By A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

We do remember your father avoided being in the country when JR signed the Indo-Lanka Accord. So, what will you do about the devolution of power Sajith, I hope you will also not repeat the same mistakes that your father made. One of them was to ignore Lalith and Gamini perhaps because he felt threatened by them. That led to the impeachment motion against him. It is correct to say that that the Greens are yet to recover fully from that disaster.

Ironically, a generation later, Lalith’s protégé, Ravi and Gamini’s son Navin are now with the Greens with you. History could repeat itself. You shouldn’t let that happen. Yet, I also think that those involved in bond scams should be dealt with, even if they have passed their local ‘O’ Levels!

Your father sat on a gold-plated chair that resembled a throne. He ruled with an iron fist. He disliked dissent. Richard de Zoysa was to him what Lasantha was to Mahinda maama.  People still remember all this. So, Sajith, while you should be like him in some aspects, you need to be different to him, too.

There is a lot for you to do and a very short time period to d The ‘pohottuwa’ chaps are already on the campaign trail. You have to reorganise your party and send a message to the people that you are not representing the old, tired, defeated elephant — even if you have to come in the guise of a swan!

The Greens had their share of debates, discussions, and disputes about who their candidate should be. It is to his credit that in the end, the Green Man made the right decision. Remember, he stood by your father when he was impeached- and maybe you should stand by him now. Very soon, nobody will.

When your father was second-in-command to JR, he lamented that what he was doing was a peon’s job. Times have changed. With the changes to the Constitution, there are times when the job you are vying for could be a peon’s job. So, if you win, Sajith, be careful about who you appoint as your PM.

When he was elected, your father said he inherited a torch burning at both ends: Indian troops in the North, an insurgency in the South. He dealt with both issues but his style was such that sadly, some lit crackers when he died. Maybe you could make the same people light crackers again — by winning!

We wish you well, Sajith, not because we prefer you to Gota but because we want the coming contest to be a true reflection of the peoples’ will. They should have learned over the last four years that getting rid of what you don’t like doesn’t necessarily mean that what they are getting is what they wanted!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS -A final word of advice, Sajith: in the past few months, you had been talking to Aiyo Sirisena from time to time. Whatever you do, you need to stop dealing with that chap. He will have no hesitation in betraying you and voters will disown you if they think that you have anything to do with him at all.

Despite this advice, SP has held discussions with Aiyo Sirisena together with AkilaViraj and Kabir Hashim. He has said that they discussed current issues and not politics. A real joke.  It seems that this imbecile and ignoramus joker does not know what politics is!

Former Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has said that M. Ranil Wickremasinghe had more2/3 support in the UNP working committee and despite that he nominated Sajith as the party nominee to avoid a split in the party. At the same time, Sarath Fonseka and the Puttalam district MPRange Bandara have said that they will not take part in the election campaign if Aiyo Sirisena associated with the campaign. 

Another pro UNP writer who is a staff writer of the Daily Mirror says that Mr Premadasa’s candidature may not impress those who wanted a more forthright choice with a degree of policy substance. Elaborating on what happened at the working committee meeting this writer states that Mr. Premadasa won the UNP’s internal contest. But, he is still a long way from winning the Presidency – or having a decent shot at it and a good number of sensible Sri Lankan voters are in the dark as to what he represents?

He says that Mr. Premadasa is likely to face a good deal f obstruction and backstabbing by the disgruntled Wickremesinghe loyalists, including some senior members of the UNP AND He would be well served by studying the pitfalls of the campaign of Hector Kobbekaduwa, the SLFP contender of the 1982 presidential election, whose campaign was sabotaged by none other than the party leader Madam Sima Bandaranaike herself.  This writer adds that it is still a relief that the UNP managed to avoid a potential split and it is also a consolation that no one throttled anyone in the working committee meeting.

The writer laments that the UNP has been reduced to a skeleton of its former self under Mr. Wickremesinghe and the Yahapalanaya government led by the UNP was a byword for vacillation and indecisiveness. He says it mishandled the economy and then, with the devastating consequence, the national security and the UNP can not absolve itself for crippling policy paralysis, 

The writer further states that Mr. Premadasa has so far failed to inspire anyone other than the green-blooded UNPers. They are a few and far between and no longer a force capable of deciding the outcome of an election He claims that five lost years under the Yahapalanaya have eroded the enthusiasm of the UNP friendly civil society activists, some of whom have now rallied behind other candidates. 

