Tissa Attanayake: Maitripala Sirisena will plunge country into chaos Ketagoda: CBK wants to be PM
Posted on December 9th, 2014
By Dasun Edirisinghe Courtesy Island
Former UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, MP, who has announced his support for President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the January 08 presidential election said yesterday that he had decided against backing presidential candidate Maitripala Sirisena because the latter had failed to fulfil his main pledge to the UNP Working Committee (WC).
The WC had endorsed Sirisena’s candidature as he had promised to engineer the defection of 25 government MPs, among other things, Attanayake said.
The UNP’s support for Sirisena had been made conditional to brining 25 UPFA MPs, appointing UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Executive Prime Minister and the abolition of the executive presidency within 100 days of his election, said the former UNP General Secretary, adding that Sirisena had already failed to fulfil the first condition.
Addressing the media for the first time since his defection at the Jana Kala Kendraya, Battaramulla, flanked by SLFP stalwarts, Attanayake said Sirisena’s failure to deliver 25 MPs from the UPFA to the Opposition before handing over of nominations had been one of the common candidate’s pledges to the UNP.
“I was thinking in terms of a presidential candidate fielded by the UNP. If UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe could not contest, I thought of fielding deputy leader Sajith Premadasa.”
Attanayaka said he had been constrained to respect the party decision to support Sirisena instead of a UNP candidate.
The former UNP General Secretary said that he had insisted the UNP be the main constituent in case of it coalescing with other parties to contest the presidential election, but Sirisena’s campaign was being handled by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga from her Independent Square office and the UNP had no say in the matter.
Former President Kumaratunga, who was backing Sirisena had spoken of him disparagingly, recalled Attanayake. He said she had in the course of a conversation with him had asked “Who is Maithripala Sirisena? I know how to win an election if I get a General Secretary like you (Tissa)” –– Maithripala Mokekda, Mama Dannawa Dinana Heti Mata Oyawa Lebunanam Maha Lekam Widiyata.
The UNP National List MP said that as the party General Secretary had been kept in the dark about the agreement signed by UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sirisena.
He charged that Sirisena had signed separate agreements with Jathika Hela Urumaya, Tamil National Alliance and Democratic Party, but the UNP was not privy to the contents of those agreements. “How can Sirisena fulfil pledges given in separate agreements within one coalition when member parties have totally different political ideologies?” he asked.
Sirisena would plunge the country into chaos in the unlikely event of his election as President, MP Attanayake warned, noting that the country would be destabilised in such an eventuality.
In response to an allegation that he did not have a vote base because he had entered Parliament from the National List at the last general election, Attanayake said that everybody could see his power after Jan. 08, 2015.
“I contested a general election for the first time in 1989 and won six general elections thereafter with my preferential votes increasing every time,” he said, adding that he had not contested the last general election in keeping with a party decision to pave the way for SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem and Democratic People’s Front Leader Mano Ganeshan to contest under the UNP banner from the Kandy District.
MP Attanayake denied as baseless an allegation that he had accepted a huge cash bribe to join the government. He said he never betrayed the policies for money and the UNP leadership knew it very well.
The UNP had been able to increase its vote base to some extent due to his effort to bring together Ranil and Sajith on the same stage.
Deputy Leader of Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s Democratic Party, Colombo District MP Jayantha Ketagoda said that his leader needed to retain executive presidency and had asked him not to sign any agreement with Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera to abolish it.
He said that Gen. Fonseka, who contested the 2010 presidential election as the Opposition’s Common Candidate had told him that he had been compelled to sit with those who had backed the LTTE. “Now Gen. Fonseka has chosen to sit with them again,” Ketagoda said.
Recalling how former President Kumaratunga had toppled the UNF government in 2003 by using executive powers he said now she was talking about good governance.
Ketagoda said he had information that Chandrika was planning to be the Prime Minister.
Ketagoda said that Maitripala Sirisena’s brother had organised a campaign to paralyse the rice market at Maradagahamulla when the UNP –lead UNF formed a government (2002-2004) to increase the rice prices.
SLFP Senior Vice President Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, SLFP General Secretary Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, UPFA General Secretary Minister Susil Premajayantha, SLFP Treasurer Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena and Senior Minister Prof. Tissa Vitharana also participated.
December 9th, 2014 at 8:08 pm
WOW! Now here’s statement from the model, politico-economic-country-uplifting platform of this my3 cabal:
“The UNP’s support for Sirisena had been made conditional to brining 25 UPFA MPs, appointing UNP National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Executive Prime Minister and the abolition of the executive presidency within 100 days of his election…”
With this type of corrupt and immoral (as RUN-NIL would never be the executive PM if he ever contested on that ticket, so he is determined to be so through the backdoor!) underhand wheeling-dealing you see from this unholy cabal, I am wondering aren’t we not better with the known devil, as, at least the devil we know will not let LTTE gooks rear their monstrous heads ever again in Sri Lanka!
WOW! Here’s another one!
“Sirisena’s campaign was being handled by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga from her Independent Square office and the UNP had no say in the matter.”
Not sure which is worse – the DANGEROUSLY STUPID RUN-NIL gook who let LTTE become a formidable military machine having “no say in the matter” or the Equally DANGEROUSLY STUPID bandit-queen, the one who was going to give LTTE total freedom over $1.5 Billion in P-TOMS cash from foreign donors, now “having a say in the matter” of My3’s campaign !!!
