How much moral petrol is left in Ranil’s car?
Posted on August 29th, 2015
H. L. D. Mahindapala
Ranil Wickremesinghe beat all odds and topped the list of preferences – a feat that was considered impossible earlier. At the base level, shorn off the rhetoric and the tinsel, it is an achievement that reflects the combination of national, international – and even some anti-national – forces. It has triumphed as the new force, replacing the preceding Mahinda magic”. Wickremesinghe has done what his uncle, the Yankee Dicky did, rather late in his day. Of course, JRJ shot into power with a formidable force behind him. Whether the limited force behind Wickremesinghe has the depth to last the course and go the same distance as his uncle is yet to be seen.
But this strikes a note of warning to political analysts : never write off a political survivor despite repeated failures until he goes down to push daisies. Extrapolated to the current situation, this means that if Wickremesinghe can rise from his grave the chances of Mahinda Rajapakse who is up and running, neck to neck with him, are far greater. Examples of Jayalalitha, de Gaulle and Churchill, or the rejects like S. B. (Balu”) Dissanayake etc., creeping in through the backdoor, demonstrate that Rajapakses chances, even if he is put in jail, are rosier than that of Wickremesinghe when he was down. In short, a political survivor who is down need not necessarily be out. Also, the eternal,never-failing Buddhist principles of Patichcha-sammuppa-da kicks in to establish that the triangle can be completed only when all the three sides of the same size are there, next to each other. In the case of Mahinda Rajapakse the three sides are there but the line on one side has fallen a wee bit short. It is not difficult to catch up and fill the gap on the missing side now.
So where ever Wickremesinghe is Rajapakse will not be far behind, breathing down his neck. It is political myopia to write Rajapakse off at this early stage. Even if he steps out or is forced out he will still be there, like a touch-me-not ready to spring back when the time is ripe. The signs are already beginning to turn ominous for Wickremesinghe. He rode into power firing on all his moral cylinders. But the moral riders in his own car are now turning against him. Ven. Sobitha, expressing moral disgust with the entire political class, has confronted Wickremesinghe with his failures to fulfil his promises. Ven. Sobitha is dismissing the new Siri-Wicky regime as a ”joke”. Parliament is condemned as a den for thieves, thugs, drug dealers or ethanol dealers”. His verdict :The people are laughing at us.” In short, within a few months, the nation has skipped the dawn, skipped the high noon and slipped instantly into a twilight with the light fading fast. To change the metaphor, it seems the Siri-Wicky regime is dying in the cot with the uncut umbilical cord hanging loose. To change it again, even the honeymoon seems to be strained even before both parties could get to bed.
Though it was a personal victory for Wickremesinghe, he has nothing much to crow about now, though they take cover behind a few tit-bits. The overall results did not hand him the power he needed to govern in his own right with increased powers of the President in Parliament – his main political thrust launched in the January 8 presidential campaign. This watered down the full flavour of his victory. He is still dependent on the SLFP to muster the power he needs to be in overall command of the state he plans to lead. After the failure to transfer presidential powers to the prime minister in parliament and after the failure to get the requisite electoral votes to run a government of his own he will have to limp along as half the man he wants to be in power.
As against this, SLFP, along with its traditional allies in the Left, produced the second highest vote-winner, Mahinda Rajapakse, bringing the SLFP within striking distance of power. In terms of electoral clout the difference between the two is a marginal 3. 28% which gave 106 seats to the UNP-led UNFGG and 95 to the UPFA. These two basic figures affirm that neither party won outright power, though, of course, the UNP got the slight edge to grab the throne. These figures indicate clearly the standing of the two camps in the electorate and parliament respectively is not too far apart. Buoyed by the weightier alliances and other external factors, the UNFGG was expecting to deal a crushing blow to the UNFA. But it didn’t materialise. A slight shift either way, in the Parliament or in the electorate, can make all the difference as to who would retain power with whom and for how long.
