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by Ranga Jayasuriya

On December 5, while thousands of Sri Lankans voted to select their representatives, 90,000 voters in the uncleared areas were kept away from polling centres. The checkpoints at the entrance to the Government- controlled area were closed on polling day. The Army claimed the action was intended to ensure free and fair elections, but it effectively disenfranchised approximately 90,000 Tamil voters in the uncleared areas.

"This was an infringement of fundamental rights", Kingsley Rodrigo, Executive Director of the PAFFREL (People's Action for Free and Fair Elections) claims. " The Elections Commissioner had set up five polling centres in Ambalanturai, Pattirippu, Mangani and Senkaladi for nearly 70,000 voters in the uncleared areas of the Batticaloa district.

And a polling centre had been set up in Vanni for 17,000 voters in the LTTE controlled area in Vanni. But the sudden closure of the checkpoints by the military prevented them from entering the cleared area, disenfranchising almost 90,000 voters", he says.

However, the Army tells a different story. The Army in a press release justified the action as a move to ensure free and fair elections.

"To ensure free and fair elections in the cleared areas of WANNI and BATTICALOA entry points were not opened today. There were credible intelligence reports that the LTTE was planning to enter cleared areas today in the guise of voters to create violence in order to disrupt free and fair elections," the press release issued on December 5 said.

But Vanni District TULF MP A. Addikkalanathan raises suspicions on the sincerity of the military move.

"The hidden objective of the closure of entry points is to prevent the TULF supporters in the uncleared areas from voting," he says. Claiming that the military action is an absolute violation of fundamental rights, Addaikkalanathan pledges to go to Court.

The Tamil National Alliance has a vote base in the uncleared area, and our voters have been discriminated against, the TULF MP added.

The TULF overcame all such obstacles and won 15 seats from the Northern and Eastern provinces, becoming the fourth powerful force in the 12th Parliament.

However, the military is doubtful of the logic of numbers. "Of course, there are 90,000 registered voters. But, how can you be sure that all of them or at least a reasonable number of them will vote. During the General Election in 2000, only 400 of them voted," an army officer who requested anonymity said.

Kingsley Rodrigo draws attention to the bitter reality which lies beneath the story.

"We here in the South say Tamils have no special grievances, we claim they are equally treated. But when it comes to decision making, they are sadly marginalised, if not discriminated against", the executive director of the PAFFRAEL says. He claims that the Elections Commissioner had to announce re-polling in such polling stations. "But, he didn't, so a violation of the fundamental rights went unnoticed", he said.

According to the Military Spokesman, The Elections Commissioner decided not to hold re-polling after consultations with military officials. The military officers told the Commissioner, that the same will happen in re-polling and the Army cannot allow more than 300 people to enter the entry point within a day after the necessary procedures are carried out.

Letting them enter the cleared area with no checking would help the LTTE cadres infiltrate the Government controlled area to carry out terror attacks on civilians and the military, military officials claim.

Then, is this the fate of future elections? Dr. Jayadeva Uyangoda of the Centre for Human Rights of Colombo University underlines the need for action to avoid the recurrence of such incidents. "The Elections Commissioner after consultation with all interested parties - the military, political parties,local and foreign election observers and other Governmental and non-Governmental bodies - should work out a modality where the fundamental rights of the citizens will not be neglected and where security excuses won't be made to justify the discrimination of fundamental rights.

Such a move is a "must" and unless something is not worked out the local Government elections scheduled for next year will face the same plight, he says.

However, the Government has not totally forgotten the people in the uncleared areas.

The weekly press releases of the Information Department details the amount of essential food supplies sent to the land under the LTTE purview.

But food is not the only thing people want. They want to participate in decision making. And their right to that is constitutionally guaranteed.

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