In Retrospect,The Rajapaksa Defeat Is A Reminder That Democracy And Autocracy Never Mix!
Posted on January 21st, 2015
LankaWeb Weekly Editorial
Jan.21st 2015
“ You Can Fool some of the people all the time and all of the people some of the time but never all the people all the time” Abraham Lincoln….. ..Perhaps is an apt summation of what happened to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential election concluded recently. He is undoubtedly someone who has done a great service to all the people of Sri Lanka although in so doing he has also committed certain grievous errors which proved to be harmful to himself as well as being a heavy penalty to the Sinhala Nation which once adored him as an air of uncertainty now hangs over the Island Nation .
Irrespective of ethnicity, all the communities within this country , particularly those who believe in the freedoms that need to be enjoyed by all with no compromise to aspirants of secession and supporters of degenrate terrorism seemed to be dividerd in their vote.
Sadly though, those who have greatly benefited by the former President’s leadership have also been disillussioned beyond reprieve through his conduct and direction that led to his undoing which was a path towards autocracy and one intolerable in the climate of Sri Lanka today and as always.
One which carries no acollades and has merely transformed his image and credibilities into something dubious and in light of what is being revealed through various plausible investigations his image is being tarnished and depicted as someone who despite all his accomplishments as a liberator of Sri Lanka and the rapport he had with powerful international sources which benefitted the country immensely neglected the primary needs of the country in post terrorist Sri Lanka despite token attempts to portray to the contrary which eventually did not sustain him..
He appears to have had as a priority the carving out of a huge slice of material assets together with his friends and family where the hardships and sufferings of a majority of the population( impoverished and straining their last resources towards eking out a living at best) seemed to be of little or no consequence to his longing for power at ayt cost which is what in all probabilities the voting masses as well as a well put together coalition acheived by ousting him. Surely a “Coup de Grace” that ended his incumbency!
The mood in the Nation today is one of speculation and great expectations towards the future, greater perhaps than what was portrayed during the Rajapaksa regime which all seemed to fall apart in the end where it is hoped the new administration will implement what is best for the country with no self centered motivation on the part of anyone where time will tell the outcome of the ignominious dumping of a once much loved President who succumbed to the viles of his alter ego that prompted him to seek power and control he was not entitled to as his legacy unfolds.
Despite the misgivings attached to his loss as a self inflicted one through neglect and one where he was totally misled by his aspiring campaign ‘big wigs’ who paid scant attention to some of the key pointers suggesting a possible defeat~ and were already celebrating a victory that was not to be, there are shades of good in what the world sees as the Sri Lanka of today, one which has been transformed from the depths of despair linked to an insurgency of near nation destructive proportions into what many believe is the ” Miracle of Asia” whose creator very definitely is Mahinda Rajapaksa and no one can take that away from him!
In the aftermath of his defeat which was by no means resounding~ a margin of some 46.5 % to 56.1% or thereabouts, there is reason to believe it could have been prevented had he taken appropriate steps to clean out his administrative team’s bunglings somewhere in the middle of his second term where he was indeed riding a wave of support from many quarters and should have corrected some of his policies which were in the end detrimental to his eventual demise.
He carried on inasmuch as the Emperor with no clothes did regardless of public and foreign opinion never believing that he would fall as he considered himself unassailable and infallible even as far as the soothsayers predictions which saw not his victory but doomsday!
Undoubtedly His “campaign staff” has in all probabilities done something which rang not victory bells but his political deathknell. as quoted from a recent report ~”They created an euphoria of victory. They also had more than enough money to spend and the facilities of the print and electronic media of the state sector to use and abuse with impunity. Not even the Elections Commissioner or Court orders could stop him.Without looking at the statistical reality of the vote by the Tamils (TNA), the Muslims and the upcountry Indian Estate population (even without Thondaman), Mahinda’s strategists made up their own minds that the President would win. They entertained no other views and could see, hear or speak of nothing else but certain victory.” rhetoric, actions and folly perhaps which dumped him ignominioudly on his rear with nowhere to turn to sadly in the end!
A proud Sinhala Nation has thus lost their once patriotic and iconic leader whose image in the end became distorted to the point of non recognition and lost in the anger of the vote that defeated him where the misdeeds and erratic direction of he BBS angering the Muslim voters, overtolerance of the TNA and the surge of the LTTE sympathetic Tamil voters avowed to take revenge after their champions were de-commissioned, as well as a total neglect of the needs of the common man who worshipped him yet watched in despair as the opportunist regime ran amok with patronage, corruption, thuggery and false promises to restitute their grievances and their pathetic exsistences augmented into misery as the runaway train which the Government of Sri Lanka eventually became had a felt need to be stopped in its tracks .