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s strong performance is far superior to any of the performances of Wickremesinghe when he was in the opposition. But Wickremesinghe’s grit and survival skills carried him through. Rajapakse, however, gained greater credence and significance when John Kerry took credit for the regime change in Sri Lanka. For Rajapakse to retain a formidable grip on the nation at the end of an uneven battle in which global forces were pitted against him stands as solid evidence of the strength of the forces that are waiting in the wings to regroup and strike back. The fears and frustrations of the UNFGG forces were further highlighted by Paki” Saravanamuttu, who lamented dolefully that the (election) result would be disappointing for the UNFGG which had hoped for a clear rejection of the Rajapaksa era – infamous for corruption,state intimidation and Sinhalese nationalism.” His other line is equally damning: This has potentially given Mr. Rajapaksa a new lease of political life. He’s not out at all.” (The Australian, 19/8/2015 – p.11)
This then is the underlying reality. Yes, Wickremesinghe managed to scrape into the seats of power for the fourth time with barest minimum. This does not mean that he had crushed the Rajapakses. Defeated candidates, like Jayalalitha, Wickremesinghe, and Mahinda Rajapakse have many lives. However, the upshot of all this is that Wickremesinghe is enjoying a fund of goodwill right now. His cup runneth over. The current political ambience is dominated by the euphoria of the UNPers which is understandable. Enjoying the sweet smell of success is also inevitable considering the fact that they have been in the wilderness for nearly 20 years. But the danger is in being intoxicated by it, assuming that they have acquired the mandate to do it their way all the way. The time hasn’t yet come for Wickremesinghe to sing : I’ll do it my way and the others can take the highway.” So Wickremesinghe’s formula of national government” is not only vital for his survival but also a pragmatic necessity to tide over his shortcomings and escalating issues, if he can. Unlike JRJ, Wickremesinghe has no power to stabilise his power and put his undisputed stamp of authority without the backing of the SLFP, particularly the backing he gets from the CBK-Sirisena duo. His real source of power is in the hands of this SLFP duo, not the UNP MPs. If the SLFPers pull the rug under him he will soon be going downhill either in crutches or a stretcher.
In fact, the MoU between the UNP-SLFP concedes the fragility of the political alliance. It is, for all intents and purposes, a tentative and experimental alliance for two years minimum, with the possibility of extending it further. Legally, under the amended constitution, the President cannot meddle with the newly appointed regime for the next four years. But Wickremesinghe can’t run a stable state and deliver his promises within the time available to him – four or two years — without the backing of the SLFP. The alternative is to tie up with the TNA as a compliant outsider – an unholy alliance which will come at a heavy price. There is, however, one glimmer of hope in all the combinations and permutations of the minority parties : the force is still with the two main political parties. Power hasn’t shifted to the minorities to the extent it was feared by some. For instance, the rise of pro-American Wickremesinghe is a far better bet for the State Department than the papier-mache prime minister, V. Rudrakumaran, of the TGTE in New York. America has found their pliant man in Colombo to do their bidding and in this setting the Tamils in New York, London, Paris are totally irrelevant to their geo-political agenda. At least it has exposed the hysterical lunacy of the extremist politics of asinine Vigneswaram gone ballistic.
However, the fact remains that Wickremesinghe is still sailing in President Sirisena’s Titanic”. Sirisena, in his convoluted way, sounded the warning when he said that it was he who saved Wickremesinghe’s Titanic”. He went all out to plug the leaks and if he pulls them out Wickremesinghe will certainly go down with his band. But can Wickremesinghe steer his way through in the stormy seas ahead, with or without the CBK-Sirisena duo ? His main anchor is Chandrika Kumaratunga. Jointly, they led the nation to brink of disaster with their CFAs and P-TOMs. When finally their hidden agenda is revealed the nation will find that they have been plotting and planning to drag the nation back of February 22, 2002 – the fateful year in which Wickremesinghe signed the CFA, selling the nation to Velupillai Prabhakaran, without telling the President, Parliament, Cabinet, Party or the sovereign people. His style of government, as seen even in his last 100 days”, is to steer the ship of state like a juggernaut, dismissing the thundering waves lashing the hull on all sides. He either goes into intransigent denial or appoints endless committees to the problems he just can’t handle, hoping that if he puts his problems in the freezer the issues would go away. How far can this style carry him? How long will the nation tolerate his idiosyncratic fancies? Which book of R. A. Butler or Gladstone can provide him with the answers to the 21st century problems of Sri Lanka?
If the Siri-Wicky regime is getting tied up in knots in the preliminary stage how are they going to meet the pending challenges that are waiting round the corner to grab them by throats and shake them down? For instance, if the moral and the socio-economic conditions continue to worsen – and there are no signs of it improving — can CBK-Wickremesinghe mobilise the necessary forces to hose down pyromaniacs like Vigneswaran and Gajendra Ponnambalam, igniting, in competition with each other, ethnic extremism to grab the title of the sole representative of the Tamils”? In any case, both CBK-Wicky will be starting on the wrong foot because their aim is to revive the blue print they tried it first with their CFAs and P-TOMs and failed in Febraury 22, 2002. The hidden agenda not revealed to the electors threatens to drag the nation back to February 22, 2002 when Wickremesinghe signed the infamous CFA with the one man on earth who never stood for peace and reconciliation. So can they do it this time what they failed to achieve the last time? They have nothing in their armoury except to fire their failed formulas. But can they reverse the victory of Nandikadal and drag the nation back to the failed juck-muck” politics of Wickremesinghe? This is a critical issue that needs another chapter.
