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Following unprecedented levels of abuse of state media by the ruling party candidate, the election commissioner demanded that all media follow ethical guidelines. Upon the state’s failure to enforce law, on Jan. 16, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ordered the media to follow the guidelines of the election commissioner. This order fell on deaf ears. Violence escalated, and by Jan. 26, four people had died...
...violence did not stop there. On election day, people in the camps for internally displaced people in northern Sri Lanka waited in vain for the buses that were supposed to bring them to their polling stations. The bomb blasts that rocked some areas in the north reminded them of the horror of the war that ended just few months ago and scared many voters away. Fear brought voter turnout down to 20 percent in the north. But 70 percent out of those who ventured out to vote chose Fonseka’s cause. That sent the south a strong message...
...Sri Lankans realized that Rajapakse, the ruling party candidate, had won with a majority of 57 percent. Some bewildered voters questioned the results and started to spread rumors that the results had been rigged. However, according to state media, those rumors had been originated with malicious intent. Soon, the police arrested three people for sending out politically sensitive text messages...
...supported Fonseka, but they hung up the phone in fear. The election commissioner came out to officially announce the election results on the evening of Jan. 27. Soon after announcing the results, the government sent troops to encircle Fonseka’s hotel. Fonseka then requested that the Sri Lankan Elections Commission help protect his life and freedom of movement...
Some people might recommend that the international community impose sanctions on Sri Lanka in response to this crisis, but that would be unwise. The conventional policy of cornering governments that restrict democracy enables their leaders to further boost their patriotic image through state media by painting a portrait of a brave leader who stands strong against interfering Western imperialists. This further victimizes people in many ways: it provides leaders with a golden opportunity to censure the media, an opportunity to instill fear among people, a justification to arrest people on charges of conspiracy, and a reason to align with corrupt...