Either way, tails you lose, heads you lose for Motherlanka with this bedraggled, homeless, unholy (that includes TNA/GTF gooks for good measure) cabal!
December 9th, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Well, now we have straight from the general secretary of the UNP that Maithripala signed a deal with the TNA, which could ONLY be about devolving police and land powers as this is the only thing they want.
Given the significance of such a major division of Sri Lanka, the press should demand that Maithripala make this signed agreement with the TNA PUBLIC so the Sri Lanka voter knows what they are voting for if they vote for Maithripala for president.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:53 pm
>>>He said that Gen. Fonseka, who contested the 2010 presidential election as the Opposition’s Common Candidate had told him that he had been compelled to sit with those who had backed the LTTE. “Now Gen. Fonseka has chosen to sit with them again,” Ketagoda said.<<<
And now we have Fonseka on record as backing "those" (CBK, Ranil, Maithripala) that support the separatist demands of the LTTE.
December 9th, 2014 at 11:28 pm
Vimutti:
Who are Karuna, Pillayan and KP.
Why Lord Buddha went looking for Angulimala, a murderer ?= and saved him too ?
December 10th, 2014 at 1:27 am
One thing I don’t get about Sri Lanka politics – why aren’t the press in the face of these candidates at every campaign stop asking the TOUGH questions that need to be asked of these candidates?
These questions would be good starters for MS:
MS – what have you accomplished in your three decades in government that entitles you to be President of Sri Lanka?
MS – how do you plan to build on MR’s extraordinary “miracle of Asia” growth of the Sri Lanka economy?
MS – do you think the 13th Amendment should be abolished? Why or why not?
December 10th, 2014 at 4:02 am
Hillary Clinton has a high liklihood of being the NEXT US President in 2016.
If that happens, she will move Heaven and Earth to transform Sri Lanka in to a Puppet State of the United States.
Sri Lankans can forget about Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, being a bastion of Theravada Buddism, and rapid economic development in the interest of SRi Lanka’s COMMON PEOPLE to free itself of Western Economic Hegemony.
That is why it is IMPERATIVE that the Powerful Executive Presidency be RETAINED, the current Patriotic War-Winning Government REMAIN in power, and the 13th Amendment be REPEALED and replaced with Districts administered by APPOINTED Government Agents, well ahead of the ascent of Hillary Clinton to the US Presidency in 2016.
Ask not For Whom The Bell Tolls, It Tolls for our Motherland!
………………………….
Opposition plans will result in total breakdown of govt – GL
DailyNews.lk
December 10, 2014
The need for a strong government based on consistency of policy and unity of direction was never more important than it is today, in view of the grave challenges the country is facing.
The challenges were obvious during the war, but it is important for the public to realise that the current issues, though less evident, are just as serious and call for a concerted and determined response, External Affairs Minister Professor G.L. Peiris said. Addressing a series of meetings in Beliatta, Tissamaharama and Tangalle, he said it would certainly not have been possible for terrorism to have been eradicated from the country, had there not been a strong executive capable of dealing with difficult situations.
The developments taking place at the international level highlight the crucial need for the same single minded purpose to be reflected in the government’s response, he said.
It is in this context that the plans of the Opposition candidate spell that danger to the country, the minister said. Prof. Peiris commented on the total confusion apparent in conflicting statements by spokespersons for the loose combination of parties supporting the Opposition candidate.
Some are on record advocating the abolition of the Executive Presidency within 24 hours, others talk of abolition in 100 days, and yet others suggest that the Presidency will be retained for the full six year term, including the retention of portfolios -a feature which the Opposition candidate had vigorously objected to previously. There also seem to be competing aspirants for the Defence portfolio, he said.
In any event, the constitutional changes proposed will clearly require not only a two-thirds majority in Parliament but also the support of the people at a referendum, the minister said.
Minister Peiris questioned the legitimacy of a candidate at a Presidential election announcing his intention of handing over all executive power to the leader of another political party.
“This shows a lack of good faith in dealing with the voters of our country, he pointed out. It is a travesty of the democratic process for one person to be the apparent candidate while another, for all intents and purposes, is the real candidate,” he said.
The contradictions and inconsistencies are all too obvious, the minister said.
“The groups that have come together to support the Opposition candidate reflect a diversity of views, from one end of the spectrum to the other, without even a minimum of agreement or consensus. The inevitable result of this state of things is breakdown of effective government, amounting to anarchy. This is all the more troubling in a situation where criminal behaviour has come to light, involving the collection of signatures on bland sheets of paper with offers of money, in an elaborate design to fabricate evidence to be used in the international investigation against Sri Lanka,” Prof. Peiris said.
He underlined the need for the public to safeguard their hard won victories by resisting an incoherent campaign motivated by hatred.
December 10th, 2014 at 8:10 am
Minister Peiris is joining the chorus to all our songs.
HE SHOULD GO TO THE SUPRME COURT AND OBTAIN A WRIT FOR A STAY ORDER TO STOP SIRISENAS ILLEGAL, UNPATRIOTIC, PERVERSE, TOTALLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FRAUDULENT TORT. CHANDRIKA’S NAME TOO SHOULD BE IN THE SUBMISSIONS AS A COSPIRATOR WHO CUNCURS WITH SIRISENAS TORT.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
County is already in a mess and what is good is maintained by the Colombians and the private sector that are working and paying taxes to pay the debts created by the cooks who seems to be seeking political power and those that are in power.