As the numbers stand now, this new symbiotic relationship between the UNP-SLFP is more favourable to the UNP than to the SLFP. It will strengthen the UNP more than the SLFP. Though the SLFP will bargain for its pound of flesh it is the UNP that can come out on top, more so because of the ideological confluence of the triumvirate – Presidency, Prime Ministership and Madame Defarge counting the heads that fall from her guillotine. CBK who was booed at election rallies was given a standing ovation in the post-election party room because she has emerged as the Chief Executioner with power to roll heads or fix severed heads. But once Wickremesinghe gathers his Cabinet together the overall responsibility will fall on his shoulders to account for success or failure. All three of them will be watching over each others shoulder to see that the other won’t get excessive share of power that would jeopardize his/her interests. All three of them will be walking gingerly trying to balance the power they share to shore up their political bases.
Every single move from now will be seen as a critical move to get the lion share to consolidate their grip on power. Initially, the internal power-struggle will be subdued and tolerated by all three parties but as time goes on it can turn sour and bitter. Right now, the internal power struggle has thrown national politics into a spin. That is why Ven. Sobitha, the leading light of the moral crusade, is moaning about the power vacuum in which the SLFP and UNP power brokers are floundering. That is why the initial term of the MoU is limited to two years – roughly the testing time span for any honeymoon in any marriage, personal and political, except those in Hollywood. But that is to anticipate events that may or may not happen.
Wickremesinghe’s task is two fold : 1. to deliver his list of impossible promises (he has already failed the `100 day”test.) and 2. to protect his national cup filled with half a million votes. If his skills in keeping the 100 promises within 100 days is any indication of his capacity to deliver then the nation has only one source left to get at least an inkling of what’s in store : the astrologer of President Mahinda Rajapakse who assured him victory in the presidential race! If, as promised, Wickremesinghe can deliver an absolutely free media in a persecution-free, corruption-free democracy, without vindictive politics rejected in the Lichchavi principles which he promised, and transforming the Siri-Wicky regime into a transparent state guaranteeing human rights of all, then his cup will overflow with a million votes next time round. But the Central Bank scandal, the banning of the publication of the Parliamentary report, the decision to cohabit with the very politicos whom he has condemned, his own cronyism, going along with nepotism, etc., etc., within the first 100 days of the Yahapalanaya reduces him to a purveyor of slogans and not substance.
There are also some ominous signs arising within the UNP itself. In the hullabaloo of helter-skelter goings-on leading UNPers seems to have gone out of the radar screen. Example: Sajith Premadasa, the Deputy Leader, is hardly visible and in his place the unscrupulous careerist Champika Ranawaka has crept into through the backdoor to Wickremesinghe’s influential circle. First he tried to creep into the bosom of President Sirisena but he soon realized he was not that indispensable to the President. Now he is worming his way into the heart of Wickremesinghe. He sidles up to Wickremesinghe, like a Churchilian dwarf whispering obscenities in the Emperor’s ears. He cultivates the top to impress the power-brokers that it is worth having him because he is the man of the future. All these Svengalian machinations makes him the obnoxious interventionist manoeuvring to oust the traditional UNPers. He is the kind of man who was described by Lyndon Johnson as a man worth having on your side because he could direct his piss on the outsiders, shooting from inside, rather than pissing in from out.
Ranawaka is bound to be a stinging thorn in Wickremesinghe’s side. As things stand, Wickremesinghe’s plate is overflowing with problems of his own making and the last thing he needs is Ranawaka. But then in his desperate political journeys Wickremesinghe has never hesitated to align himself with an assorted variety of wheeler-dealers, from Gonawila Sunil to the Batalanda brigades. So why not go along with Ranawaka if he is ready to be another Gonawila Sunil to Ranil, eh?
August 29th, 2015 at 6:28 am
Mahinda you know Ranil got all that because of the Indian colonial parasites block vote. Galabodaya the Indian sucker paid through Norway has alienated the Sinhala Christians and Muslims from Mahinda.
August 29th, 2015 at 6:34 am
මහින්දපාල, රනිල් දිනුවේ ඉන්දියානු පරපෝසිතයින්ගේ චන්ද ගෝනියෙන්. ගලබොඩයා ඉන්දියානු රුපියල් නෝර්වේ හරහා ඩොලර්වලින් අරගෙන සින්හල කිතුනුවන් හා මුස්ලිම් අය මහින්දට එරෙහි කරල ඉවරයි එතකොට.
August 29th, 2015 at 6:53 am
Luckily for him and unluckily for the Sinhalese, Buddhism and Sri Lanka, his was never a moral petrol car.
So him and Unpatriotic party (UNP) supporting Sinhalese never had to worry about running out of gas.
August 29th, 2015 at 7:00 am
Luckily for him and unluckily for the Sinhalese, Buddhism and Sri Lanka, his was never a moral petrol car.
So him and Unpatriotic party (UNP) supporting Sinhalese never had to worry about running out of gas.
