Sri Lanka opposition poll campaign haunted by ‘grease devils’

(L-R)- Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Acting Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy; Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Hon. Chathuranga Abeyasingha, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development; Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy; Ms. Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP in Sri Lanka; Hon. Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy; Hon. Professor Chrishantha Abeysena, Minister of Science and Technology in Sri Lanka; and Fadhil Bakeer Markar, Team Leader, Strategic Engagement, Digital and Innovation, UNDP Sri Lanka

August 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's main opposition, which is bedeviled by a string of electoral defeats and an internal battle to oust its leader, says its door-to-door campaign is haunted by a phobia among voters about 'grease devils'. 'Grease devil' is a colloquial term used to describe peeping toms and other mischief makers who dress down and apply grease to their bodies to make it difficult to catch them.

A phobia about 'grease devils' has spread around Sri Lanka in recent weeks, triggering vigilante action by villagers in rural areas against suspects - sometimes due to mistaken identity.

"Everybody is looking at each other in suspicion," Kasthuri Anuradanayaka, a senior official of the opposition United National Party in the island's north central area where some local polls are to be held soon, told reporters.

"When a visitor comes to a village, people known to be hospitable look as if you are a 'grease devil'.

"Our village folk are gripped by fear, especially women."

Angry residents in several areas claimed that authorities are 'sheltering' grease devils leading to protests around police stations and stoning of vehicles belonging to the military.

Last week a mob killed an innocent policeman who tri