Sri Lanka: Election violence between Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) supporters in Colombo since 1994; the murder of a specific member of the Urban council of Kaduwela for UNP by the Chairman of the Provincial Council for the People's Alliance (PA) on 18 April 1999; mob violence on 12 October 2001 in Colombo by supporters of Baratha Lakshman Premechandra, a SLFP member of parliament
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 28 June 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LKA39259.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sri Lanka: Election violence between Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) supporters in Colombo since 1994; the murder of a specific member of the Urban council of Kaduwela for UNP by the Chairman of the Provincial Council for the People's Alliance (PA) on 18 April 1999; mob violence on 12 October 2001 in Colombo by supporters of Baratha Lakshman Premechandra, a SLFP member of parliament, 28 June 2002, LKA39259.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be6418.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
While not referring specifically to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), information was found to incidences of election violence between members of the People's Alliance (PA), of which the SLFP is a ruling member (The Guardian 17 Aug. 1994; BBC 3 Dec. 2001), and members of the United National Party (UNP) in Colombo (AFP 12 Dec. 1999; ibid. 16 Nov. 1999; BBC 16 Nov. 1999; CMEV 2001).
A 16 November 1999 BBC article reported that two people were killed on 14 November 1999 and more than 40 wounded when an election meeting attended by the UNP leader was bombed.
Articles reported that gunmen had opened fire on the UNP's Colombo office, wounding three people on 16 November 1999 (AFP 16 Nov. 1999; BBC 16 Nov. 1999). UNP held the PA responsible for the attack (ibid.). As well, those involved in the incident, reportedly, tore down UNP posters and "threatened to attack UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and threatened to "attack his supporters who were decorating the street with the green flags of the UNP" (ibid.).
A 12 December 1999 article reported that gunmen, allegedly PA supporters, had "stormed" two UNP printing presses in Colombo, setting fire to the buildings and equipment (AFP).
An interim report on election-related violence for the 2001 general election prepared by the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported that, in those cases where the alleged perpetrators had been identified, the PA and UNP together accounted for 92.9 per cent of all campaign-related violence (2001 p. 1). In Colombo, the PA was alleged to have been responsible for 39 incidents of violence and the UNP for 34 (ibid. Table 1).
Perhaps also of note is CMEV's observation that "on the whole, the police switched allegiance overnight, with many victims of post-election violence at the hands of the UNP supporters being unable even to have their complaints recorded at the police stations which prior to the election had been partisan towards the ruling People's Alliance!" (ibid. p. 32).
While not specifying the perpetrators, a table prepared by the NGO People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) recorded 29 reported incidents of violence in Colombo during the 2001 parliamentary general elections (n.d.).
No further references to incidents of violence between the UNP and PA specific to Colombo could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. No reference could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate to the murder of the person named in the information request on 18 April 1999 or to mob violence on 12 October 2001 by supporters of Baratha Lakshman Premechandra in Colombo.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 12 December 1999. "Sri Lanka: Gunmen Storm 2 Presses Printing UNP Posters." (FBIS-NES-1999-1212 12 Dec. 1999)
_____. 16 November 1999. "Colombo: 42 Rounds Fired at Opposition Office; 3 Wounded." (FBIS-NES-1999-1116)
BBC. 3 December 2001. "Q&A: Sri Lanka's Election."
_____. 16 November 1999. "Sri Lanka Battle Lines Drawn."
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo. 2001. "Interim Report on Election-Related Violence: General Election 2001- 5th December 2001."
The Guardian [London]. 17 August 1994. "Curfew as Sri Lanka Awaits Election Results." (NEXIS).
People's Action For Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL). n.d. "Complaints Received by the Police Election Secretariat (Up to 15th December 2001)."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
LEXIS/NEXIS
Internet sites including:
Asian Human Rights Commission
BBC
Daily News
Dawn
EU Election Observation Mission to Sri Lanka, Final Report
World News Connection
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