What the New Regime now has as immediate priorities seem insurmountable and overwhelming towards restoring global credibility in an economic sense as well as winning ther trust of many who virtually gave up on Sri Lanka towards the latter part of the Rajapaksa Administration as the lapses were painfully visible and blatant!
Although there is every possibility it will make good on the lapses and huge indiscretions of the past there is also the danger of leaving certain areas of vital importance open to compromise and attack translating to cautions necessary in how the TNA and Muslim leaderships are dealt with. Said with trepidation as there are those who once were willing to bargain with the security and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka in a hapless bid towards sustaining either their own agenda’s or simple stupidity or perhaps both!
Sad would be the day if the New Sirisena Administration unleashes the devils and enemies of Sri Lanka that were coralled and kept under control by the previous administration by being overly zealous in how it appeases the world and certain sources alienated from the Sinhala Nation who wanted nothing but Regime Change! Realistically the ungainly support it had from what many term undesirable quarters that gave their support with certain favours in mind could also prove to be the undoing of the presently euphoric Sirisena Presidency!.
What transpired during the 2015 Presidential election however is a classic example of the veracity of the truism that Democracy ( or the lack thereof) and Autocracy in the end never mix!
January 21st, 2015 at 5:12 pm
Namaste. Imperialism and colonialism will always control its subjects. Indian imperialism is the worst on earth that has ever been. This’s the genocide of the non-Indians of the island. Jai Hind.
January 21st, 2015 at 5:17 pm
Above is not far from the reality of the situation, writing was on the wall during the Badulla elections. Regime took no notice and paid the price.
January 21st, 2015 at 5:54 pm
Quote: What the New Regime now has as immediate priorities seem insurmountable and overwhelming towards restoring global credibility in an economic sense
Agreed. This is the main thing. With over $6 billion loan interest and repayments due to foreign entities and China financing drying up, Sri Lanka is heading for bankruptcy. It is Basil’s fault fairly and squarely. It was also very wrong to borrow more and more to ostensibly finance old loans but the new UNP government’s anti-China policy will actually cause it.
Yesterday the interim finance minister met IMF. What the government doesn’t say is the meeting was unsuccessful. IMF will not bail Sri Lanka out unless the government agrees to very unpopular austerity measures. Despite freedom of information (the act has not passed still) people are kept in the dark. Contrary to IMF dictates, the UNP government dropped fuel prices as a red herring. Another disaster. If promised salary increase is given and the public sector is not cut down in size, that will be final nail on the UNP coffin in an economic sense.
Is the UPFA ready for the spoils?
January 21st, 2015 at 7:53 pm
I personally do not have any faith in this new regime because see the people who are in it. Once traitor is always a traitor. Who were this new regime? Chandrika as you all know is a master crook. Ranil as you all know is dumb and dumber who leans more to the west and our arch enemy Tamil Diaspora. We cannot forget his connections to channel 4 and Tamil Diaspora and our enemies like Norway etc. We know about others too who were all Ex-thieves Ravi,Sajith,Jayawickrema, Jayasuriya, and many more in the UNP. These wild bunch failed not only once several times in the past to serve the people. Suddenly they come from nowhere and now they have started witch hunting the losers and harassing them like no other times. It’s not fair and they will find themselves in the same spot pretty soon. Just wait and see.
One shot and Vass no difference. What can you expect from a person like Minister one shot? Previous Govt too had such kind of useless people to Govern. We need intellectuals to Govern our beautiful country not thugs and Drug lords or actors. We need good Governance with good people not people who take revenge and harass as if they are some sort of saints from heaven. After the war I thought our politicians and the people will learn something and build the nation in a good way but unfortunately nothing good happened. Yes! previous Govt did many things to the country and to the public where no other Govt in the past haven’t done. They built roads,Schools,Hospitals,Railways and more importantly they gave life to half dead nation because of the war. Our people never appreciate good things except thinking of their stomach and temporally benefits. Our stupids do not know the difference of good and bad. They love Gossips, They believe in storytellers. They never think of their future. Some are there who likes the war.They do not care about the country or who Govern the country as long as they get some benefits for themselves.
