Montage of Election related Media Reports

By Chakravarthy

**The Colombo Magistrates court today refused to grant a search warrant requested by the Criminal Investigations Department to search UNP leader Ranil Wickremesighe’s office and the Biyagama press of Wijeya Newspapers, publishers of Daily Mirror. 25/01/2010

**Common opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka yesterday called on former President Chandrika Kumaratunga at the Bandaranaike ancestral home in Horagolla Nittambuwa. 25/01/2010

**A bus carrying a group of journalists on their way to cover an event at Horagolla, has been detained for some time in Kadawatha police yesterday. A photo journalist who was among the media team who covered the event said they were stopped earlier by the Military Police at Kiribathgoda and were released. He said their names and addressed were recorded by he military police.

They were again stopped when the vehicle reached Kadawatha and the driver and the cleaner were taken inside the police station and questioned. Later the journalists too were called in and kept at the police station for an hour.

He said the police received calls from the respective media offices which they belonged to and they were told that the journalists have been released. Later the journalists were transferred from the bus to vans by those who were taking them on the coverage.

The bus was sent back to Colombo after having being made the necessary payments. The journalists said however managed to cover the event without any delay. 25/01/2010

**The temple of Buddhist monk who invoked blessings on Presidential candidate Gen (retd) Sarath Fonseka in the Ambalangoda area was attacked early this morning, the chief monk of the temple said.

Ven Ambalangoda Siri Dhamma thera said that his temple Sugathabimbaramaya, in Poramba, Ambalangoda came under attack around 1.00 am. “I believe that as I recently invoked blessings on Gen Fonseka our temple was attacked”, he said.

He said that the attackers had first demanded that they wanted to meet him, but as he did not comeout his temple was extensively damaged. He said he was threatened by the persons who had come. 25/01/2010

**A journalist attached to the Lanka e news website was reported missing since last night. Prageeth Eknaligoda was on his way home from work late last night at the time he went missing. The Editor of Lanka e news speaking to Daily Mirror online said that a police complaint has been lodged. 25/01/2010

**The CID visited the house of a top aid of Presidential Candidate General Sarath Fonseka this morning to arrest him. However he was not at the residence at the time. The CID is accusing Fonseka’s aid of having illegal weapons in his house.

General Sarath Fonseka’s Secretary Dr. Senaka Arnold Haripriya de Silva said that around 20 CID officers had visited his house early this morning. “Around 1.00 am CID officers came to my mother’s house which is in my name in the hope of arresting me,” De Silva told Daily Mirror online. The CID again visted his house a short while ago.
25/01/2010

**A SMS campaign has began using news stories that have not originated from the Daily Mirror but carrying the Daily Mirror as the source. Daily Mirror would like to distance itself from these SMS’s and requests the general public to be aware of such campaign in future. 25/01/2010

**Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka has ordered the cancellation of the transfer of Northern Province senior DIG Nimal Lewke. The polls chief has informed the IGP in this regard, the election monitoring body PAFFREL said. Lewke, who is in charge of operations in the North, had been recalled to the police headquarters in Colombo.

Police transfers ahead of a Presidential election is a violation of election laws. However when contacted a senior police source insisted the DIG was not being transferred and will continue to hold on to his previous post but will operate from Colombo and be given additional duties. The Election Commissioner on 7th December ordered all government departments, institutions, corporations and other entities not to hire, promote or transfer any employee until the presidential election results are released. 25/01/2010

**The Elections Commissioner has been called to intervene and stop a radio programme “Kalaguna Selakeema” (paying gratitude) which is to be aired over the state radio on Monday in favour of Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa, the CMEV chief D.M.Dissanayaka said.

Mr Themiya Hurulle, on behalf of Gen (retd) Sarath Fonseka in a letter to the Commissioner said that the programme was being recorded on Sunday night and the broadcast of such programme was a violation of election laws, he said.

The Elections Commissioner issued a fresh order on Sunday calling the media not to broadcast or print any election propaganda material as campaigning has ended. 24/01/2010

**The controversial Officer in Charge of the Rattota Police Station in the Matale district has been replaced with immediate effect after allegedly interfering with the postal voting of subordinates. The officer in question is currently out on sick leave and has been replaced with another OIC, the Government Agent (GA) for Matale Mr. Gamini Senivaratne said.

The OIC is alleged to have intimidated a Civil Defence Guard (CDF) attached to the station after he refused to show the marked ballot paper to him. Earlier the OIC is alleged to have told his subordinates to vote in favour of a selected candidate at the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for January 26. 24/01/2010

**A stock of sand bottles, swords and scurrilous posters against common Presidential candidate Gen (retd) Sarath Fonseka has been detected in Matara, a reporter in the area said.

