The behaviour of those who could but did not vote may indicate a lack of confidence in an electoral contest between two primary candidates, which offered little in terms of the problems faced by Tamils. Their silence may be seen as a clear message that their expectations were not being addressed.”

It continued, “From here we need to collectively address the pressing priorities of ; political devolution, good governance, media freedom, economic development, the application of equal rights for the vulnerable, the total independence of the judiciary and poverty alleviation, faced by our country. We urge the President, the Cabinet and the Opposition to work towards these goals with purpose and commitment.”