President’s duty to stop lawlessness

"The responsibility for this situation is clearly with the government and particularly with the President himself. It is not enough for the head of the state to make statements supposedly to condemn the violence without taking direct command of the situation himself."
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By Basil Fernando

(January 21, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) According to reports, the election commissioner has expressed his frustration about the failure on the part of the government to comply with the instructions that he has issued for the purpose of carrying out the presidential election.. He has complained about the issue of state resources and the failure on the part of the state media in particular to carry out his instructions relating to the non-misuse of the state media for electoral purposes. Expressing his intense dissatisfaction he has told representatives from political parties that he will not continue in his office once his election duties are over.

The spokesman for the government when questioned about this matter by a member of the press did not deny the situation that has arisen. He merely stated that it is not only the government that is not complying with the Commissioner for Elections but also the opposition. Accepting allegations against the government spokesman did not even deny the fact that the orders of the election commissioner have been openly flouted by the government.

Trying to excuse the President from the responsibility the government spokesman stated that, as for the President, he has instructed everyone to obey the law and to participate in the election in a peaceful manner. The implication was that despite of the instructions of the President himself, the supporters of the government are not complying with the law and there seems to be nothing that the president himself, can do about this matter.

Meanwhile the number of deaths related to the election increased and throughout the country there were serious incidents of violence between the government supporters and those of the opposition. There have been many instances of stones being thrown at opponents. The police have clearly failed to restore the law and order and to create a climate for peaceful elections.

What has become visible in the Sri Lankan streets in almost all parts of the country is a situation of visible lawlessness. The election is being conducted in this atmosphere of lawlessness where even the highest officer in charge of the election has to express publically that he is unable to carry out his own duties as required by law.

The responsibility for this situation is clearly with the government and particularly with the President himself. It is not enough for the head of the state to make statements supposedly to condemn the violence without taking direct command of the situation himself. The command responsibility for ensuring law and order in the country is his and his alone. He has at his command the police and the armed forces. It is the lack of political will on the part of the President to ensure a situation of law and order that is visible even when very senior officers of his own government openly flout the law by engaging in various kinds of political activities to support the president. What is obvious is that a situation of lawlessness is being deliberately maintained in order to create a climate of fear which the government is hoping to utilise in its favour.

This election has brought to light the problem of the collapse of public institutions and the loss of the rule of law in Sri Lanka, even to the extent of the inability to hold an election within the conditions required by law. It is the duty of all Sri Lanka’s citizens to intervene at this stage in order to force the government to ensure that the election will be conducted in a peaceful manner. It is the duty of the population to support the Commissioner of Elections and ensure that he is able to carry out his duty in a manner required by the law. It would be too late for the international community if it does not intervene at this stage to ensure that this election will be held in a peaceful manner.