MAXIMISING ELECTORAL POWER

Marlin Abeyatunge President Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights (SPUR), Victoria, Australia

Over the last two and a half years, the Ranil Wickremasinha’s UNF Government has driven the country to the point of no return. Ranil’s regaining Sri Lanka , the magic wand for deliverance has only resulted in:

(1) Strengthened the LTTE terrorists;

(2) Undermined the Buddhists; and

(3) Delivered economic misery to the majority of citizens living in Sri Lanka .

However, corrupt businessmen close to the cabinet thrived during this period.

We believe that the formation of the Jathika Hela Urumaya is justified given the rhetoric of the mainstream political parties responsible for governing our nation since independence.

Astute political commentators have alerted the community to potential risks emanating from a head to head contest between the PA/JVP Sandanaya and JHU; mainly the potential to erode the alliance vote base. Such erosion has the potential to benefit the traitorous Wickremasinha Government and may even get them back to power by default.

This should be avoided at all cost.

A number of contentious issues dominate the current political debate. Amongst them, we feel that the following issues catalogued by the JHU are in the front of the electorates thinking:

(1) Buddhist national heritage of Sri Lanka ;

(2) Protection of the unitary state of Sri Lanka ;

(3) The inappropriateness of a Federal form of governance for Sri Lanka ;

(4) De-merging of the Northern and the Eastern provinces in Sri Lanka ;

(5) Investigating Soma Hamuduruwo’e untimely death;

(6) Preventing unethical conversion causing social fragmentation; and

(7) Degradation of the civic society through alcoholism and corruption.

The PA/JVP alliance may not agree whole heartedly to all those issues listed above espoused by the venerated and respected monks of the JHU. Rather than dismissing them with contempt, we urge you to list what the alliance can agree on and negotiate a no contest agreement with the JHU to maximise the anti UNF vote. So far what the electorate has observed is an undisciplined attack on the venerated monks.

We strongly believe that directing personal attacks on the priests would be counterproductive. We urge the PA/JVP alliance to focus on the issues raised by the venerated monks (rather than the monks themselves) and negotiate an unitary position to defeat the dangers of the Wickremasinha Government.

We also urge the supreme council of the JHU to begin a dialogue with the PA/JVP alliance to agree on a unitary position.

Please do not forget that our obligation at this juncture to the Nation is to defeat the corrupt, autocratic and traitorous UNP Government and their partners in crime the TNA, the political front of the LTTE terrorists.

http://www.spur.asn.au/SPUR_Media_Release_20040307_Maximising_Electoral_Power.htm