What was different about Kirulapone May Day Rally.
Posted on May 9th, 2016
By Charles.S.Perera
What has Maithripala Sirisena done to deserve a large crowd at his May Day rally ?
Only thing he has done is to allow Ranil Wckramasinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga to sell Sri Lanka to India and the west within the shortest time he accidentally became the President of Sri Lanka. In helping the Ranil Chandrika duo to sell the country to India and West, he also helps to divide the country between the Tamils , and the Muslims and place the Sinhala in the third place.
The Sri Lankans have no reason to gather round Maithripala Sirisena, as he has done nothing even remotely comparable to hundreds of things the former President Mahinda Rajapakse has done to Sri Lanka within five years after elimination of terrorism. Maithripala Sirisena cannot now or a life time after compare himself even to the shadow of Mahinda Rajapakse.
Maithripala Sirisena and those who got the priviledge of holding Ministries in the UNP Government, which they would have never been able to get if Maithripala Sirisena was not made the cats paw of the UNP to form a Yahapalanaya Government, vie against each other to assert that the largest crowd at the May Day Rally was in Galle.
There was a good crowd in Galle thanks to the free blue shirts, lunch and free ride to Galle not to mention any other discretely provided incentives. Yes Galle May Day was a large Blue Crowd. In Campbell Place the ground was gone Green. But UNP unlike Maithripala Sirisena’s SLFP, has not come forward still to blast horns about Campbell Place rally to have been the largest. But both rallies the Blue Rally at Galle and the Green Rally at Campbell Place were both artificial, and insignificant to the May Day Rally at Kirulapone. The people attended to fill the grounds for a May day which they did not care much about, because neither that UNP nor that SLFP has given the people what they want.
There was however a difference in the Kirulapone May Day Rally. There was a sea of ordinary people. They had not come in uniforms of any colour , but wearing their own clothes.
The crowd of people who gathered at Kirulapone had not received uniforms to attend the Kirulapone May Day Rally, like the blue uniforms at the Galle May Day Rally or the Green uniforms to attend the May Day Rally at Campbell Place.
The mass of ordinary people at the Kirulapone May Day Rally came in great numbers not because it was the workers day, but they gathered to be with their beloved leader- the President Mahinda Rajapakse. It was an occasion for them once again to tell the Yahapalanaya government that they have rejected Ranil’s UNP and Maithripala’s SLFP. They said not vocally but by personal attendance at the May Day Rally that they will always be with their dear President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Therefore, please take note that the real people of this country gathered in great numbers at Kirulapone. And of those uniformed crowds at Galle half of them may have come for the fun of it, and most of them may have been those who voted for a change and are now utterly disappointed with the Yahapalanaya, and regret not having voted for Mahinda Rajapakse at the Presidential election. It was a case of beating the drum they tied around them ( බැඳගත්ත බෙරේ ගහනවා).
Intelligent people who can think, may understand what a mistake they made in casting their vote for a change, and to have someone different to replace (at least for some time to come) an irreplaceable-leader of the calibre of the former President Mahinda Rajapakse. It is Sri Lanka that lost in that foolishness, a great leader who Sri Lanka was fortunate to have for the first time after Independence.
Sri Lanka Under President Mahinda Rajapakse was a vast construction sight. Every were there was work going on to construct new roads, carpet new roads or lay concrete on pathways. New projects were being started, the old finished and declared opened. There were buildings for schools, IT Centres, hospitals, recreation grounds, markets, shopping arcades. There were Military Camps that assured the security of the country and the people.
But what has Maithripala Sirisena the people elected for a change by mistake given to the people?
Maithripala Sirisena, Ranil Wickramasinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga have together given the people a police state. In their Sri Lanka, Police , FCID, Presidential Investigation Commission, Bribery Commission, and a brand new Minister Sarath Fonseka specially appointed to throw mud at President Mahinda Rajapakse and his family .
Sarath Fonseka is like a robot which starts talking at the command of the Prime Minister. He is a military man( the worst type) and his words are rough, dirty, uncouth, venomous, and stink.
Maithripala Sirisena has given to the people a Prime Minister as cruel as he is, who has shown utter immaturity in proposing projects to Sri Lanka which may only sell it to India and the West making Sri Lanka a colony of the West and India. Sirisena has become the poodle” of the West dressing him in a prestige he lacks, and inviting him to places he would be like a square peg in a round hole”.
What is Sirisena’s use and importance at G7 meeting ?
It was yesterday that the Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said of the friendly west pampering Sirisena”, that ….. I am being brutally frank but there is no point saying we are with the world if they are not helping us….”
All these insincere praise extended to Maithripala Sirisena by the USA and the West is to make him happy and keep Sri Lanka in the Western Circle, leaving the strategic position of Sri Lanka for their use and benefit. West will not a give a dime” to help Sri Lanka.
The great leader President Mahinda Rajapakse’s smiling face was every where during his time as President, making people proud of what he had given to them, peace and desire to live in a modern country without fear of terrorism. There was a considerable developed standard of living. The whole country from North to South and East to West benefitted from his generosity , his visionary concepts for a developed Sri Lanka remain extraordinary.
It was those grateful people who rallied in innumerable numbers at Kirulapone to see Mahinda Rajapakse their beloved leader and offer him their gratitude by being present at his call.
Please click on the URL below to see the crowds at the Kirulapone May Day Rally.