I hope people will open their eyes soon and will realize that it was only a dream they saw it in this past few days. Dont be hypnotized because of few price reductions here and there for few items. They are all bogus to get votes not real. We dont need Gestapo (Hitler’s feared secret service) like Govt who go on rampage taking revenge from people just. We cannot get any real news except from webs nowadays because all the TV channels broadcasting only their propaganda.They were blaming the MR govt but they do the same. I wholeheartedly reject this new regime and I hope it will be gone before our Motherland falls in to enemy hands.
January 21st, 2015 at 10:56 pm
What is mind boggling is the stupidity of those who did not forgive MR towards the greater importance of what he did for Sri Lanka and al least be parochial towards some of his shortcomings which at times were blown out of proportion! HEY! IN THE GREATER PICTURE HE PUT SRI LANKA ON THE INTERNATIONAL MAP DID HE NOT ANF BROUGH A LASTING PEACE TO THE NATION WHEN ALL SEEMED LOST DID HE NOT?. The NEGATIVE VOTERS surely were cajoled into thnking that he was a villain through the villainous manipulations of the opposition and the lackey Sirisena who PRIMARILY WAS A CONNIVING DESERTER in all probabilities will have a very short tenure as he has nothing creatve or imaginative to offer Sri Lanka. He is simply an opportunist like the rest of them! These voters are a sorry and ungrateful lot. What is even more perplexing is how some dumb voters were hoodwinked into accepting deadbeats like Chandrika, Ranil, ne’er do wells like Rajitha Senaratna, Lakshman Kiriella, Rauf Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake etc whose track records are so tainted it sounds like a joke they are still pursuing political careers when they belong in a circus! So who are the biggest bunch of losers in the history of Sri Lankan politics in backing this motley crew? None other than those who voted for Sirisena! They have to be logically the biggest bunch of losers from many perspectives including one which could pave the way for TNA( Tamil Tiger related) ambits.~ So for the time being at least Sirisena will rule the roost,where there can be amends made at the General Election where there needs to be an about face turn AND A SURGE towards disillussioning the Sirisena bandwagon and compensating for the Dog Eat Dog type Sri lankan politics which is shameful for the Sinhala Nation!
January 21st, 2015 at 10:58 pm
“Our people never appreciate good things except thinking of their stomach and temporally benefits.”
It applies to the Rajapaksha family as well.
They FORGOT and FAILED TO APPRECIATE who toiled for them to boast about war victory, election victory, etc.
SF who did MOST dirty work in war to win it was sacked without a PENSION and medals!
Those were the only things the poor man earned in his entire life!
How can ANYONE take them away?
(He had his problems as a politician but as an army officer he was excellent.)
January 21st, 2015 at 11:08 pm
SM,
Did MR achieve it SINGLEHANDEDLY?
No. Many people helped him. SF was one of them. What MR did in return? DUMPED them and ROBBED their hard earned things as well.
Let me give you an example close to me.
Did you know that JAFFNA TAMILS defended SL with their lives? They are in the EPDP. These people died in THOUSANDS. Put up with insults from the community and were EXCOMMUNICATED. What happened to them after the war? DUMPED!
A number of them were KILLED by LTTE supporters. They were denied jobs, housing, etc. all because they defended SL.
What did MR do? Just dumped them. Then came NPC. That was the END of these people. TNA took revenge.
When MR came to power in 2005, LTTE was running most of the north. When MR left office, LTTE (TNA) was running the ENTIRE north except land and police powers.
January 21st, 2015 at 11:21 pm
Democracy, if not cheated, will always prove the reality. All other opinions are mind perceived and unreal.
There is no need to forgive real heroes. They are not around for us to even pay respect by bowing down.
What is of greater importance for real heroes is not their families, not their bank accounts, not their power or not even their lives. Fake heroes, on the other hand, keep reciting victories earned by others as if their own and steal all the credit and grab the goodies real heroes left behind with super greed. Irony is they are able to fool a considerable percentage of the voters. Bigger the sample size, however, will finally reflect the truth and the reality.
January 21st, 2015 at 11:23 pm
Look at YARL DEVI train.
In 2005 Sinhala people happily sat and travelled in YARL DEVI which used to run to Madavachchi and later Vavuniya.
In 2014 NO SINHALA person can get into this train. By the time it comes to Medavachchi it is packed with Tamils ONLY.
I told this even before the train from Jaffna started!! I KNOW how Tamils behave for obvious reasons.
I don’t want to hear excuses and explanations. This is the reality. Excuses and explanations don’t help the poor Sinhala people who suffer in NCP with elephants on one side, tigers on the other, CKD on the other and poverty on the other. Now they lost the train too.
