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Violence, monitors and the media

A stranger arriving in Sri Lanka and going through the daily media reports will be aghast at the fantastic scale of violence in the country.

He would also learn from the so-called free media that this is the worst period in the history of this country as far as political violence is concerned.

If he is a person interested in the fate of Western democracy and traditions, he would no doubt approach the so called monitors whose business is to keep a toll on violence and issue lengthy press statements.

The monitors would, of course, furnish him with more than enough evidence about violence and its character, its sources etc.

He would certainly conclude that Sri Lankans are a set of barbarians eternally feuding with one another.

There are, however, few salient features of this violence that he would never gather from the so-called free media or the free monitors.

He would never know that it was the UNP and political reaction that fathered political violence in this country. Neither the so called free media nor the monitors would tell him that the election to the first Parliament was as violent as the present. They would not divulge how UNP hit squads attacked Ven. Walpola Rahula who was beaten on the road till he lost consciousness. They would also not inform him how anti-UNP voters were prevented from going to polling booths by UNP thugs who damaged bridges and place roadblocks. Nor would they enlighten him on the violence after the UNP victory of 1977, when the former UNP Leader J.R. Jayewardene gave the police a fortnight's holiday in which thousands of homes and property of the political opponents were attacked.

Yes, UNP not only fathered political violence in this country but maintains it even now. The UNP is responsible for the majority of political killings associated with this election.

It was also the UNP and political reaction that is responsible for the first political assassination - the assassination of Premier S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

By declaring that we are undergoing the worst period of political violence, the media, the UNP and the monitors are all hiding the dark days of terror in the late 1980s.

The so called free media and the monitors are blowing up incidents Over 90 percent of the incidents of violence reported in the media comprise minor incidents like verbal threats, cutting of banners and cut-outs etc. Pre-meditated physical violence and murder are few.

Also violence originating from anti-Government sources is of a more serious nature.

One should also take into consideration the interest of the monitoring NGOs to keep the toll high in order to get more funds.

Interesting also is the absence of LTTE originated violence from the counts of the monitors. They prefer to separate the LTTE violence from election violence, even though the LTTE is directly involved in the election. They have put up their own candidates through the TNA and the UNP and are threatening and assassinating leaders and supporters of those who oppose the TNA.

Violence is and has been always linked with political reaction. The people should keep a vigil on them, if their aspirations are to bear fruit.

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