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Sri Lanka presidential election: gunmen fire on buses carrying Muslim voters Sri Lanka presidential election: gunmen fire on buses carrying Muslim voters
(32 minutes later)
Police say convoy of more than 100 vehicles attacked but there are no reports of casualtiesPolice say convoy of more than 100 vehicles attacked but there are no reports of casualties
Gunmen have fired on buses carrying minority Muslim voters in northwest Sri Lanka, police said, as an election official admitted failures to protect vulnerable communities ahead of presidential polls. Gunmen in Sri Lanka have fired on buses transporting Muslims to cast their ballots in the presidential election, fuelling fears that minorities are being targeted to stop them voting.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the attack on Saturday, but a police official said the attackers had burnt tyres on the road and set up makeshift roadblocks to ambush the convoy of more than 100 vehicles. Police officials confirmed that the buses, which were carrying hundreds of Muslim residents from the northwest town of Puttalam, were hit on Saturday morning when attackers burnt tyres on the road and set up makeshift roadblocks to ambush the convoy of more than 100 vehicles.
“The gunmen opened fire and also pelted stones,” said a police official in Tantirimale, 240km (150 miles) north of the capital Colombo. “At least two buses were hit, but we have no reports of casualties.” “The gunmen opened fire and also pelted stones,” said a police official in Tantirimale, 150 miles north of the capital Colombo. “At least two buses were hit, but we have no reports of casualties.”
Muslims from the coastal town of Puttalam were travelling to the neighbouring district of Mannar, where they were registered to vote, the official added. The Muslim group were travelling to the neighbouring district of Mannar, where they were registered to vote.
These are the first presidential elections since Easter Sunday when self-radicalised Islamist extremists carried out multiple bombings, killing 269 people in churches and hotels. There were also reports of a heavy military presence and unauthorised roadbloacks in Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka, which is home to the majority of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority.
Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils and Muslims are seen as crucial to deciding a close contest between the two presidential frontrunners – the housing minister Sajith Premadasa and the opposition’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka’s presidential election is taking place just seven months on from the Easter Sunday attacks when self-radicalised Islamist extremists carried out multiple bombings, killing 269 people in churches and hotels. In the aftermath, there has been a surge of attacks, harassment and boycotts on Sri Lanka’s Muslim community, who make up 9% of the population.
One of three election commissioners, Ratnajeevan Hoole, said the authorities failed to provide adequate protection to internally displaced minority Muslims in the multi-ethnic northwest. There are a record 35 candidates running in the election but the race is between Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, running for the SLPP, the Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist party, and Sajith Premadasa, a minister in the current United National party (UNP) government.
“They (the Muslims) asked for polling booths in the areas where they are living without having to travel a long distance to their original village to vote,” Hoole said in a statement. The presidential contest between Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa is predicted to be extremely tight and the minority Tamils and Muslims are seen as crucial to swinging the vote.
“They were sure that a disturbance like this would happen,” he said, adding that his pleas for protection were not considered by the election commission, which works through majority decisions. The Muslim community have expressed particular concern about the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has run on a strident security agenda and has the backing of the nationalist Buddhist groups responsible for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and violence in recent years. As a result, it is predicted that Muslims will mainly throw their votes behind Sajith Premadasa and the UNP.
Many in the the Tamil community are equally resistant to the return of Gotabaya Rajapaksa to power. As Mahinda’s defence minister, he oversaw the brutal and bloody conclusion to the Sri Lankan civil war, where tens of thousands of Tamils died, and his military death squads were responsible for thousands of “disappearances” of Tamils and critics of the state.
Ratnajeevan Hoole, an election commissioner, said the authorities had ignores his pleas to provide adequate protection to internally-displaced Muslims going to vote in the multi-ethnic northwest.
“They (the Muslims) asked for polling booths in the areas where they are living without having to travel a long distance to their original village to vote,” Hoole said in a statement. “They were sure that a disturbance like this would happen.”
Police reinforcements rushed to the troubled area, cleared the road obstructions and escorted the convoy so passengers could cast their ballots.Police reinforcements rushed to the troubled area, cleared the road obstructions and escorted the convoy so passengers could cast their ballots.
The incident came as police and troops were locked in a tense standoff in the Tamil-dominated northern peninsula of Jaffna where residents complained about military roadblocks ahead of voting. There were also reports that police and military troops were locked in a tense stand-off in the majority-Tamil region of Jaffna, with residents complaining of military roadblocks ahead of voting. With the Tamil vote said to favour the UNP, a reduced voter turnout could favour Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Police reported to the independent election commission that the army was illegally manning roadblocks that could discourage residents from freely travelling to polling booths. As former defence secretary and de facto head of the army, Gotabaya Rajapaksa still has extremely close ties to the military.
Police reported to the independent election commission that the army in Jaffna was illegally manning roadblocks that could discourage residents from freely travelling to polling booths.
“After bringing to the notice of the army that the roadblocks were illegal at a time of a national election, they have dismantled them,” police said in a statement.“After bringing to the notice of the army that the roadblocks were illegal at a time of a national election, they have dismantled them,” police said in a statement.
Police sources said they had also warned local military commanders that any disruption to the election would be reported to courts and offenders prosecuted.Police sources said they had also warned local military commanders that any disruption to the election would be reported to courts and offenders prosecuted.
The police also arrested 10 men who were unable to explain their presence in the Jaffna peninsula on the eve of voting. AFP contributed to this report
“We suspect they were trying to create trouble during voting,” a police official said.
Local media reports say there are fears that a strong military presence in Jaffna, the heartland of the island’s Tamil minority, could influence voter turnout and favour Rajapaksa, a former defence ministry chief and brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.