If resources are limited give them first to those who defend the nation.
The man who defended them Gen JANAKA PERERA was killed by the LTTE on the day KARUNA AMMAN took oaths as a deputy minister.
MR forgot his voters in 2010. Voters forgot him in 2015.
Many Sinhala commentators have endorsed my view.
January 21st, 2015 at 11:29 pm
A law in thermodynamics says “Entropy (disorder) in any given ‘isolated’ system tend to increase with time”. It is universal and appear to apply on everything under the sun. Our country too was falling to the abyss in a chaotic situation due to disorder. Fortunately for us an external force came and (even MS started wearing the Modi jacket) put the things seemingly right. I think now MS himself can play that external force by isolating himself from the corrupting tendencies that can come from within and from the family. Perhaps that is what he is trying to do. He can apply the external force on the system for it to work without increase in entropy.
January 21st, 2015 at 11:30 pm
Now MR has forgotten THIRUPATHY GOD who helped him win 45%.
January 21st, 2015 at 11:45 pm
HE went to Dalada Maligawa to say sorry
January 21st, 2015 at 11:48 pm
Lorenzo,
Not many Sinhala commentators are endorsing your view. Why ? They have computers, a comfortable chair and may be A/C too !
January 21st, 2015 at 11:55 pm
No God helped MR to get any votes except the poor voters who were so grateful to him for his fearless approach to the war. Yes he didnt win it alone but he was the leader who as Comander-in- chief gave the green light to eliminate the most ruthless group of murderers in our history. Those bloody murderers killed our innocents and destroyed the whole communities. Barbarians.
Now these lunatics in the Yahapalanaya has removed all the restrictions from the North and East without knowing the danger we will face if those LTTE remnants and their supporters TNA take the power on to their own hands. We know who are these Yahapalanaya guys before and what they will do to our Sinhala nation if they get the power again. They have promised everything to those separatists and they are waiting for the right time to strike. It’s a fact.Nobody can hide the truth. Those traitors now trying to label MR as a villain but believe me those Gestapos will not succeed. There are 57 lacks of citizens who believed him and many more will realize their mistake by giving their vote to this Yahapalanaya gang in the near future. Already people are fed up of their lies and revenge tactics.
January 22nd, 2015 at 12:01 am
I hope people comprehend the dangerous situation that has been brought on the Sinhala Nation by MR not only having had this election at this inopportune time, but also by the Sinhala people not understanding the enormity of what is at stake. Despite enough being written in the print media and discussed on TV about the necessity for people to look beyond the buzzwords of “corruption” and “change” and vote for MR for the sake of the nation’s sovereignty and security, it was not taken seriously enough by a sector of the Sinhala people, especially by some foolish Buddhists who either did not understand the seriousness of the situation due to not learning the lessons of history, or simply refusing to do so for petty personal or political reasons.
We have turned out to be unthinking idealist sheep! Many Sinhala people who voted for “Change” for one reason or another are now regretful as they see what is unfolding. I agree fully with all that Ranjit and Sunil Mahatthaya have stated on this thread. The Sinhala people have been in a dream world, being promised a mirage within which, WHILE THEY DREAMED ON, all that the TNA, the Diaspora and the UNP/West wanted would be delivered.
Watch as things unfold in the name of the Parliamentary System as the cure-all for everything that was deemed wrong with the Constitution (the “Bahubootha”) which for all its convolutedness and tendency to permit dictatorial trends, was paradoxically what HELD THE NATION FROM FALLING APART INTO ANARCHY.
January 22nd, 2015 at 12:25 am
Despite giving full control and power to put the nation in the right path , MR was taking it towards ANARCHY. We may have to make certain sacrifices to pull the country back.
January 22nd, 2015 at 2:10 am
So why are we trying to ditch the Constitution that had saved us from that calamity?
We seem to be throwing the baby out with the bathwater!
What is needed is the repeal of 18A ad the reintroduction of a modified 17A,
NOT a retreat into a Parliamentary System that had demonstrably failed us several times before.
January 22nd, 2015 at 3:37 am
That is exactly what they have promised to do. NOT a retreat into a Parliamentary System .
But other unnecessary power that has driven country towards anarchy will have to be kerbed.