May 8th, 2016 at 7:35 pm
A good assessment but most of it doesn’t matter at an election. Like the UNP and SLFP May Day rallies, they will use state resources at the election, which is not available to the JO. This can win a large number of votes. Minority votes and also not sufficiently represented in May Day rallies as Tamils and Muslims (25% of the population) avoid it. As JO does not have minority support, mainly the UNP will get it. As Sinhalese are divided into four camps, the minority vote is decisive.
In 2005 and 2015 presidential elections, JVP emerged as kingmakers. This will be the same in 2019 presidential election (if any). Anura Kumara Dissanayaka is pro-UNP. Under his leadership, the JVP always supported the UNP and TNA. Changing the JVP leadership is essential to make it more sensible. Hopefully the JVP will take action against Anura and remove him from party leadership. Though the three major parties (and minor parties) haven’t shown any active interest, they must be working behind the scenes to keep Anura (UNP, TNA, SLMC and Sirisena faction of the SLFP) and get rid of him (JO). The outcome of this will decide who will become the next president.
UNP will want a strong JVP as it divides the Sinhala vote opposed to the government. On nepotism, corruption, privatisation, IMF and ETCA, the JVP has beaten the JO by miles. On 13A and Wigneswaran, JO and JVP are the same. JO has the edge in infrastructure development and the economy. Although JVP’s vote base in 2015 was just 15% of the UPFA, it has the deciding vote. Unless the JO makes it seen better than the JVP on 13A, separatism and bridge the gap in ETCA and nepotism, the JO has no chance in even coming close to governing.
May 8th, 2016 at 7:57 pm
Dilrook,
There is no certainty in JO. JO still have highly corrupt figures hanging around as well as anti-Sinhala ghosts. A time may come other side will buy over them. JO is not improving but little by little becoming “multi-faith or no faith” unit. They cannot be strongly anti Jihad too. They cannot be even mildly anti 13A now as long as MR + Basil is there.
I don’t agree JVP supports UNP. Even in the latest vote they voted with JO to almost ( or actually) defeat the government. JVP will attract more and more new young votes gradually.
I agree division of Sinhalas means win to UNP. Where are the real Sinhala Buddhists in politics ? In extinct.
May 8th, 2016 at 9:06 pm
Charles,
You have said it as it really is.
May Day rallies of the UNP and the Sirisena Faction were attended by those benefiting from the Yamapalana Govt in various ways including direct money handouts.
The May Day rally of three Joint Opposition was attended by people who did not get a dime, but came there out of patriotic fervour, to see their beloved Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the GUT WRENCHING CONCERN they have for the peril their Motherland has fallen into.
Dilrook correctly points out that the DIVISION of the Sinhala Buddhist vote, which was temporarily overcome during MR’s Presidency, as the primary barrier to forming a Patriotic GOSL through new elections. But, I disagree with him that the JVP holds kingmaking power. The JVP which joined the UNP to topple the GOSL in 2015, is one of the parties that will be held responsible for that fiasco by Sinhala Buddhists, and will LOSE more of their votes in the future. The JHU has also discredited itself in the people’s eyes, as have all those BATHGOTTAS of the SLFP who joined the Yamapalana government in search of Ministerial portfolios in the central and Provincial go ernments and other assorted bribes.
Dham, our hidden JVP VIPLAVAKARAYA, quietly added his voice in support of the JVP … please take note his modus operandi!
May 8th, 2016 at 9:28 pm
Truth is Mahinda Rajapaksa our beloved leader is still the most popular and able leader who can deliver the best of best to the country and to its people without any doubt. He is the charismatic leader whom we all love and hope one day pretty soon become our leader again to take us forward than backward. Mahinda haters must be wiped out from the political scene in next eletions thru the ballot. Let’s
Prepare for it now itself. Long live our President Mahinda Rajapaksa our true leader.
May 8th, 2016 at 10:18 pm
Ananda, JVP won half a million votes at the 2015 general election. The gap between Sirisena and Mahinda in January 2015 was only 400,000. Therefore JVP and JHU were kingmakers in 2015. However, they are going on two different paths. JHU is now extinct.
Voters are futuristic. The past is used only as one of many guides to the future. JVP’s dirty role in 2015 will not play huge if it takes a hard line stand on today’s issues.
JVP is gaining popularity at the expense of the Joint Opposition. JO leaders are pussyfooting important issues like ETCA, IMF, nepotism, privatisation, etc. JO leaders have not promised to cancel ETCA if signed. They only blame the UNP for signing it. This will end up like 13A. UNP gets the blame for it while all others continue with it. People need more than that. They want to removed if signed. Only JVP has stated it will. Same goes for IMF and privatisation. JO leaders’ position is not sufficient. This is about people’s economy and blame alone is not enough.
Nepotism is a huge advantage the JVP will play to the maximum at the next election. It has nothing to lose while JO will lose very heavily. In fact the JO is the worst affected with both its leaders Mahinda and Dinesh have family in politics. The new generations (X, Y and Z) abhor nepotism due to their own personal experiences. They (54 years and below) will make up 60% (corrected from a previous estimate) of the vote at the next election. Although so much has been said about social media in relation to the 2015 election, I think it is more of changing values of the new generations that made the social media campaign work. Sadly the JO is very old fashioned in this regard. JO cannot win just by overwhelming social media if nepotism, indecision on key issues and problems with the west remain.
This is in wide contrast to the baby boomer and even previous generation that valued proven families in national leadership, moderation in policy matters and a general mistrust of the West. I hope Mahinda and Dinesh will hand over the leadership to Udaya, Wimal, Prasanna, Vidura, Welgama and the like at the next national election and play a patron role.