Unpatriotic party can take comfort they managed to reduce Buddhist population by 160,000 on the orders of the west and
the church. They massacred 60,000 JVP supporters on the pretext of putting down an insurgency. And then let the war dragged on let ltte kill another 100,000 Buddhists. Another 30 years of war would’ve killed another 100,000 Buddhists. They were not very keen to kill ltte terrorists since most of them were catholics!
Malwatte, asgiriye kapuwas, sobhitaya, ratanaya, ambare damilaya etc. etc. still helping to eradicate Buddhism in Sri Lanka by supporting this murderous, thieving, corrupt, Unpatriotic party. Can you just believe it? It can only happen in Sri Lanka. It can only be done by Sinhalese!
August 29th, 2015 at 7:51 am
Mahinda won the elections not Ranil the pimp of the west. Election was fraud and rigged like last time when Sira won. It’s the truth. There were so many irregularities in this election which nobody can deny. We as Mahinda supporters are not willing to give them the win so easily. This coup was planned by the Americans,Indians and the west. Ranil was so sure about his job before hand. Sira gave him all the backing for him to continue in his job by openly backstabbing Mahinda and his party. This was the most unfair election we have ever seen in this country. Sira and Ranil both were western funded,western backed two stooges who brought shame to this country by doing unconstitutional acts after becoming President and Prime Minister of this country. Nature will punish them for their crimes against our Sinhala Buddhists. This gang of Four evil clique will not last long Sira/Chouara,Ranil,Anura. I will give them one year maximum two years not more.
August 29th, 2015 at 4:37 pm
NOTHING!
I also blame all those who WRONGLY advised MR for this mess.
MR should have ran with the SCRAP 13 AMENDMENT election slogan. Then he is still the president and we will not have this BS.
Today only I stand for this. In 1987 SLFP, JVP, MR, Sobitha, etc. said the same thing. By now they have all COMPROMISED!!!
How can 13 amendment which was bad in 1987 become NOT BAD in 2014?
August 29th, 2015 at 6:08 pm
At last some one (ranjit) has acknowledged the last election was rigged. Election Commissioner stopped the computer and manipulated the results. What he said was the computers were over loaded. Time for people to protest at his office and make it uncomfortable for him and his staff to work. ranjit if you live in SL be careful. Ranil punk has a unit that will threaten you and your family.
August 29th, 2015 at 7:55 pm
I do not believe that MY3 has so much power to control Ranil. I think modi Chandrika holds all the trump cards as she is the one who engineered MY3’s presidential outcome. If MY3 goes against her, she can destroy him by exposing the dirty deal he made to become the presidential candidate. Chandrika will not go against Ranil as they used to play hide and seek when they were kids.
August 30th, 2015 at 2:52 am
What ever slogan, whatever strategy, whatever popular backing Mahinda has, with an election commissioner of the calibre current Deshapriya, Mahinda will never win. Both elections held under him are rigged. What I don’t understand is how come the electorate decided to vote against Mahinda for the mere talk of B&C while RW becomes the most popular for pulling out the greatest robbery in our history (Central Bank). Why did over hundred thousand UNPers give their Manape to Patali Champika? This guy has rundown RW worse than a criminal and a thief. Why were the computer system at the election commission down for a few days? How come the UNP become more popular when their MPs were openly caught with the underworld (Ravi Karunanayakam)?
August 30th, 2015 at 4:13 am
Pol pot ponil is the worst traitor ever Mother Lanka ever had unfortunately for her, the Sinhalese and Buddhism. To make things worse he is murderous, cunning and a die hard catholic. He has been able to get away with murder, robbery, mayhem, anything for that matter, being a catholic. Most of the newspapers and tv channels are run by catholics.
UNPatritoic party (UNP) managed to kill 60,000 Buddhist youth on the pretext of putting down an inusrgency. Then prolonged the war and let ltte killed another 100,000 Buddhists. UNPatritoic party didn’t want to kill any ltte terrorists because they were mostly catholics.
Pol pot ponil is hoodwinking Buddhists all the time. He has done it many times and he know there are a lot of Sinhale idiots who thinks it’s fashionable to be UNPatriotic party supporters. So he tells a loads of lies, those idiots believe it to the letter. He wanted to win the elections at any cost to save him from going to prison for central bank robbery which was proved beyond doubt and the batalande murders. So he got mahinda DESHA APRIYA IN HIS POCKET.
UNPatriotic party and Desha apriya (macko) marriage made in heaven. So winning the election was easy for the catholic traitor chief.
There is something else. He doesn’t know the meaning of morals. So he never had to worry about running out of gas.
Look at some of his treacherous acts in a ‘colourful CV’.