That includes
1. kerb the number of ministries Maha Raja keep to feed himself
2. stop unnecessary interference to ministries by appointing friends as secretaries
3. stop appointing Maharaja’s friends ( someone said even 3 wheeler drivers) to chief Justice position and interfering with police investigations, handing over of elephants to whoever Raja likes ( even animals become his property)
4. Not more than 1 or 2 terms of Maha Rajaship
However, I am not sure what they will actually do, because I don’t trust politicians 100% AND DEDICATE MY LIFE TO THEM LIKE BRAINLESS FOOLS.
January 22nd, 2015 at 3:43 am
By the time it comes to Medavachchi it is packed with Tamils ONLY- Why this sakkiliya try to fool Sinhalese even though they have proofed they are not modayas any more on 18th may 2009.
Why can not run a new service Mathavacchi Devi from Medavachchi to Purak koddai .
January 22nd, 2015 at 4:09 am
Lingam,
Please tell us whether “sakkiliya” is right or wrong.
He is saying have a interchange at Anuradhapura to change to a new train so that both Sinhalas and Tamils have equal chances getting a seat, just like from Colombo. Now Tamil occupy all the seats and because of this Sinhalas voted for My3.
That is all.
Key problem is , Jaffna have no Sinhalas and they don’t allow them to come, but Colombo have plenty.
January 22nd, 2015 at 4:13 am
Looks like My3 is also doing the same mistakes! His brother KUMARASINGHE SIRISENA appointed as SLT boss!! Promise was only 23 ministers, already 52 ministers of various names!!
This is no good.
January 22nd, 2015 at 4:20 am
Exactly, Lorenzo is right …
Remember Nanda you said that MY3 will
1. kerb the number of ministries Maha Raja keep to feed himself
2. stop unnecessary interference to ministries by appointing friends as secretaries
3. stop appointing Maharaja’s friends ..
Breaking the promises made has already started!!
January 22nd, 2015 at 4:48 am
Oh! it gets worse. More FAMILY appointments. This is another MAFIA.
Ranil’s ministry secretary is SAMAN EKANAYAKA. His wife RENUHA EKANAYAKA is the ministry secretary of social welfare and livestock ministry!!
Ports and airports ministry secretary is LP JAYAMPATHI. His wife HDS Malkanthi is the cultural affairs ministry secretary.
This is a bloody mafia.
My3 has to stop this madness. Otherwise he will also end up like MR.
January 22nd, 2015 at 6:40 am
** My3 has to stop this madness. Otherwise he will also end up like MR. **
Don’t worry he appointed Kumarasinghe Sirisena as SLT Chairman.
Welcome! Sirisena Telecom of Sirisena Group of Companies.
January 22nd, 2015 at 6:43 am
Just look at this
www[dot]adaderana[dot]lk/news/29525/pg-kumarasinghe-assumes-duties-as-slt-chairman
Well what do you know! It is just day 13 of Yahapalane!
January 22nd, 2015 at 6:52 am
Here is another unconfirmed news
Explanation called by MY3 from new Def. Sec. for confirming Gota’s statements on the BoC Bank Account.
Again…if it is true….its Yahapalane!
January 22nd, 2015 at 10:28 am
Sinhala nation or any other nation will not prosper under prevailing social and work ethics in Sri Lanka. An administrative and social system should exist where no one can do as they please (like in most developed countries), because natural tendency of people is towards corruption and law breaking. It is embarrassing the way public accommodate and tolerate the misdeeds of politicians, high ranking officials and other people with influence like the rich.
With out a proper work ethic their is no development. The educated with a 80 year history of higher education has failed to contribute anything to the economy and worse continue to depend on the productivity of the blue collar workers. The administration should make it a priority to channel the intellectual capabilities we have towards developing a knowledge based economy. The technology know how accumulated during the conduct of war is a good basis to start ventures of military and civilian applications. One can get a lead from LTTE technicians in this regard where they demonstrated innovative enterprise which is solely lacking in our professionals and in the attitude of the government
January 22nd, 2015 at 10:51 am
“Maithreepalanaya” has ALREADY BECOME “Vairapalanaya” with SYSTEMATIC attacks on the defeated UPFA leaders and supporters!
“Yahapalanaya” has become “Borupalanaya” with the NUMBER OF MINISTERS, now 52, MORE THAN DOUBLE and VASTLY EXCEEDING the PROMISED LIMIT of 25!
“Maithreepalanaya” has become the “Kotipalanaya” with the REMOVAL of the Military Governor of the FORMER WAR ZONE flodded with UNREPENTANT SEPARATISTS, and soon to become EELAM in all but name when Land & Police Powers are DEVOLVED to the SEPARATISTS as PROMISED to gain their support to topple President Mahinda Rajapaksa!
