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Posted Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at 12:36 PM ET

Who is this person?

Rule No. 1: Do not speak to the press.

Or so we international observers were warned in the two full days of orientation (Sri Lanka is the teardrop of an island country off the southeast coast of India); political overviews (The results of Sri Lanka's 12th parliamentary election, to be held on Wednesday, during which 225 parliamentary seats are up for grabs, threaten to be as indecisive as the election itself is historically decisive); and security briefings (Sri Lanka is a country at war—the majority Sinhalese government has been fighting an armed faction of the minority Tamils, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, since at least 1983—and under siege by fat cat politicians).

Arising out of a well-founded fear of manipulation and misquotes, election observers are suspiciously cautious of journalists. They must be. Even with diligence—muttering a barely audible "no comment" while slipping out of sight, or offering the prefab "it is too early to make any judgments; please contact our district coordinator for our report," or merely fleeing fast-footed in the opposite direction—the election observer has been known nonetheless to get caught on film and "quoted" highly quotable, but never actually uttered, quotes.

"What to do?" Or so the fatalistic Lankanism goes. With a certain level of faith and a few garbled threats by the coordinators, I have been entrusted to speak—but warned to watch what I say.

The experts are predicting another record-breaker for Sri Lanka. If the lead-up to the election is any indicator—and those who know say it is the best—Sri Lanka's general parliamentary election on Dec. 5 may be the worst in its 53-year postcolonial history. During my own limited Sri Lankan history of five years, elections have grown progressively more violent. This is the first one I am observing as anything more than an interested non-voting resident.

The Peoples' Alliance government came to power in 1994 with a comfortable majority and a platform of peace, respect for human rights, and democracy. After 17 years of heavy-handed rule by the United National Party, Sri Lanka's polity prepared for change. And change it did, until the PA became mired in the contentious nature of Sri Lanka's political culture and the corrupting force of power in a country that has moved in form, but not substance, from its feudal social history. If conventional wisdom, born by years of local election observing and prevailing reporting patterns, holds true, it is the incumbent party against which the majority of complaints of violence and election malpractices will be filed. The main opposition party, however, promises to be a formidable contender.

Special Police Election Desks have been established in police stations around the country to record election-related violence, which is less straightforward than it sounds. The term "election-related violence" lacks a common definition. Some observers include in their figures violence that might in some way, however intangibly, impact the results of the elections. Others distinguish election-related violence based on perceived intent. Although political implications may be imputed to all violence, all violence is not motivated by politics. It is an imprecise art, made more cumbersome by the lack of and competition for resources.

As I drove home tonight during the final full hour of campaigning, a shiny red and election-postered four-wheel drive vehicle sped past on the wrong side of the road. The dented, dull blue four-wheel equivalent belonging to Sri Lanka's finest followed recklessly close behind. I slowed and gazed down the lane into which they turned. My instinct was to follow. It smelled of rot, but might merely have been the dash of so-called security that candidates need to feel safe and important. Sunday. Midnight. Campaigning has legally—if not effectively—finished. Public meetings and processions are banned. Sri Lanka has entered the 48-hour pre-election cooling off period. According to the Police Election Desk, total reported incidents of election-related violence are at 1,731, which include murders, assaults, harassment, and other forms of intimidation. Firecrackers (I finally learned, just barely, to distinguish the sound from gunfire) bounce and echo between buildings somewhere in the barely less than full-moon night.

diary
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Entry 1

Posted Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at 12:36 PM ET
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Lisa Kois is a writer, human rights lawyer, and activist who currently resides in Sri Lanka. She is currently working as an elections monitor.
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