Batalande buthchery (proven beyond anybodys doubt)
signing accord with hitler mala paharan to give control of the north and east
sending millennium city intelligent officers to ltte bullet
central bank robbery (5000 billion rupees)
signing accords with mussies and tna to give control of north and east to win the elections
appointing catholic john for police, catholic mahendran for cb, catholic karupaiya for the finance, catholic army chief for the army (always give toothless ministries to Buddhist henchmen)
Sad irony is still a lot of Sinhalese (hivalun) support this murderous traitor chief after what he has done and what he is doing.
So called Buddhist Sri Lanka is ruled by catholic traitor chief pol pot ponil!
August 30th, 2015 at 5:31 am
Thanks for the warning Lankaputhra. Now you know the difference between then and now. Then it was peaceful but now everyone has to live in fear because of the Gestapo rule. Anyone criticize this Gestapo rule will be intimidated,harassed and put behind bars. A country without a Govt for two weeks. Can you imagine the status of this country. Now we know that no politician loves this nation except power,money and glory. Maybe there are few out of 225 power hungry rulers but not all. My vote will be null and avoid from now on. I will not trust any individual or a party and do not waste my time and energy on behalf of them. My choice will be a Sinhala Buddhist leader who truly loves this nation with sincerity. A courageous man with NO NONSENSE to Tamils,Muslims and other reactionary forces within and abroad. This is our land and we should protect it with all our force.
August 30th, 2015 at 6:00 am
I am stating again the following facts :
It is definitely the Tamil Language being a National/Official Language in Sri Lanka that is so attractive to Tamil Leaders seeking a Separate State. NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS TAMIL AS AN OFFICIAL/NATIONAL LANGUAGE, not even in Tamil Nadu, India. In Tamil Nadu, the Tamil language is just a state language. India is divided into sub-States through language only. None of the sub-states adjoining Tamil Nadu allow the proliferation of the Tamil language in their states, whilst Lanka, which is only 12 nautical miles away from TN has allowed TAMIL LANGUAGE TO BE AN OFFICIAL/NATIONAL LANGUAGE. It is an open invitation for Tamil State formation, is it not ?
So, for Tamil Leaders & Tamil Diaspora, egged on by foreign powers, it is weaken the Sinhala/Buddhists (they are the ones in the way of Tamil Eelam), weaken them in every way and Tamil Eelam is on platter waiting in the wings. The weakening of the Sinhala/Buddhist leadership is obvious via the Sicko Trio, and physical weakening is happening via hit at the Sinhala/Buddhist farmers through Glyphosate. No one has explored to see where Killi Mahendran’s company has stored container loads of Glyphosate in Sri Lanka. The Glyphosate use resulting in kidney disease kills around 4,000 farmers and others each year.
That India is divided by language into sub-states is not popularly known in Sri Lanka. Neither are they aware of the some
15 million Tamil Dalits of Untouchable origin. These are a desperate people, waiting to leave Tamil Nadu due to Caste based harassment. What better place than foolish Lanka ?
Sinhala/Buddhist Lankans have ‘dug their own graves’ and allowed the Tamil language to prosper in Sri Lanka due to earlier need for Tamil
Labor in the estates sectors, coming from Dutch & Brit times, a need in the tea, coffee and tobacco plantations.
Things to do :
* GoSL will have to remove the Tamil Language as National/Official language if Sinhala/Buddhists are to survive there ? Tamil folk can continue to use the Tamil language as spoken and written language in Lanka. It is the Official & National status of the Tamil Language that must be removed.
* Next, all ILLEGAL MIGRANTS HAVE TO BE DEPORTED. Prabhakaran said that about a third of the LTTE were (Tamil) illegal migrants.
* West is looking for a ‘boat park’ possibly in Trinco, now that the Diego Garcia lease is expiring in 2016. Attend to that need via GoSL.
August 30th, 2015 at 6:27 am
SL is in a very dangerous situation. UNP DICTATORSHIP is planning to pass MANY LAWS, changes to constitution during the first few months to divide the country, prevent democratic rights, merge with TAMIL MADU, punish war heroes, etc.
Urgently this nonsense must be prevented.
August 30th, 2015 at 6:28 am
Fran,
What the Diego Garcia lease is expiring in 2016 has to do with SL?
SL is no replacement for US bases.
August 30th, 2015 at 7:13 am
Hope Ranil’s gas tank has enough fuel for Things to Do !!
——–
Lorenzo,
Trinco is a very interesting place …. WWI and all that ….
August 30th, 2015 at 8:52 am
FRAN !!! YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. TRINCO HAS DEEP SEA NATURAL HARBOURS, I THINK ABOUT FIVE OF THEM THAT CAN POSSIBLY BEAT DIEGO GARCIA. IT IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL PLACE. I HAVE STAYED AT THE REST HOUSE, AND ALSO AT THE CHINESE HOTEL.