May 8th, 2016 at 10:29 pm
Such a shift in leadership will make it more likely for the JO (or whatever name they use) to get electoral support from the JVP which will be crucial to win the next presidential election. If the next general election is held by a mix of FPTP and PR systems, then it becomes crucial to come to an agreement with the JVP to share the win. Otherwise the JVP will simply ruin JO’s chances.
Sadly politicians don’t take sound advice and most of their trusted advisors are now out-dated in their thinking. Measuring power from numbers at a public rally is one part of the game today (unlike in the past when that was the only means of communication for an opposition party). Comparing UNP’s 1977 rallies to modern day rallies is also wrong as population has nearly doubled since then.
May 9th, 2016 at 12:12 am
Ananda,
. our hidden JVP VIPLAVAKARAYA, quietly added his voice in support of the JVP … please take note his modus operandi!
I have nothing to hide. I don’t love any politician, you love whoever supports MR. Now you love Udaya. Tomorrow if crosses sides you will hate him. Because of your brotherly love, I don’t blame you. Even Buddha said “even the wind flowing in the direction of relatives is refreshing”.
Actually I wished JVP could obtain lot of seats in the last election. Why ? there were the only people really finding all the Dracula action of the governments. Even now they are the people who are vigorously fighting corruption, not your brother, he is not even coming to the parliament despite give 200 people for protection. So what is wrong if I side with them ? Only thing I dislike them is they are not nationalists. If they can come up with “REMOVAL OF 13A” promise, I will be a real VIPLAVAKARAYA.
We need a VIPLAVAYA, a VIPLAVAYA none of the POLY-TICKS are interested. That is to serve the majority Sinhalaya.
Let JVP become strong for your brother to wet his sarong and cross over to Sinhalaya’s side.
May 9th, 2016 at 5:30 am
Not only Maithri SriSena, but also no other leaders in Sri Lanka can be even remotely compared to Mahinda Rajapakse when it comes to patriotism, service to the nation and the development works done within the 10 years he was in power. Mahinda willever remain in the minds of the true Sri Lankan people even though he is not in power. Other leaders, when not in power will just fade away from the scene, from the minds of the people, even those who now support them for personal benefits.
May 9th, 2016 at 8:40 am
Please note also that it was MR who was the ONLY politician who went to Geneva to speak for the JVP.
MR is a truly moderate politician. He understands well the local and international politics, I guess because his father was in politics too, and it is in their very blood.
In a crisis such as now on a Global scale, there is no such thing called “Sinhalaya’s side”. There is only the side of Humanity as a whole vs global strife, money, resources & Climate Change, among other aspects. We have to work together as Sri Lankans or be split up, country and all.
To JVP: Though Sri Lanka is a Socialist country, there is no such thing as a ‘free lunch’. Someone has to do the Entrepreneurs (State & Private holdings) work as well as the Labor (white collar & blue collar).
May 9th, 2016 at 9:38 am
I agree Mahinda is a true patriotic and a fearless leader. Shameless Ranil and Choura are rejects. That is why Ranil had to show a Pambaya to get to the driving seat. The current set in power don’t know whether they are coming or going. With no principles and no moral fibre, they will even sell the country to hang on to power.
I still have faith, we are called the DHARMADWEEPAYA.
Another point. Dham talks as if the Yahapalanaya lot are All Saints. He thinks Mahinda’s ministers are the only rogues in the country. Even if they were, they still delivered.
May 9th, 2016 at 9:46 am
I agree with Kumari, Even if it is granted that Rajapakses robbed the country. They did wopnderful work after elimination of terrorists. They gave to the people abeautiful country. They provided highways we had never before in Sri Lanka. They build schools, hotels, hospitals, harbours, airports, power houses, theatres, arc
May 9th, 2016 at 11:18 am
Fran Diaz you are correct. Behind JVP there are old murders now living out side of SL and trying to mimic socialism. In a market economy there is no socialism or capitalism. I think KURARI is clown hiding behind a mask, calling Mother Lanka Dhamadeepaya?? What about other religions? What about the marrakalys and Catholics and Hindus.
May 9th, 2016 at 12:57 pm
Dham,
I went to university with many leading JVPers, and saw what the JVPers do when they are frustrated: they kill people and try to enslave them. They brainwash and mislead vulnerable gullible youth into violence and intolerance and death exploiting their poverty and social vulnerabilities … that is the sum total of their doings.
The JVP has no scruples: they will exploit everything to achieve their ends: poverty, patriotism, religion, discrimination, terrorism, corruption, nepotism …. anything and everything is a political lever. They even supported the LTTE as members of their “proletariot” at one time.
They scare me and I don’t trust them at all. They have not changed one iota and will not change ever. They pretend to be humanitarians, patriots and even democrats today but that is all a mask to hide their true nature: this is the Sinhala Kotiya.
The Sinhala people who have suffered at their hands in the past know not to trust them. The Sinhala people KNOW that these are the Sinhala POL POTS who will DESTROY Sri Lanka and its people just as the Khmer Rouge did in poor Buddhist Cambodia.
Do you want Sri Lanka to suffer as Cambodia did, and have half of our people killed off at the ALTAR of their VIPLAVAYA?
May the Triple Gem bless Dham with wisdom, for Dham knows not what he wishes for!
May 9th, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Kithsiri Ayya,
Kumari is Ananda’s sister/bro in principle.