It was NOT NECESSARY to topple the EXISTING war-winning PATRIOTIC government, the SOLE BARRIER to disintegration of Sri Lanka, to KNOW that this would be the RESULT of that TREACHEROUS ACT by a motley gang of ANTI-NATIONALISTS!! HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE??
The STUPID Sinhala Buddhists who fell into the “Maithreepalanaya” TRAP can now RETURN HOME to the Patriotic Fold, crying “Mea Culpa! Mea Culpa, Mea MAXIMA Culpa!
However, the TREACHEROUS DROHIYAS who ORCHESTRATED the Regime Change, like that HYPOCRITE “Facebook” Lorenzo and his LAPDOG Nanda, both hidden Eelamists, will not be accepted into the PATRIOT fold!
Their FURIOUS BACK-PEDALLING after the DIRTY DEED is done, that we see now, DOES NOT ABSOLVE THEM of their TREACHERY! WE KNOW, that is all a DEVIOUS STRATEGY to hide among the PATRIOTS until it is TIME TO STAB THE MOTHERLAND in the back, ONCE AGAIN!
BEGONE … DROHIYAS! BEGONE!
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:13 am
Defeat of President was not due to his fault: It had all been planned. And everything that is going on along with the witch-hunt is partof that plan. We get blind to the reality of foreign intervention when we get involved in the social and political problems within to which we give reason for the fall of Rajapakse Regime.
act – the proxy Ltte groups used the separatist “Revenge vote” of the Tamil community to oust Mahinda whose gov brought down the tamil tiger terrorists. Sooo….
Evidence of India’s involvement in regime change in Sri Lanka
Posted on January 22, 2015by srilankaopinion
By K. Ratnayake
21 January 2015
Fresh evidence has emerged pointing to a concerted international effort behind the defeat of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse in the country’s presidential election on January 8. Reuters reported on Sunday that the Colombo station chief for India’s external spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), was recalled to New Delhi before the election, following complaints by the Sri Lankan government that he was helping the opposition parties.
India rejected any suggestion that it meddled in the Sri Lankan election. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin insisted that the diplomat was recalled as part of a “normal transfer” after a three-year tour of duty in Colombo. The Reuters report, however, based on “political and intelligence sources” in India and Sri Lanka, said Colombo asked New Delhi to recall the agent “for helping gather support for joint opposition candidate Maithripala [Sirisena] after persuading him to ditch Rajapakse’s cabinet.”
Sirisena, a senior cabinet minister, defected to the opposition in November, immediately after Rajapakse announced the date for an early presidential election. Sirisena declared that he would run as the joint opposition candidate. The move was prepared well in advance by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, head of the pro-US United National Party (UNP). UNP leaders discussed this “election strategy” with senior US and UK diplomats in Colombo during early November.
It is no surprise that India was also on board. Since the end of the communal war in Sri Lanka against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, New Delhi, like Washington, has been deeply hostile to the Rajapakse government’s economic and strategic relations with China. In 2013, India supported a US-sponsored resolution in the UN Human Rights Council to investigate war crimes in Sri Lanka as a means of pressuring Rajapakse to distance himself from Beijing.
According to Reuters, India was “stunned” when Chinese submarines docked twice in Colombo last September. An Indian security official told the news agency: “The turning point in the relationship was the submarines. There was real danger.” Alarm bells would also have rung in Washington. As part of its “pivot to Asia” to secure its hegemony in Asia, the US has been preparing war plans against China, premised on American naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean that would enable the US to cut off Chinese imports of energy and raw materials from Africa and the Middle East.
The first suggestion that India was intervening in the Sri Lankan election was a brief item in the Colombo-based Sunday Times on December 28. It reported that allegations that “RAW’s Colombo station chief K. Ilango had links with the Common Opposition have cost him his job in Colombo.” According to this report, Ilango’s normal term of service was over, but New Delhi had extended it. However, he suddenly received transfer orders after the Sri Lankan government urged his recall.
The Sunday Times report was ignored during the election campaign. Both Rajapakse and Sirisena only hinted at their sharp differences over the alignment of foreign policy. They stifled a debate that could have alerted working people to the acute dangers posed by Sri Lanka’s growing entanglement in geo-political rivalries. Rajapakse, who sought to whip up nationalist sentiment by portraying himself as the victim of an “international conspiracy,” did not want to offend the India, the US and their co-conspirators by providing details of the plot.