August 30th, 2015 at 9:23 am
LORENZO !! THOSE DEEP SEA HARBOURS ARE IN THE SHAPE OF “”C”” and “”G”” IDEAL FOR HEAVY NAVAL AND MILITARY BASES. I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MANY LARGE ACRES OF PETROL / GAS TANKS.
August 30th, 2015 at 10:38 am
Ado LORENZO the TREACHEROUS Facebook HYPOCRITE!
But, but, but ….. YOU are the one who was ADVOCATING and HOISTING Somarama Sirisena and the Yamapalaanaya Junta on the Patriots here!
We will NEVER FORGET your TREACHERY … you EELAMIST Agitator!
August 30th, 2015 at 10:47 am
Better LATE than NEVER …. FORM a NEW Party to Provide Leadership to the Patriots while the Ship Jumping Hogs Wallow in Somarama Sirisena’s slop trough!
…………………………
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s allies to form new Lanka opposition alliance
Aug 29 (PTI) COLOMBO- Sri Lanka’s former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s allies are planning to form a new opposition alliance, breaking away from President Maithripala Sirisena’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) coalition, senior leftist leaders said today.
“We are looking to form a new political front. We are having talks with different groups,” Tissa Vitharana of the Trotskyist Lanka Samasamaja Party (LSSP) said.
Vitharana was a senior minister under Rajapaksa in his near decade old regime which ended in January.
“We have to form a new front, we are against this national government arrangement,” Vasudeva Nanayakkara of another left party said.
With the August 17 parliamentary election results and Sirisena’s decision to form a coalition government of national unity between the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) and Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the old left have felt overlooked and ignored by Sirisena.
None of them were picked by Sirisena to fill in the national list parliamentary seat allocation which the UPFA won on August 17. These parties played a main role in the return to politics of Rajapaksa since his defeat in January.
The old left parties have been part of the UPFA since its formation in 2004 as an anti UNP political front. The coalition ruled the country between 2004 and early this year.
Vitharana and Dinesh Gunawardena, the leaders of the nationalist Mahajana Eksath Permauna (MEP) have accused Sirisena of breaking the UPFA coalition.
August 30th, 2015 at 11:27 am
Lorenzo,
You are crying about the 13A now and correctly so.
However you never answer this: Were you thinking about the 13A and scrapping it back in December 2014/January 2015 when you not just rooted for this ugly vicious regime of Modasena and Runil but were (still are?) an active participant in bringing these criminals to power? No less boasting about your achievement here in Lankaweb including taking pride in being the author of the bogus Lamborghinis, Aston Martin and Presidential palaces stories (i.e. MRs “corruption”) which you admitted to disseminating through 27 facebook accounts, twitter and other activities.
You were so proud and content with your achievement and “success” that you couldn’t keep it yourself. You were boasting about it so much and trying to convert all of Lankaweb into your thinking (a Modasena-Runil cheerleaders club) that it got you banned from Lankaweb.
To put it simply: Were you thinking about the 13A and scrapping it in January 2015 when you openly supported this ugly regime and played an active role in bringing it to power?
August 30th, 2015 at 11:39 am
Opposition should appoint Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader, not President, NFF leader says
Aug 30, Colombo: The leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), a constituent party of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa says the opposition leader of the Parliament should be chosen by MPs who sit in opposition and not by the President.
Speaking to Media today, Weerawansa asked how can a national government can be formed when the opposition leader will get a ministerial post and members from the Sri Lanka freedom Party (SLFP) will be given the choice to go to the other side.
The SLFP Central Committee allowed elected SLFP MPs to sit in opposition if they do not wish to support the national government. However, the Central Committee empowered the President to decide on an opposition leader and the ministerial portfolios given to SLFP members of the National Government.
The NFF leader said that the so called National Government bringing a proposal in parliament to increase the ministerial portfolios is contradictory to the Constitution.
He explained that in order to create a National Government, the SLFP must become stakeholders in the government and there will be no need for an opposition.
“Even if parties hold positions in the government or not, they will all become stakeholders in the government. However, such political streams do not become so-called stakeholders in the government not even the entire Sri Lanka Freedom party,” he said.
Weerawansa said the government cannot implement such a proposal and bringing in such a proposal is contradictory to the constitution.
Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya Weerawansa said the President is killing the country’s democracy by appointing the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Opposition Leader and the Chief Organizer of the Opposition all by himself.
Weerawansa said that it was not sufficient to allow SLFP MPs to sit in opposition. They should be free to act as they wish within the opposition.
He said the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and several SLFP MPs will sit in the opposition with the other UPFA members.
August 30th, 2015 at 11:48 am
SLFP rejects TNA’s claim for opposition leader post
By Chris Kamalendran
SundayTimes.lk
August 30, 2015
Main Tamil alliance rocked by breakaway group over National List
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) last night rejected a call by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for recognition as the main opposition party in Parliament. The move was aimed at making Rajavarothiam Sampanthan as Leader of the Opposition.