She/he is correct this time. Lanka is “Dhramdveepa”.
Marakkalaya has his own Dhamma, so are the Catholics – because it is Dhammadeepa Buddhist majority treat them much better than any other religious majority treats minorities.
May 9th, 2016 at 2:25 pm
Ananda,
I don’t like them carrying Wijeweera’s face on a pole. An I don’t like there “no religion” ” no race” principle.
But I like their discipline, dedication , honesty ( displayed). Other HORUs don’t even talk about honesty because they know they are HORUs and they want people to accept theft, threats, sabotage, thuggery, rape – you name it.
What I was saying is, they will attract more and more young people.
I encourage them to be present , because they raise the bar. Our dear brothers we love will have to something positively themselves than these old fashioned negative attacks.
Where is the positivity for the Sinhalayas ? None of our loves have. they are all pretenders to steal votes.
May 9th, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Lankaputhra seems to have kept track and somehow knows.
Indeed, there are many old JVPers hiding abroad in safety, still preaching the obsolete VIPLAVAYA they so badly bungled to poor Sri Lankans, biding their time until they can creep back again to sow more murder and mayhem in SL.
But, some others are fading away after emerging from prison and hiding under cover as humanists and environmentalists, and writing their memoirs in praise of their failed VIPLAVAYA to spite the people who rejected their idiocy. These guys never learned their mistakes; they had … in effect …. brainwashed themselves!
Kumar Gunaratnam, recently taken into custody in Sri Lanka, may now have been deported. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say!
May 10th, 2016 at 4:46 am
Ananda,
You are day dreaming. KG has already got or about to get citizenship. This may be to spite JVP who are turning against yahapalanaya. Some strange things happen. Sajin Vas SLFP organiser !. I think MS should take him along when he goes to the anti-corruption forum in London.
May 10th, 2016 at 4:53 am
Aloy,
.. and then to Vatican. And then he should come back and call presidential elections 3.5 years early ! Meanwhile Wijedasa would join JO.
May 10th, 2016 at 7:41 am
Charles,
I think you are wasting time. These yahapalanaya guys will never allow your president to get into power again. He didn’t listen to us in this forum to repeal 13A and went to election and lost twice. But they may not harm him or his family. I believe he gave Wipattu as a compensation for the guy who was killed. They will give a part of Yala or something for another housing to compensate for the vote and let him off the hook. But they will milk him dry before that happens.
Everybody will be happy, but Sinhalas will be the losers.
May 10th, 2016 at 9:00 am
Sinhala folk are losers because they are not proactive.
May 10th, 2016 at 10:04 am
we cannot fall on the way lets carry on until the end.
May 10th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Dham,
You said about the JVP: “But I like their discipline, dedication , honesty ( displayed).”
The JVP was and is DISHONEST, their DISCIPLINE is murderous, and their DEDICATION is to grab power by any means. Therefore, they do not DESERVE either support or admiration.
If those attributes ALONE deserved admiration and support, then we should admire Nazi Germany, which was without a doubt DISCIPLINED (the MOST efficient government ever), certainly DEDICATED to the conquest and eradication of all non-Germans, and perhaps selectively HONEST as well for they broadcast what they had in store for others well in advance (vide Hitlers book, the Mein Kampf) of those atrocities. But, the way they went about executing that conquest was through Machiavellian DISHONESTY. entering into agreements today only to break them the very next day.
Such DISCIPLINE, DEDICATION and selective HONESTY applied to WRONG OBJECTIVES are NOT WORTHY of ADMIRATION.
The LTTE was higly DISCIPLINED (enforced through brutal violence), certainly DEDICATED to the supremacy of the Tamils over the Sinhala people in a land in which they were a small minority, and selectively HONEST in articulating their Eelamist Objectives and sticking to it to the bitter end. But, just like the Nazis, they used every DISHONEST strategy they could devise to fool the WORLD into believing that Tamils were INTOLERABLY DISCRIMINATED against in Sri Lanka to gain the support of Western countries, even as they illegally transported 1.5 million fake refugees by the shipload into their countries to form a captive tax base for terrorism, to form a wailing propaganda lobby, and to exploit the welfare systems of those nations and engage in every illegal activity that violated their laws to raise illegal funds.
Such DISCIPLINE, DEDICATION and selective HONESTY applied to WRONG OBJECTIVES are NOT WORTHY of ADMIRATION.
I can go on and on with more factual examples …. at infinitum, ad nauseam …. but I think you will get the point from just these two!
May 10th, 2016 at 2:13 pm
ANANDA AND DHAM !!!
THE JVP WAS AND IS DISHONEST, AND WILL ALWAYS BE. ANANDA, ! Quite true, their DISCIPLINE IS THROUGHOUT, MURDEROUS, AND THEY HAVE NO DEDICATION OTHER THAN TO GRAB POWER, WHICH THEY NEVER WILL. FOR THOSE WHO ADMIRE JVP, THERE IS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR THEM, **THE LUNATIC ASYLUM**
THE PRIME MINISTER HAS GIVEN THE JVP A SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT, THE ROLE OF A THIRSTY AND HUNGRY, BLOOD-HOUND, TO UTILIZE AND KEEP WASTING THEIR TIME CHASING RAJAPAKSES Using Fonseka’s lingo, they are all KALAVEDDAS.
