Sri Lanka may not have the internet penetration rates that some of the industrialized countries have but our cell phone ownership rate is among the highest in the developing world. With new communication technologies, Sri Lanka could, in the future, be susceptible to a so called “Velvet revolution.” In this type of revolution, small highly organized groups using tools such as social networking sites (e.g., Twitter or Facebook or text messaging) attempt to destabalize established governments. These efforts are backed by western powers who are keen on regime changes for ideological reasons. After recent western attempts to cause regime change in Sri Lanka using the UNHCR, we should be vigilant of such efforts.
‘Velvet’ or ‘colourful’ revolutions… are methods of exchanging power for social unrest. Colourful and ‘velvet’ revolutions occurred in post-communist societies of central and Eastern Europe and central Asia. Colourful revolutions have always been initiated during an election and its methods are as follows:
1. Complete despair in the attitude of people when they are certain to lose an election…
2. Choosing one particular colour which is selected solely for the Western media to identify (for their readers or viewers). Supporters wear this colour on wristbands, scarves and bandannas.
3. Announcing that there has been advance cheating before an election and repeating it non-stop afterwards… allowing exaggeration by the Western media.
4. Writing letters to officials in the government, claiming vote-rigging in the election.
It’s interesting to note that in all such ‘colourful’ projects – for example, in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan – the Western-backed movements have warned of fraud before elections by writing to the incumbent governments. Another study demonstrates that vote-rigging will be alleged on the very day of the election and that victory will be claimed by the opposition hours before the counting is finished and before their own defeat is announced. The results will therefore will already have a “background” of fraud. “In the final stages… supporters gather in front of the regime’s official offices, holding colourful banners and protesting against vote-rigging. This part of the demonstration is run by the foreign media who are the opposition movement’s supporters so that they make good pictures and mislead the international community.
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