“The Opposition Leader’s post should be given to the party which has the highest number of members and are not supporting the National Government,” Acting General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake told the Sunday Times.
He said the person holding that office will be announced when Parliament meets on Tuesday. Early yesterday the TNA sought recognition as the main opposition in Parliament even while a third of its new elected parliamentarians were rebelling against the leadership.
The TNA, which contested the August 17 parliamentary elections as ITAK, said in a statement issued yesterday that there is “no question whatsoever of the UPFA sitting in opposition in Parliament.” This is because the UNP and the UPFA which will form a National Government with a joint Cabinet of Ministers “would bear collective cabinet responsibility.” As political parties in Parliament, the statement said, “they must publicly support all Government decisions made in the Cabinet.”
TNA leader Sampanthan told the Sunday Times, “We are entitled to the post of Opposition Leader.” His remarks came as six parliamentarians of the TNA were planning to meet in Colombo today. One of the contentious issues with the leadership is a demand that Suresh Premachandran and Vino Noharthalingam who lost the elections be named on the TNA National List. The two who have now been named on the TNA National List are Shanthi Shri Skandaraja and K. Thurairatnasingham.
Mr. Sampanthan defended his party’s decision. He said, “The National List vacancies were shared on the principle agreed by TNA partners. There was no discrimination and we have given an opportunity to a female candidate too.” Shiva Shakthi Ananthan, newly elected TNA parliamentarian for the Wanni District, confirmed that the group of six MPs would meet today in Colombo. The TNA has 16 members in the new Parliament.
The TNA statement said that both President Maithripala Sirisena and the Government had gone public “in a commitment to treat the Tamil people as equal citizens of this country.” It added, “However, a reluctance to recognise the democratically elected representatives of the Tamil people of the North and East as the main opposition party when such is clearly the case can only be reflective of an unwillingness to honour this commitment….”
The SLFP/UPFA group that is unlikely to support the National Government and sit in the Opposition is estimated to number at least 25 MPs. The SLFP Central Committee which met on Friday gave President Sirisena who is also the party leader the authority to nominate the leader of the opposition from the SLFP.
In 1977, Appapillai Amirthalingam who headed the Tamil United Liberation front (TULF), the precursor to the TNA, became the Leader of the Opposition when the SLFP won only 8 seats in that year’s general elections. All TULF MPs resigned en bloc in 1982 in protest against the 6th Amendment and Anura Bandaranaike became the Leader of the Opposition from the SLFP.
August 30th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
When the UNP was in full power with the JRJ govt and the 13-A was thrust down the GoSL by India in 1987, the Opposition was led by Tamil parties.
This time around too, it is not healthy for Lanka politics for a Tamil Opposition. Lanka is in a strange state, politically speaking, and ought not to have breakaway political parties in the Opposition lead.
Why can’t Tamil leaders live in peace in Lanka and do joint Development work ? I am sure most Tamils of Lanka wish it to be so. They must be tired of the political games.
August 30th, 2015 at 5:53 pm
They must be tired of the political games.- no We-Tamil like Games more than life !!!
August 30th, 2015 at 6:08 pm
Fran,
“When the UNP was in full power with the JRJ govt and the 13-A was thrust down the GoSL by India in 1987, the Opposition was led by Tamil parties. ”
CHECK YOUR FACTS madam.
NO! It was SLFP. Anura B was the Opp leader.
TULF was KICKED out just after 1983 Tamil verses Tamil riots.
But I get the point. A WEAK opposition and a TOO STRONG govt. is always BAD.
August 30th, 2015 at 6:09 pm
Why do USA and his avatar Techo take holidays together and comment here together?
Use one handle USA. Ali mathiwata koti!! Down with USA!
August 30th, 2015 at 7:03 pm
Ado Facebook LORENZO,
Trying to DIVERT ATTENTION from yourself and your TREACHEROUS AGITATION by drawing RED HERRINGS ACROSS the TRAIL??
Instead of ADMITTING your TREACHERY and BUGGING OUT OF HERE, you are PERSISTING in OBFUSCATION & MISDIRECTION!
It WON’T WORK …. your SHEEPSKIN is in TATTERS and your CROWN JEWELS are EXPOSED for all to see!!
You can RUN, but you can’t HIDE! Bah …. Bloody HYPOCRITE!
August 30th, 2015 at 8:18 pm
Bravo …. Wimal Weerawansa … you are almost the ONLY HONEST MAN with GUTS left among the Greedy Ship Jumpers!
I hope that MORE and MORE UPFA/SLFP MPs will join to form a SEPARATE Opposition Party and BRING THIS Yamapalanaya Govt to its KNEES!