May 10th, 2016 at 3:54 pm
dham and Ananda, thank you for correcting me. I always correct my self if I was at fault. Now I know who Kurai is. Tamil sangham disinformation is extremely difficult to understand. CANNS Film festival in France was taken over by LTTE. I hope Charles who lives in France, can write about so we all know what happened. They confused the judgers by taking a stage play and a documentary of dead LTTE fighter, then got it show living suicide bombers, who has registered as missing persons with real names to use a screen to start dark first then slowly bring the light and the film clip shoes who they are. Mothers giving their real names and saying that they were registered missing persons in Geneva. This show was given permission by the French government to go to all major cities in France and show it on stage. This is all I got from a e-mail floating about.
1. Late Lalith Athulathmudali memorial oration was given by President Sirisena. Will late Lalith Athulathmudali approve it? I would very much have my second thoughts.
May 10th, 2016 at 4:39 pm
Agree with Sarath Wijesinghe & Ananda-USA re Small & Medium sized industries for Lanka (see article by Sarath Wijesinghe : “Small & Medium Sized Industries (SMEs) as a Powerful Hybrid Engine ….”
Aim for Full Empolyment as the Goal and turn all past angry groups (JVP & ex-LTTE) into productive people through Development.
SMEs : Small IS Beautiful – Schumacher.
May 10th, 2016 at 5:47 pm
With apologies to Charles for writing about corruption in this thread, Nigeria and Afghanistan have been named as the most corrupt nations in the world by UK’s PM in a discussion in Buckingham palace with the queen. They have responded within hours and the Nigerian prez says that they may be referring to the past.
I do not know how SL escaped with the current scenario of severe corruption.
May 10th, 2016 at 8:46 pm
What most commentators have written here about the JVP is correct. JVP has a violent past and opportunistic conduct thereafter.
However, some fail to understand electoral math and voter behaviour. In August 2015, despite its relative unpopularity for jacking up the Yamapalanaya government, JVP received 7% of Sinhala Buddhist votes. At the next general election, this will most likely increase because the JVP fearlessly takes a stand against ETCA, IMF, nepotism and Indian housing projects. It is far more hard line (bold) than the JO.
Given the hopeless minority support for the JO, it will need at least 68% of the Sinhala Buddhist vote to win an election. If JVP has 7%, that means UNP and SLFP (Chandrika) cannot get more than 25% of the Sinhala Buddhist vote. However, UNP alone has more than 25% of the Sinhala Buddhist vote even when it was least popular. Sirisena won a little less than 40% of Sinhala Buddhist votes.
If the JO has JVP support, JO can win the election even if UNP and SLFP (Chandrika) have 32% of Sinhala Buddhists. The only other way to reduce JVP’s 7% is for the JO to take an even harder stand against ETCA, IMF, nepotism and Indian housing projects. If the JO is not doing any of the two, it fails. It is foolish to blame the voters. Voters are what they are. If the JO wants to win, it has to change its offering to win the voters. As they say, customer (voter) is the king.
Rajapaksas were excellent in assessing voters that matter from 1970 to 2009. They steadily won more and more power. However, since 2010 it all went wrong as they failed to correctly assess voter sentiment. Unfortunately, it continues. Most likely due to same disastrous and unwise advisors that ruined the government in 2014. How can we replace these advisors at least now? How can we convince Mahinda and other JO leaders to replace them? Unless replaced with better advisors, another defeat is unavoidable in a fragmented majority vote base.
Less than 1% of voters participated in all May Day rallies. 99% stayed at home. Too much emphasis must not be placed on the relative sizes. It is reflective only to an extent.
May 10th, 2016 at 9:36 pm
Ananda,
Your point of view makes sense.
You said “Such DISCIPLINE, DEDICATION and selective HONESTY applied to WRONG OBJECTIVES are NOT WORTHY of ADMIRATION.”
OK. The problem is how do you identify the OBJECTIVES of JO , UNP, SLFP ? None have objectives.
There is point repeating slogans every day and acting.
What are the objectives of JO ?
Bring back Rajapakse.
What are his objectives ? He never declares but we can see it from past action.
What did he do since 2009 ?
Empowering the minorities and LTTE.
May 11th, 2016 at 2:24 am
Dilrook,
The OBJECTIVES will be revealed at the opportune time when the Yamapalanaya has festered sufficiently and the way forward is clearer.
In politics, as in war, it is unwise to alert the opposition to your strategy too early.
Be patient for a while, he will not be caught unawares like the last time.
May 11th, 2016 at 2:36 am
Dilrook,
You give too much credit to the JVP’s hold and persuasive power over the Sinhala people.
Contrary to your fears, the JVP will lose support in the coming years, as the Sinhala people increasingly recognize the TREASONOUS role they played in handing the nation to the minorities and their foreign backers.
Driven by the palpable loss they have suffered to their interests, even as we speak, the Sinhala people are returning home to the PATRIOTIC FOLD led by Mahinda Rajapaksa. No amount of drivel dished out by the Yamapalana junta are going to change the final outcome.
May 11th, 2016 at 4:04 am
Ananda, that is refreshing to hear. Lets hope for the best.
However, a tough stand against ETCA, IMF, nepotism and Indian housing projects cannot be delayed. The damage will be irreparable.
May 11th, 2016 at 7:17 am
Important Human Needs :
Everyone wants to feel Safe & Secure, with life and limb intact. Sale of country to outside sources will generate only a high degree of insecurity.
Next comes clean Air, Water, Food, Shelter, monetary needs through jobs mostly, gainful occupations, or safe investments.