Sunday’s Reuters article cited an Indian official who said the then Sri Lankan defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, complained about “the agent’s activities to Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval” when Doval visited Colombo in late November to attend a defence seminar. After Doval’s return to New Delhi, the RAW station chief was recalled.
During his visit, Doval not only met with Mahinda Rajapakse and his brother Gotabhaya but also with Wickremesinghe, Sirisena and Kumaratunga. No details were reported, but undoubtedly Doval discussed India’s concerns over Rajapakse’s government, as well as the opposition’s election plans.
Reuters provided details of the RAW agent’s activities, without actually naming him. According to Reuters sources, he was involved in “facilitating meetings to encourage several lawmakers, among them Sirisena, to defect from Rajapakse’s party.” The agent also played a role in convincing Wickremesinghe not to stand against Rajapakse, in order to make way for “someone who can win.” A Sri Lankan parliamentarian told Reuters: “They actively were involved, talking to Ranil [Wickremesinghe], getting those things organised, talking to Chandrika [Kumaratunga].”
Kumaratunga was the linchpin of the plot. A major figure in Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party, she had strong links to Sirisena and other MPs who defected. At the same time, she had close ties in Washington, including to the Obama administration, through her lengthy association with the Clinton Foundation.
Wickremesinghe has not denied meeting with the RAW station chief, as well as the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo. His spokesman told theReuters that “they discussed the current political situation” but denied the Indian officials had “advised” Wickremesinghe. Kumaratunga has remained silent on her discussions with the Indian agent.
New Delhi played a significant role in lining up political support for Sirisena via the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main party of the Tamil ruling elite in Sri Lanka. For weeks, the TNA held off making any announcement about the presidential election. But after a trip to New Delhi by TNA leader R. Sambandan, the party openly backed Sirisena, helping to swing Tamil votes in the North and East behind the opposition candidate.
Having won the election, Sirisena quickly shifted foreign policy to end Sri Lanka’s “international isolation”—in other words, to move closer to India, the US and its allies. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s first overseas trip was to New Delhi this week. Sirisena is due to visit India next month.
In New Delhi, Samaraweera dismissed the Reuters report, declaring that “the people” toppled the Rajapakse regime in a popular uprising, which he compared to the “Arab Spring.” In fact, what happened was a carefully planned operation, backed by the US and India, to exploit widespread opposition to the autocratic Rajapakse government by falsely portraying Sirisena as the “democratic” alternative. Sirisena, Wickremesinghe and Kumaratunga represent layers of the ruling class hostile to Rajapakse’s cronyism and pro-China tilt. They will be just as ruthless in attacking the basic democratic and social rights of working people.
The implications of the US and India intervention into the election are not limited to Sri Lanka. As geo-political tensions intensify, the ousting of Rajapakse makes clear that Washington will not tolerate any opposition and will resort to any means to secure its objectives, as it intensifies its preparations for war against China.
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/01/21/sril-j21.html
January 22nd, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Excellent editorial.
For once analysed without the ethnic or racial slants.
All Sri Lankans voted for MS. MR took too much for granted. Let this be a lesson to all politicians.
No Sri Lankan will forget the leadership of MR to defeat the terrorist in 2009 and bring about the end of the war. Thereafter he lost the plot.
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Namaste: Unless we non Indians realise our predicament Sinhalese will disappear from the earth. It has happened Indian colonies like in Mauritius and Andaman and Nuclear islands.
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:15 pm
BEGIN THE BEGUINE EH ???
CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM THEME SONG GOING OUT OF TUNE. JUST IN ELEVEN DAYS.
HALELUJAH IAM A BUM
HALELUJAH BUM AGAIN
HALELUJAH LEND A HAND, TO REVIVE US AGAIN.
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:33 pm
mjaya,
It is called the ARALIYA GROUP named after Dudley’s daughter.
They have Araliya rice, Araliya canned fish, Araliya spices, etc.
Now they have Araliya telecom.
More to come. He has 11 siblings!!
Araliya group plans to CAPTURE the entire SL rice market.
I think it is a GOOD THING because at the moment the BIGGEST PLAYERS are TAMILS who give part of their earnings to TNA.
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:41 pm
Phone tapping is needed to know what the MR camp is up to. For that you need the support of the top at SLT.
Current army commander retires soon. The new commander will be General Senanayaka. USA offered him PR and another country. He is living there since 2010.
So our army commander will be a US citizen!!
Only some GOOD change. Not fully. But something is better than nothing.