It is IMPORTANT to PREVENT the Anti-National LEGISLATIVE AGENDA of the UNPatriotic Party and its TNA Allies from EVER TAKING ROOT!
Newly Elected SLFP MPs! FORM a NEW Opposition Party NOW to PREVENT your Motherland from being made a Colony of the Western NeoColonialists and CHOPPED INTO PIECES to serve their NeoColonialist NGO and Tamil Diaspora-Driven Agenda!
IF YOU FAIL TO DO SO …. you will EARN the WRATH of those Patriotic Citizens who ELECTED YOU! They didn’t vote for you to SELL THEM OUT for a Political/Government Job and a BAG of money!
Don’t be BRIBED and CONNED into BETRAYING your Motherland! WE Patriots are WATCHING YOU CLOSELY!
REMEMBER …. YOU are OUR ONLY DEFENCE against the DISINTEGRATION and RE-ENSLAVEMENT of OUR Motherland!
…………………………
President calls for a meeting with UPFA party leaders tomorrow
Aug 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has invited the leaders of the parties in the defeated United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) for a meeting Monday.
According to the leader of the UPFA constituent party National Freedom Front (NFF) MP Wimal Weerawansa the meeting will take place at the President’s official residence tomorrow morning.
He said he will be attending the meeting to express his views on several issues including his opposition to a national government between the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
August 31st, 2015 at 4:19 am
Traitors Northern Alliance (TNA) is always after one thing and one thing only. That’s their dreelam while living all over the island and owning those areas.
These traitors say all sort of things and do
all sorts of things to achieve their goal. We all know, including these bloody traitors, they were brought to our country by the dutch buggers (to work in tobacco farms in jaffna), by the brits to work in tea plantations and the rest are kallathonis who came in the 60s to save their lives from the severe famine in tn.
There are evidence everywhere nobody of them wants to admit. Their ancient kingdoms exist only in books and www as no one has ever seen a brick from these buildings. Then the so called natives of jaffna been living their for only a few hundred years as it has been proven that the oldest building in jaffna is the old dutch fort. Simply they do not have a ancient brick to show to have any claim to our land.
We have given more than they deserve. These ungrateful xxxx own almost all of Colombo. They own most of the successful businesses in the country. Still ungrateful xxxx not happy. With your xxxtlam, are you prepared to leave Colombo? No chance of that? Is there? That’s how these ungrateful xxxx attitude.
Never happy, never grateful, never enough! That’s what these ungrateful xxxx are! Just one look at asambanda boruwa’s wretched face says it all. Seeting with hatred in all these guys faces show. Why? Because we’ve been too generous I suppose. We never asked you to come. We never brought you here. If you are not happy why don’t you do the decent thing and go across the waters to where your heart is and where you came from?
Nobody will stop you. Nobody will cry. Nobody will miss you. We will only have one thing to say. Good riddance!
August 31st, 2015 at 6:03 am
Lorenzo (also known as Moshe Dyan, Kumar Moses) stop lying.
I used to be at the DefenseWire blog, the Sri Lanka Defense Forum blog (run by Ananda) and the Defense Analytic’s blog run BY YOU. I used the handle Pol Sambol.
Ananda blocked me from his blog for disagreeing with him and challenging him (regarding MR), he then shut the blog down (or something) which prompted you, Sam Perera and others to leave/create a new blog.
Rather than running away from the obvious question with stupid claims of who is who, ANSWER the question: Were you thinking about the 13A and scrapping it in January 2015 when you openly supported this ugly regime and played an active role in bringing it to power?
And also stop trying to hide your role in spreading the lies against MR which caused his defeat. YOU WERE BOASTING ABOUT your success HERE at LankaWeb which is what got you banned through January till March.
Its rich for you to cry for SLs well being and scrapping the 13A when you actively played a role in ensuring both things would never happen by joining your hands with the TNA, UNP and the one eye bandit queen and BOASTING about it here and your online/facebook “success story”.
You were even saying how Gobasena was going to bring in “new young MPs” in the upcoming general election to replace “stale old corrupt people”, then in February started saying how the blues (SLFP/UPFA) would only get 30 seats at the upcoming GE when people here at LankaWeb were campaigning for an MR come back (was that an acknowledgement of election rigging planned by you/My3 team?). You even BOASTED how you ran call centers and drove vans around to carry people to election booths during the Presidential election. You recommending MRs team do this same tactic for this GE -a suggestion you made here on August 16th. Which begs the questions, is that how you helped rig the January PE? Getting people to vote multiple times by driving them around everywhere?
STOP LYING and answer the questions i have posed to you, in particular the one regarding your desire for the 13A to be scrapped yet you openly support My3/Ranil/CBK/TNA.
September 1st, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Were you thinking about the 13A and scrapping it in January 2015 when you openly supported this ugly regime and played an active role in bringing it to power? He never say YES OR NO