Next a Safe Future for their Children, grandchildren, for generations to come.
Next Dignity of Labor, whatever the type of Work.
Many more aspects ….
ALL able and trusted Leaders of Lanka must come forward to save the Nation. Just going East or West will not deliver the desired results – a balance in all things must be maintained to deliver the best results for the People.
May 11th, 2016 at 11:55 am
Dilrook,
What do the Sinhala people see and feel?
Under MR, Sri Lanka was thriving, economy was booming, consumer prices were stable, unemployment was very low, there was peace and security, the terrorists were gone and the separatists were under control, the national infrastructure was growing and there was a hope that Sri Lanka would no longer be a developing country but a upper middle income nation within 10 years.
Then came a group of jaded con-artists who had BUNGLED every leadership they had held in the past, yelling corruption, nepotism, human rights violation, and that they can do better than MR/UPFA …. something they had NEVER ACHIVED when they held the tens in the past! It was a Foreign Funded REGIME CHANGE OPERATION from the very outset.
And many Sinhala Buddhists, always FORGETFUL of the HOLE they had been in just SIX years ago, fell for it HOOK, LINE and SINKER!
What does that idiotic Sinhala Buddhist voter see today?
Rising prices, the National economy in tatters, an inflationary spiral with thr Rupee lising value rspidly, most infrastructure developments stopped in their tracks, defeated terrorists COCK-A-HOOP making more separatist demands and getting them, the victorious ARMED FORCE being expelled from the North and East they liberated at great cost in blood and treasure, war heroes imprisoned and convicted of war crimes, an extensive WITCH HUNT of the heroic leaders who reunified the nation and ushered in peace and security after 30 years of war, and the rise of terrorists again rearing and gathering to continue the separatist struggle, and the Central Bank being LOOTED by a man who is not even a citizen of Sri Lanka, and a divided government pulling in at least three different directions while Sri Lanka’s avowed enemies move in to oust the boomiputhrayas from their ancient heritage in this land Hallen by the blood and sweat of their ancestors!
Do you think that these Sinhala Buddhist idiots who helped to OUST the MR/UPFA GOSL and bring the nation to its knees within
18 months, are BLIND and DO NOT RUE what they have done?
I think they see it ALL, and are waiting IMPATIENTLY for an OPPORTUNITY to make AMENDS!
May 11th, 2016 at 2:37 pm
Ananda,
Your narrow thinking will not help. Please don’t wait impatiently, do something, call your borther to change.
Did you not listen when your brother admitted not travelling on land for years ?
How could a man did not travel on land see the suffering of Sinhala people ?
May 11th, 2016 at 7:17 pm
Ananda, some Sinhala voters are idiots and politically immature compared to Tamils and Muslims. Who else vote for people like Ranil, Mangala, Ravi, Basil, Mervyn, Jayaratna, Rosy, Sumathipala, Duminda, Champika (in 2015), etc.? 13A made Sri Lanka federal (namesake unitary) with police and land powers (only offered to the NPC, unofficially). Sinhala fools keep voting for parties and politicians that cannot take a stand against 13A and for the Batalanda mass murderer! It is simply beyond me. I have come to accept this fact and it is time you come to realisation as well.
Elections are not a zero sum game between Mahinda and others. There are others too. 40% Sinhalese voted for Sirisena knowing very well his credentials and those around (Ranil, Sampanthan, Chandrika, etc.). They will be keenly observing what Mahinda actually offers compared against what others offer. So far, Mahinda has been very mild on ETCA. He has failed to say he will scrap it if signed. JVP has taken a far better stand threatening to cause widespread agitation and force the government to scrap it if signed. Workers want that.
I have not heard what Mahinda plans to do with the IMF. History shows he is for it ($2.6 billion in 2009). Although loans are not bad, IMF conditions are. I have not heard what Mahinda or Dinesh plan to do to stop the Indian housing project or nepotism.
If Mahinda and Dinesh are ever going to take a stand on these, now is the time. The nation needs it. If they are unable to take a hard line stand on these, Sinhala vote base will be fragmented. My ideal scenario is when Sinhala voters outright reject all politicians who cannot take a stand on ETCA, IMF draconian conditions, nepotism, Indian housing project and 13A. That will force politicians to stand up against national threats.
Please don’t keep too much faith in the JO either. Some JO MPs did not vote against the UNP budget! Previously no one of them voted against the 19A. This is the plight of Sri Lanka. If we are blind by political affiliations, we miss the elephant in the room – Sri Lanka.
Dham and I completely disagree on Weerawansa. I rate him very high; much higher than both Dinesh and Mahinda. He has taken to courts to challenge the illegal increase in scope and rate of VAT. He makes his stand on crucial matters very clear come what may. Currently a video is in circulation of a speech he made in 2013 against reckless borrowing. He correctly predicts economic disaster as a result. He was merciless against ‘advisors’ of Mahinda after 2010 that dug Mahinda’s grave. Mahinda’s recent attempts to bring Basil back to the limelight were thwarted by Wimal. A very good move. De-merger of the north-east (2007), PTOMS (2005), CFA (2002-08) are other national victories initiated by this man. Petitioning Geneva to force the dictatorial Sri Lankan government to allow the Joint Opposition is another win he shouldered. Only he and Udaya (Dinesh infrequently) awaken their voices in parliament against national disasters while more senior JO MPs keep mum or keep out of parliament. Due to this reason, if the UNP or Sirisena remove or weaken Wimal and /or Udaya, it is the end of the JO as a powerful political force. Mahinda is only their third priority while Dinesh and Basil don’t bother them at all.