He said the van with four persons was detected last night was currently at the Police and local politicians have called the police to release the van while JVP members have protested about the move. One of the politicians has removed the key of vehicle. 24/01/2010

**The Kurunegala Police yesterday seized a lorry carrying scurrilous posters against Gen Fonseka following a tip-off. The lorry also had bottles of arrack. The lorry driven by two navy personnel was stopped at Malkaduwawa, off the Kurunegala town. A group of supporters of Gen Fonseka had followed the vehicle after informing the police who stopped vehicle and took it to the Police. 24/01/2010

**At least six election propaganda offices belonging to the common candidate General (Retd.) Sarath were vandalized late last night in separate incidents in the Gampaha district, a spokesperson for the Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) said today.

They said armed mobs smashed and destroyed the offices after threatening those present with bodily harm and even death. The incidents took place at Galwela Junction in Mahara, Mahabim at Biyagama, Makola, Galwala Junction, Pamuniwila and Malwana Junction, the spokesperson said. He said the party had lodged complaints with the respective police stations and the Office of the Commissioner of Elections. 24/01/2010

**Police have searched United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya’s wife’s ancestral home late last night for ‘arms and ‘other articles of a defamatory nature’ but had found nothing, Jayasuriya told Daily Mirror online.

Speaking to Daily Mirror online, Deputy Leader Jayasuriya explained that the premises situated in Ranmuthugala, Kadawatha was occupied by his wife’s brother but was being temporarily used as the office for George Perera; the area coordinator for the common opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka.

Deputy Leader Jayasuriya said that he had been shocked to receive reports that a police team armed with a search warrant had entered the premises looking for weapons and other articles.

He said however that this was the not the first time that tactics of this low nature had been employed by the government, and said that he hoped an end to incidents of this nature would come soon. 23/01/2010

**Popular actress Upeksha Swarnamali of ‘Paba’ fame claims fans of the television series are being misled and made to believe she is back to continue her role. She insists she had not returned since she was removed from the series following her decision to support Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka.

Upeksha told Daily Mirror online that some old scenes played by her in ‘Paba’ and telecast several months ago, were now being integrated to the ongoing story and the script changed accordingly to give the audience an impression that she was back in the TV series. Upeksha said she thoroughly condemned such low-grade tactics and urged her fans not to be misled by such ploys. 23/01/2010

**The police have received information that around 300,000 fake ballot papers are circulating around the country and sought public support to crack down on its distribution. Senior DIG of the police elections unit Gamini Navaratna, speaking to Daily Mirror online, said that the revelation came following the detection of 21700 fake ballot papers this week.

He said that the police are now trying to identify where the nearly 300,000 fake ballot papers are being distributed. The police had this week detected two ballot boxes in Pettah filled with 21700 fake ballot papers which were being prepared to be transported to Puttalam. 23/01/2010

**The Nawala residence of businessman and opposition member Tiran Alles, who is the General Secretary of the SLFP Mahajana wing, came under a grenade attack early this morning damaging his house and vehicle, an opposition spokesman told Daily Mirror online.

Alles had reportedly managed to escape any harm as a result of the attack. The house and vehicle of Alles, caught fire after the attack. The fire brigade was called in to douse the flames.

Meanwhile speaking to Daily Mirror Tiran Alles said that the main reason behind the attack was that the government thought he was responsible for leaking the photograph of the Presidents son Namal Rajapakse together with LTTE operative Emil Kanthan. 22/01/2010

**The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has delayed recording a statement today with Danuna Tillekaratne; son-in-law to presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka, as their work load for today has kept them too busy.

Police Spokesman SSP I.M Karunaratne told Daily Mirror online that the DIG in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department while speaking to him had said that they had ‘too much work’ to do today, and had put off the meeting for this reason.

Danuna Tillekaratne had been asked to appear before the CID today to record a statement, sources close to General Sarath Fonseka told Daily Mirror yesterday. The government has claimed that it possesses documents to prove that General Fonseka’s son-in-law profited from arms procurements during the war with the LTTE. 20/01/2040

**A man who was pasting posters of Presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka in Wariyapola was killed early this morning when he was attacked by a group using clubs, DIG Elections Gamini Navaratna told Daily Mirror online.

A group of ten supporters of General Fonseka were pasting posters, when they came under attack by a gang on seven motorcycles. They ran away to escape the attack but one of them was killed in the incident.

The victim H.M.Dhammika Herath (33) was a businessman in the area a son of the former Principal of Amakadawara Vidyalaya. The body was to be referred to the Kurunegala teaching hospital. Police attested five suspects over the incident. This is the third pre-election related death reported. 19/01/2010