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:51 pm
mjaya !! Re your second comment. That is called, “”just farting around for attention, by the hitherto mesmerized captive audience. ”
January 22nd, 2015 at 5:57 pm
OH !! The enticing scent of Frangipani is spreading all over resplendent SRI LANKA.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:52 pm
Sakkiliyos work still to be seen by these Sakkili thugs. They appoint all their relatives to big positions and have started to do the same as before so you cannot say the Yahpalana Gestopos are different than others. They are all same.
Most corrupted gang in the past was appointed to investigate corruption in the previous Govt. Real Jokers. What these Jokers doing now is more beneficial to Tamils and Muslims than to our own Sinhalese and they are happy about it. Removing the Governor,Removing the road blocks from restricted places, Allowing any foreigner to travel to North and East. Appointing more Tamils and Muslims as Ministers and friends of Diaspora as secretaries etc. While they give concessions to Tamils and Muslims they restrict and search the man who liberated our land from terrorists. These Sakkiliyos will be taught a lesson soon by the same people who voted them to power.Just hang on for a while.
Rajithaya is talking as if he is the Deputy President. See their language.He talks like a Fishmonger. They should investigate his corruptions before they investigate others. Mangalaya has already started selling our country to Indians. People have forgotten about the character certificate he gave about Sirisena before the elections. I can only be happy the day when these shameless thugs remove from power.
January 23rd, 2015 at 12:41 am
ranjit,
Get rid of your anger. Not good for your health.
January 23rd, 2015 at 1:44 am
Nanda I am not writing anything in anger but telling you the truth. We sacrificed thousands of our innocent civilians to stopped the blood bath which we had for thirty long years with very much difficulty. We cannot allow to go back to that stage again. I can see that it can happen the way these guys are moving. We must not make room for these terrorist Movement LTTE or Diaspora to come back to our soil at any cost. By removing all restrictions this Govt is putting us in danger once again and these people do not care about the country or it’s people.They sold the country once and everybody knows about them very well and now again they try the same tactics helping and supporting all our arch enemies of the past. It’s the truth. I will not trust a dime of these characters. Once a traitor is always a traitor.
Nanda don’t worry about my health just take care of your health first. Be strong! and Be happy.
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:17 am
Ranjit,
OK. I surely agree with your concern.
To start with please help me, you and all of us by reading the definition of “DIASPORA” and by never using that word for LTTE or Tamils. Use of that word accepts they have residing in other countries because we kill them in Sri Lanka.
I do care and I never use this word for these Kotiyas.
Some of them could be past traitors, but not all of them. War has not been won. MR has given back so much already and was giving more to KP, Karuna and other LTTiers to keep working towards their demand anyway, in addition to ruining the country.
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:21 am
A good Editorial. I hope our Ex President too will read it. I have always maintained that one of our “War Heroes” – the Es President changed his “attitudes”; “work ethics” ; “life style” after 2010 election and got caught to a bunch of “VULTURES” who encircled him catering to such weaknesses. For four years MR carried on as if he was “THE MAN” of the hour, day, month and year and virtually became an “Aristocrat”. That “I” ego crept into him and no one could correct that; because he came to “associate” the “BALAYAS”. As things are getting revealed day by day, MR has to do lot of “explaining” and most of those are the “dirty linen” of his “Associates”. In that context, I feel sorry; but again say all those were “self inflicted” wounds.
I totally agree with what Sena says. We need people with “character” coupled with “aptitude” to manage the affairs of Governing. My observation over the years has been, whenever a “New Administration” comes, there are these “vultures” who are hovering around, on the look out for the “weaknesses” in the character. The moment they notice such weaknesses, they “pry” on them without any delay. From there onwards, these Leaders are blind folded and preyed to the skeleton. Just take a little of your time to think of the Political history and the Leaders of our country and try to account for their failures. You will undoubtedly see the truth of this comment.
The above observation is the “Reality” and it is up to our Leaders, first to be “AWARE” of their own failings and take precaution and avoid “BALAYAS”. ALWAYS REMEMBER: “ASEWANACHA BALANANG”. Learn from what really happened to our Ex President MR
January 23rd, 2015 at 5:29 am
Douglas,
Not only “ASEWANACHA BALANANG” but also “PANDITHANANCH SEVANA” is necessary and He always associated with the fools but he also had the “PANDITHANANCH SEVANA” at the same time.
After 2010 he distanced himself from “PANDITA” and befriends with only the first lot.