The writer points out that in the Conservative Party of the UK, of which many traditions the UNP faithfully apes, the leadership had changed seven times since 1994, the year Mr. Wickremesinghe first became the leader of the UNP and clung onto the party leadership ever since. He says that Mr. Premadasa has also been suspiciously vague and over-cautious, making many an observer feels that he is lacking substance and is scheming to thrive in rhetoric. The writer says in a sad mood that to begin with, Mr. Premadasa should tell the public who he is? The vagueness of his policies and his stance on the devolution of power and a political solution need to be apprised to the voters.   Perhaps, that ambiguity is a matter of necessity for anything said on the subject could be misconstrued by his opponents. However, at the same time, it comes at the expense of the minority voters, whom he should win in en masse if he is to win the presidential election. 

It is advised that he has to come up with a set of coherent economic and social policies and espouse his position on the Tamil national question and a political solution and he should be free to draw his boundaries on these matters, but, the public has a right to know where he stands since the election campaign has just begun and things would evolve as it progresses. So would the electability of the candidates in the eyes of the voters and Mr. Premadasa proactively seize that opportunity before his opponent capitalizes on his lacuna?

Meanwhile, Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s Spokesperson MP Dullas Alahapperuma has said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the UNP presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa were conspiring to prevent Gotabaya from contesting the presidential polls. He said the relevant petition had been filed by two NGO activists under the patronage of Premier Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa and added the duo were loyal to Premier Wickremesinghe and were maintaining links with him and it is apparent and clear that there is an ongoing political coup to prevent Gotabaya from entering to the battlefield of the presidency.

MP Keheliya Rambukwella said the incumbent government had attempted to manipulate high judicial officers like former Bribery Commission Director-General Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe and former Solicitor General (SG) Suhada Gamalath for the sake of political expediency.

Referring to the discussion held between President Maithripala Sirisena and the UNP officials including UNP presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa recently, MP Susil Premajayantha said it was clear that the UNP had found it extremely hard to face the presidential battle and hence they were begging the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) for support.

Sajith Premadasa has proved himself as a big liar and people cannot trust him with what says.  He said that in his meeting with Aiyo Sirisenathey did not discuss politics.  Contradicting this statement the General Secretary of the SLFP, Dayasiri Jayasekara has said that when the UNP team led by Sajith Premadasa met the President, both sides focused on the current political situation of the country.Mr. Jayasekara, along with the General Secretary of the UPFA, Mahinda Amaraweera and Treasurer of the SLFP, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, has joined the  President at the discussion. Meanwhile, media spokesman of the SLFP, parliamentarian Weerakumara Dissanayakahas spilled the beans by saying that there is a possibility of a UNP – SLFP alliance in the event, the attempts to form an alliance led by SLFP – SLPP becomes an against the gallant war hero Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. 

As of in a bid to counter anti-national despicable propaganda of the UNP,  the TV channel TNL belonging to Ranil Wickremasinghe’s own brother Shan Wickremasinghe has condemned adverse propaganda being carried out by unpatriotic elements.  The TV channel has severely criticized Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwaraof the Kelaniya University and the member of the convening panel of Purawesi Balaya (People’s Power) organization Gamini Viyangoda for filing a case against Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The TV telecast has reminded that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was a gallant war hero who as the Defense Secretary of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government was solely responsible for ending 30 years of the cruel terrorist was=r which all past leaders were unable to achieve. It has said that no grateful Sri Lankan can forget this fact and Chandragupta and Viyangoda have gone Courts against such a great person. The TNL in conclusion also states that in the presidential election, what the people should trust is the Gotabhaya camp which would protect and safeguard the motherland or the camp protecting and safeguarding the non-governmental organizations that are enemies of the motherland.

In the midst of all these political episodes, people speculate that the recent tragic death of seven young elephants, some pregnant and some who have recently delivered babies has been carried out in fulfillment of a politically based vow similar to the alleged fulfillment of a vow carried out by ‘the father’ for getting a milk bath from seven naked virgins somewhere in  the Kataragama sacred city. Mr. Sajith Premadasa is reported to be very fond of watching elephant games from a treetop hut in the Yala sanctuary.