May 11th, 2016 at 8:13 pm
Dilrook,
Did I mention about WW here ? I can’t find.
I don’t trust him as yet but I too rate him much higher than most. My only concern on him on his Buddhist values.
I remember very well he did not change his stand on basic principles. Most of all he was a major part in JVP’s court action against 13A ( merger).
You said “Previously no one of them voted against the 19A.”, Don’t forget Sarath Weerasekara – last man standing.
May 11th, 2016 at 9:28 pm
Dilrook,
I pretty much agree with your most recent post, except on the timing of MR’s reponse to the items the JVP is already protesting. As I said before, MR will bide his time allowing the Yamapalana bunglers enough rope to hang themselves, and then he will act. If regaining power is the objective, you have to let the political mess ripen more.
BTW, I will post here an article on Indian politico-economic moves in Sri Lanka that basically acknowledges the financial bungling of the Yamapalana GOSL.
Finally, I agree with you on Wimal Weerawansa … I am great fan of his and I tend to trust him, Stanley Perera’s experience meeting him notwithstanding.
May 11th, 2016 at 9:40 pm
Dham,
Some people call me FOCUSED, others even say STEADFAST; you call me narrow-minded, others say I am too broad-minded; DAMN IT Dham … it is SOO HARD to please everyone!
But, I just remembered, I am NOT trying to please EVERYBODY; just those who support the Patriotic cause in defense of my Motherland.
Whew! What a relief!
May 11th, 2016 at 10:49 pm
Why India’s Big Push for Economic Cooperation in Lanka May Backfire
Wed, May 11, 2016, 09:53 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
May 11 (Wire) New Delhi’s policy of hustling its smaller neighbour comes at a time when the Wickremesinghe government’s mismanagement of the economy is apparent and will end up helping the xenophobic political forces in the country.
New Delhi’s relations with Colombo may appear to be at a high point but ironically, anti-India sentiments are on the rise in Sri Lanka. This divergence in sentiments between the Sri Lankan government and its population is largely a consequence of moves to liberalise trade in services and investment between the two countries.
It is no secret that there was a major sigh of relief in India and the United States following the regime change in Colombo in January 2015. China’s inroads into the country with the Rajapaksa regime had polarised the region and raised the geopolitical stakes. However, Sri Lanka’s relationship China was built on an economic foundation of large investments in infrastructure. It also has a historical basis from the rubber rice deal during the Korean War to the massive Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo, gifted by the Chinese in the early 1970s. Nevertheless, in India’s efforts to ensure its regional dominance and counter China’s influence, there has been a singular focus on trying to lock Sri Lanka into the Indian economic orbit.
Expanding trade and financial agreements
The India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement of 1998 was followed by efforts towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to liberalise trade in services and investment starting in the mid-2000s.
However, the CEPA negotiations dragged on for nearly a decade in the face of increasing opposition within Sri Lanka, particularly by the business community and certain interest groups such as the medical lobby. With the new momentum in closer bilateral ties last year, India is pushing for a new trade pact called the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA). The pro-liberalisation government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been actively championing the proposed trade pact.
Meanwhile, the deterioration of the Sri Lankan economy in recent months – including a major balance of payments problem – has forced Colombo to seek support from external actors. India has boosted Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves by US$ 1.1 billion with a Reserve Bank of India credit swap for six months drawn last September, followed by a further emergency credit swap in March to wade over the tough financial tide.
The credit swap is a temporary measure to increase Sri Lanka’s forex reserves, until the country receives an IMF loan. The IMF’s extended fund facility of US$ 1.5 billion coupled with US$ 650 million in multilateral and bilateral loans are to take effect in June this year. The government believes these loans will create momentum for further global financial flows into the country.
The ETCA, widely perceived by the Sri Lankan public to be advantageous to India, is likely to become a trade-off for economic and political support from India to the Wickremesinghe government. However, Wickremesinghe’s visit to Beijing last month has strengthened relations with China – a shift from the soured relations which followed the defeat of the Rajapaksa regime last year. The possibility of equity swaps, where Sri Lankan debt to China is traded for financial stakes in Sri Lankan enterprises, is now being considered. Sri Lanka has also initiated negotiations with China and the US on new free trade agreements. Seizing this opportunity, the IMF and the World Bank are also pushing to liberalise trade as part of a larger strategy of liberalising the Sri Lankan economy – from encouraging the privatisation of state owned enterprises to labour reforms.
Reactions to ETCA
Many of the Colombo-based neoliberal think tanks see the Wickremesinghe government in power and the crisis facing the economy as an opportunity to accelerate liberalisation, including in trade. However, the ETCA is coming under considerable fire from a range of interest groups and political parties – from the chauvinistic remnants of the Rajapaksa regime to the ‘left’ opposition Janatha Vimukthi Perumana.
So what fuels this tremendous reaction to the ETCA? After all, the agreement is only one part of this liberalisation push. To start with, the trade picture is not pretty. According to the Central Bank, Indian exports to Sri Lanka were US$ 4,268 million while Lankan exports to India stood at just US$ 643 million in 2015 – reflecting a massive trade deficit between the countries.
There have been various explanations put forward by Indian officials and pro-liberalisation advocates in Colombo on what has been gained with the previous free trade agreement, including claims that the high Indian exports to Sri Lanka are mostly independent of the free trade agreement. However, India’s eagerness for the trade pact and the stark trade deficit is difficult to miss.
