As at 27 November, 2001, a total of 1704 incidents of election-related violence have been recorded by CMEV, since the dissolution of Parliament on October 10, 2001. This information has been recorded on the basis of reports from Police Headquarters, complaints made directly to the CMEV by political parties and affected persons as well as complaints brought to the attention of the field monitors in the 168 Polling Divisions.

Of this figure of 1704, 927 fall into the category of Major Incidents, which include Murder (24), Attempted Murder (32), Hurt (182), Grievous Hurt (36), Assault (319), Threat and Intimidation (210), Misuse of State Resources (16), Robbery (38) and Arson (70).

There have been 24 Murders that have been committed during the campaign: 07 in Colombo, 03 in Gampaha,05 in Puttalam, 01 in Anuradhapura, 01 in Galle, 01 in Ratnapura,02 in the Vanni, 02 in Batticaloa and 02 in Digamadulla.

The highest incidence of violence continues to originate in the Anuradhapura District (178) and Puttalam District (166). Gampaha (148), Digamadulla (138) and Kurunegala (113) follow close behind. There are also a large number of incidents linked to the use of fire-arms (351), of which the PA is allegedly responsible for 163 incidents and the UNP for 73.

PA- UNP Violence
A significant feature of the current campaign is the high level of violent acts committed by members and supporters of the two main political parties, the People's Alliance (PA) and the United National Party (UNP). Of the total number of Major Incidents of violence reported, in which the alleged perpetrator has been identified by party affiliation, the PA is responsible for 427, while the UNP is held responsible for 270 incidents. Together, this constitutes 93.05% of the total number of such Major Incidents reported.

Whilst a similar number of allegations have been made against the two main parties in some Districts, in others there are variations. For example, in terms of the alleged perpetrators, there are more complaints against the UNP than the PA in Kalutara (29:17). On the other hand, there are more complaints against the PA than against the UNP in Galle (39:9), Hambantota (38:8), Ratnapura (43:11), Kegalle (56:21), Batticaloa (12:1), Digamadulla (56:18), Gampaha (77:42), Kandy (36:16) and Anuradhapura (99:52).

NORTH - CENTRAL PROVINCE

Anuradhapura District
According to the complaints received by the CMEV, the Anuradhapura District has been the site of 101 Major Incidents, including 01 Murder, 02 Attempted Murders, 30 cases of Hurt, 02 cases of Grievous Hurt (requiring hospitalisation) 38 cases of Assault, 18 of Threat and Intimidation., 04 cases of Robbery and 06 of Arson.

On November 25, at about 10 a.m. retired Police Sergeant Saratchandra and other UNP supporters who were travelling in a white van, are alleged to have blocked the path of a jeep (No. 64-0216) which was carrying PA supporters including W. Jayaratna, near the Tissawewa cemetery. It is said that the UNP group then shot at the PA supporters. Several of the PA group were injured, including W. Jayaratna, K.A. Siripala, W.A. Asanka and Mohamed Nazar. Mr Jayaratna later died in hospital, as a result of the injuries sustained in the shooting incident. When contacted by CMEV, Mr. P.B. Dissanayake at the PA office in Anuradhapura, blamed the incident on the UNP; Mr. W.B. Ekanayake of the UNP office in Anuradhapura denied their involvement in the incident, and said that Siripala was a former convict who had created problems for them in the past with the cooperation of the Police. The UNP alleges that the Police is acting in a biased manner in this case. CMEV has found it difficult to obtain clarification from the Police with regard to this incident.

In many of the complaints received from the Anuradhapura District, there are also references to the involvement of members of local government bodies in the election campaign. CMEV feels that this constitutes another factor in the increased levels of violence. For example, several PA and UNP members of Pradesheeya Sabhas in Anuradhapura (Galnewa, Kekirawa, Talawa) have been implicated in incidents of Intimidation and Assault. In addition, there have been allegations made against the Chief Minister of the North-Central Province Berty Premalal Dissanayake, whose son Duminda is a PA candidate from the Anuradhapura District, regarding his involvement in incidents of Intimidation and Assault. Fire-arms have been used in many of these incidents, and the acts of Intimidation have at times included Destruction of Property, Robbery and Arson.

Eastern Province: Digamadulla
On November 26, at about 10.30 a.m., Mr. M.H.M. Jabeer was killed by shots from a T56 rifle, fired by an unidentified assailant on the main street of Saindamarudu. Mr. Jabeer had been returning from a visit to the office of UNP candidate Mr. 'Myown' Mustaffa when he was killed. The HQI of the Kalmunai Police Station, Ms. T.Y. Raji told CMEV that Mr. Jabeer had been a target of the LTTE for some years and that he had recently returned to the country after several years abroad. Mr. Maqbool, the UNP coordinator for Kalmunai has denied the involvement of the LTTE and instead told CMEV that there were rumours implicating an SLMC candidate in the incident.

North Western Province: Puttalam
On November 27 at about 2.30 a.m. a group of about 20 persons shot at the home of PA supporter Kingsley Kanagaratnam in Daluwa, Puttalam. W.M. Krishantha Kumara Perera, a private bus conductor who was inside the house at that time was killed. A vehicle belonging to Mr. Kanagaratnam (No. GC 2621) was also damaged in the incident. Meryl Nishantha, an eye witness to the incident identified Manuel Silva and Douglas Silva as being among the group of attackers. They have been arrested by the Police. Another person identified by Nishantha, Jasmin Thahir, is evading arrest. They are all said to be supporters of UNP candidate Neomal Perera. OIC Sunil Samarajeewa told CMEV that the Police had found 15 bullet casings at the site of the incident, and had made two arrests in this connection. The PA has demonstrated on the Puttalam-Kalpitiya road, calling on the Police to take the suspects into custody.

Neomal Perera, UNP candidate, has informed CMEV about an incident of Arson. The home of W.A. Linus Fernando at Maampuriya, Daluwa had been set on fire, allegedly by armed PA supporters. Mr. Perera has called for heightened security in the area. Mr Linus Fernando when contacted by CMEV identified S. Devadasan, Liyanage Sunil, Ajith Serasinghe and Rupas Gamini as the perpetrators of the Arson attack. According to him they are known PA supporters. Mr Fernando has made a complaint to the Puttalam Police regarding this incident.

CMEV was formed in 1997 by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Coalition Against Political Violence as an independent and non-partisan organization to monitor the incidence of election related violence.

Dr. P. Saravanamuttu Co-Convenor	Sunila Abeysekera Co-Convenor	Sundanda Deshapriya Co-Convenor