By Feizal Samath
COLOMBO, Oct 3 2000 (IPS)

Stepped up violence by Tamil Tiger rebels, has driven indoors, the poll campaign of Sri Lanka’s top political leaders for next week’s national election.

The most prominent among those to go ‘underground’ is President Chandrika Kumaratunga herself, who, on the advice of security agencies, rarely ventures out to address election meetings.

Instead, the leader of the ruling People’s Alliance (PA) prefers to bring hordes of supporters to the president’s highly fortified residence in the capital city.

Others are using modern technologies, like the Internet, to avoid stepping out too often to woo the country’s over 12 million voters.

Tamil Tiger guerrillas, fighting for a separate home for Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil people for nearly two decades, have reportedly sent out cadres of suicide bombers to target prominent government and opposition leaders. The ethnic violence has so far claimed more than 70,000 lives.

Sri Lanka is to elect a new 225-member parliament on Oct. 10. Pre-poll violence has claimed more than 30 lives so far, including two candidates. At least 700 big and small incidents of violence have been reported.

A Tamil Tiger suicide bomb attack Monday night on an election rally in the eastern town of Muttur in Trincomalee district, killed 24 people, including a poll candidate. Another 44 people were injured.

In past weeks, bus-loads of people from across the country have been arriving at Kumaratunga’s ‘Temple Trees’ home in the heart of Colombo, to listen to her speak on the achievements of her government.

The caution is understandable for Kumaratunga narrowly escaped a bid on her life by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber on the eve of the presidential election campaign late last year. The president lost her right eye in the incident.

Kumaratunga travelled to Britain over the weekend, reportedly for medical treatment. She was expected to be back a few days before election day.

The president has been criticised for not stepping out of her home. “It is quite unfair as opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe is also at risk, but is addressing meetings across the island,” says Harry Gunatillake, a former Sri Lankan air force chief, who is now a media commentator.

Wickremasinghe, head of the main opposition United National Party (UNP), was Wednesday due to travel to the troubled eastern districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, where Tamil Tiger rebels made two unsuccessful bids last week, to kill deputy government minister, Mohamed Hizbullah.

However, Kumaratunga denies that she is holding election rallies at her home. “I have not invited you because of the elections. I want to talk about the development of this country,” she tells the people.

Her rivals criticise the public gatherings at the president’s home. “The polls chief should take note of this as she is using government funds and hosting lunch and dinner parties for election purposes,” said UNP poll candidate, Nivard Cabraal.

Cabraal, a highly qualified accountant, admits the security threat to Kumaratunga, but argues that she should not take unfair advantage of it to address election meetings at her residence.

Those attending the public meetings at Kumaratunga’s home include peasants, fish workers, students and well-paid members of modern professions.

Other candidates are using modern technologies to promote themselves. “WWW.glpeiris.com”, reads a sign painted on huge billboards set up across the capital by supporters of Justice Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris.

There are about 20 websites set up by poll candidates, most of them contesting in Colombo.

Cabraal of the UNP is among them. “My web site is very popular and in the past few days I have had 500 ‘hits’ per day,” he says.

“I have a network of friends here and abroad and I get a lot of email from them through the website. If I can get 5,000 people looking at my website and passing the message about me, then that is a positive thing,” he adds.

Ruling alliance candidate, Dallas Allahaperuma, a former deputy minister, who had quit a career in journalism to enter politics, has come in for praise for having the cleanest election campaign.

“I became a politician with a pledge to change the violent political culture in this country,” he says. Allahaperuma has declared that he would return to journalism if he loses.

His campaign does not use posters and newspaper advertisements, and is restricted to a few small village meetings.

Allahaperuma’s previous campaigns also drew praise from human rights and civil society groups. “He is perhaps the only one to run a violence-free and a clean campaign,” said political analyst Jehan Perera.

One of his meetings in his southern electorate of Kamburupitiya was addressed by leaders of Sri Lanka’s three main political parties — the PA, the UNP and the left-wing People’s Liberation Front, better known by its Sinhalese acronym, JVP.

However, these leaders were not allowed to speak on the policies of their parties or criticise rivals. Perera, who was present at the meeting, said it was well attended by supporters from all three parties. There were no fights.

According to Rohan Edrisinha, director at the Centre for Policy Alternatives, public opinion surveys show that next week’s poll is likely to be less “free and fair” than the last election six years ago.

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