In this context, the current economic crisis and the neoliberal economic policy trajectory have become the political ground for the mobilisation of forces opposed to the government. And this campaign has zeroes in on the ETCA as the catch-all word to describe any and all impending economic woes. Political forces and middle class interest groups such as doctors and IT professionals are opposing the agreement and mobilising broader sections of society. Furthermore, these forces have assumed a xenophobic character, propagating anti-Indian sentiments.
Recent economic crisis
Much of the current economic woes in Sri Lanka have been inherited from the Rajapaksa government’s economic development policies of construction-led growth on high interest debt. In addition, the deterioration in global economic conditions over the past year have created difficult financial conditions for Sri Lanka to roll over such debt. However, the Wickremesinghe government needs to take part of the blame for mismanagement and certainly for its flawed economic vision.
Having come to power over a year ago, and having crossed the milestone of the parliamentary election in August 2015, it nevertheless chose to continue on the path of further exposing the economy to international debt in its November 2015 budget. It ignored the warning bells about the increasing import bill and falling revenues, which have made the country far more susceptible to the current crisis conditions of capital flight from the emerging markets and increasing cost of capital in the global financial markets.
At the core of the Wickremesinghe government’s economic programme is the liberalisation of trade and capital flows; the trade agreements and the IMF facility reflect this economic vision. In other words, it is counting on enticing inward capital flows despite the winds of global capital blowing in the opposite direction. Worryingly, even trade agreements in services and investment are known to lead to further speculative investment flows into finance, insurance and real estate, rather than traditional forms of foreign direct investment leading to the building of factories for production and exports. However, the Sri Lankan establishment has been satisfied with such fickle policies that also lead to considerable rent-seeking by the financial elite.
Opposing xenophobia and liberalisation
Trade liberalisation is always contentious for its impact on society, but it is all the more so now in the context of the global downturn and a national economic crisis. It is likely to aggravate the rising inequalities and jobless growth in Sri Lanka – by pushing for lower wages to compete in international markets – and the inflow of cheaper commodities, wiping out local production.
With the ETCA debate polarised between the free trade elite and the anti-Indian forces, there has been little informed debate including critical analysis of trade liberalisation, broader neoliberal reforms and the deteriorating global economic situation. For those bothered by xenophobia and economic marginalisation, the challenge is to oppose both the reflexive anti-Indian campaign of the nationalists and the neoliberal policies of the liberalisers.
In this context, New Delhi’s policy of hustling its smaller neighbour cannot be more ill-timed and is likely to generate a political backlash. The hubris of the Indian and Sri Lankan establishments in pushing through this trade pact may well result in losing the great opportunity that emerged last year of rebuilding Indo-Lanka relations on a broader footing.
Ahilan Kadirgamar is a political economist and a member of the Collective for Economic Democratisation in Sri Lanka
Read More:: Wire (Source)
May 11th, 2016 at 10:49 pm
Dham, you didn’t in this post. May be it was on the passport matter. That was a minor issue comparing what he has already done for the nation. Yes Sarath Weerasekara was the only man to vote against it but he is not one of them (JO MP group). Had he been elected, the JO stand may have looked a little better.
Ananda, me too. He talks to the point and backs it up where possible with action. He deserves much better than what he is. Hopefully caste, party, education and other things will not deprive him leadership.
May 11th, 2016 at 11:29 pm
Charles, Others,
These allegations that the BBS was and is funded by the West to UNDERMINE MR/UPFA has been around for a LONG TIME.
The REGIME CHANGE OPERATION against the MR/UPFA GoSL did COINCIDE with the rise of the BBS.
Or, is this an attempt to UNDERMINE the BBS?
What is the TRUTH? Can someone comment on this? We NEED to know!
……………………..
BBS challenges Wimal, other MPs to debate
DailyMirror.lk
May 10, 20`16
Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera today challenged MP Wimal Weerawansa over the statements he made to the media condemning the organisation.
“I will challenge not only MP Wimal Weerawansa but also Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Manusha Nanayakkara, Dilan Perera, Rajitha Senarathne, Mangala Samaraweera and political analysts Gevindu Kumarathunga and Dayan Jayathileke for an open debate to discuss the statements made by them against the BBS,” the Thera said.
“They are claiming that BBS is funded by Norway and it is a conspiracy of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). If there’s a CIA conspiracy and if we are funded by Norway, there should be investigations against us to find out the truth. If anyone funded us, there should be bank accounts and bills related to any transaction relating to those transactions. The BBS is funded by the innocent Sri Lankan Buddhists becase the work that we are doing is done for their sake. Unfortunately it is sad to say that several ministers were willing to making statements without knowing anything about the BBS,” he said.
“Democracy is not saying lies and it is not a privilege given by Parliament to ministers. What we discussed in the previous government is valid even for this ‘Yahapalana’ government. They were the people who shouted at us when we exposed incidents which were threat to national security and they did nothing,” the Thera said.
“We have not taken a penny from any government or NGO to build up the BBS. We are not the reason for the defeat of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Now he is reaping what he sowed,” the Thera said. (Chaturaga Pradeep)
May 12th, 2016 at 2:20 am
Ananda,
They are the only group exposing Jihad and LTTE underground work. I think this debate is a good idea. But I always wondered how these monks can own these good vehicles which we can’t afford. Cwije said some people donated. Unless these monks get out of the robes, their speech is a problem to me as a Buddhist.