Removal of electoral organizers to split the SLFP – Mahinda
Posted on August 19th, 2016

Courtesy Adaderana

August 18, 2016  04:11 pm

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says he calls upon all members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to carefully observe the moves that are being made to weaken the party.

What we are now seeing is the second phase in the plan to destroy the SLFP. The first was the dissolving of the local government institutions the vast majority of which were controlled by the SLFP,” he said in a statement today.

The statement further said, Several SLFP electoral organisers including Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Pavithra Wanniarachchi,  Rohitha Abeygunawardena,  C.B. Ratnayake, Gamini Lokuge, , Keheliya Rambukwella , and others have been removed from their electoral organiserships by the president. This is the latest round of reprisals against SLFP members associated with the Joint Opposition.

Removal of electoral organizers to split the SLFP - Mahinda
On earlier occasions, Dilum Amunugama, Salinda Dissanayake, S.M.Chandrasena, Geetha Kumarasinghe and Prasanna Ranatunga were similarly removed from their organiserships. Puttlam district parliamentarian Sanath Nishantha has been suspended from the party. This persecution has effectively caused a split in the SLFP.

Popular organisers of the SLFP are being removed and replaced with less popular politicians in order to weaken the SLFP and to confer an advantage on the UNP. Parliamentarian Sanath Nishantha whose party membership has been suspended got the highest preference votes among all political parties in the Puttlam district. Many of the electoral organisers who have been removed are among the top two or three in their respective districts.

For example,  Prasanna Ranatunga got the highest preference votes in the Gampaha district. S.M.Chandrasena came first in the Anuradhapura district,  Dilum Amunugama came third in the Kandy district. Rohitha Abeygunawardena, came second in the Kalutara district, C.B. Ratnayake, came second in the Nuwara Eliya district after Armugugam Thondaman, and Pavithra Wanniarachchi came third in the Ratnapura district.

These are all very popular politicians in their districts and stalwarts of the SLFP. Since the last parliamentary election 17 members of the SLFP central committee have been sacked. Nationally known figures have been replaced with individuals who are either defeated candidates, or politicians who have got much fewer preference votes even at the provincial council level. Such changes are designed to weaken the SLFP and to give the UNP the upper hand when it comes to an election. The responsibility for splitting the SLFP by removing its most popular electoral organisers will finally have to be borne by the President who is the leader of the party.

What we are now seeing is the second phase in the plan to destroy the SLFP. The first was the dissolving of the local government institutions the vast majority of which were controlled by the SLFP. These local government institutions would have been immensely helpful to the party in the event of any election. Yet all these were dissolved, giving a clear advantage to the UNP. The coalition between the UNP and the SLFP was extended from two years to five years without seeking the views of the SLFP central committee, the executive committee or even the SLFP government parliamentary group. I call upon all members of the SLFP to carefully observe these moves that are being made to weaken the party and give the UNP the upper hand.”

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9 Responses to “Removal of electoral organizers to split the SLFP – Mahinda”

  1. Sarath W Says:

    Sarath W Says:

    August 18th, 2016 at 6:03 pm
    I am a Mahinda supporter and will be grateful to him for ever for saving the country the from terrorism and all the development projects to take the country forward. But I also blame him for

    1. Not brave enough to conduct a referendum soon after May 2009 and give people a chance to decide on the 13th amendment, not India.
    2. Handing over the SLFP presidency to My3 when he joined the UNP to contest against the official SLFP candidate.
    3. Calling the presidential election early so that he can groom Namal to the top job, frustrating senior party members.
    4, Giving too much power to Basil and tolerating thugs and crooks like Mervyn and Sajin ….

    As loyal Mahinda supporters, we must not think only of his greatness, but his weaknesses as well.

    It is true that My3 not only is determine to destroy the SLFP, but the country as well by joining hands with the UNP controlled by the Tamil diaspora and our western enemies and India. SWRDB formed the SLFP to oppose the UNP and it’s policies harmful to the nation and it’s Sinhala Buddhist heritage. By joining hands with the traitors, My3 has become a traitor and a slave to all those who financed him to become the puppet he is.

  2. Ananda-USA Says:

    Sarath W.!

    I agree with some, but not all of your statements.

    In particular,

    1. Indeed, I too would have liked to see MR repealing the 13A after the conclusion of the war. However, I understand his reasons:

    A. He was able to prevent foreign intervention in the war to rescue the LTTE only by placating India and the pro-LTTE Western Powers only by emphasising that after defeating the terrorists he would implement a 13A+ amounting to additional protection of minorities in a new Senate, but still short of full devolution that excluded land and police powers.

    Post-war he invited the Tamil parties, principally the TNA, to attend a Parliamentary Select Committee to discuss the matter but they refused. They hoped foreign powers would force the GOSL to bend to their will. Current events show that the TNA was not wrong in that assessment.

    B. Having made the 13A+ promise, subject to acceptance by Tamil parties, he could not backtrack easily, especially when Tamil parties refused to even discuss it. There was one way for MR to get out of this fix: state that as the President of a DEMOCRATIC NATION he must seek the approval of his citizens, and submit the 13A to a nationwide referendum, which would be dominated by the votes of Sinhala Buddhists. But, he did not do that.

    C. Finally, there was his conviction that ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and PROSPERITY of the entire nation, and especially the war-torn North and East, would defuse the feelings of war-related ALIENATION & Racism DELIBERATELY FOSTETED under 30 years of LTTE rule, would allow him to REPEAL THE 13A and DISMANTLE the PC system without opposition. To this end, he aggressively pursued his program of infrastructure development and reconstruction in the North and East.

    He was ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in this assessment, but he misjudged the INHERENT RACISM of the Tamil Leaders and the enmity of the Western Nations and India that he had earned by the close alliance with China. China was the ONLY NATION prepared to loan Sri Lanka the massive funds needed for the infrastructure development, on easy payment terns, without imposing draconian economic and political conditions in return.

    The Western nations preaching human rights and democracy even as they waged global war on developing nations sowing anarch and chaos in their wake, and refusing to lend to Sri Lanka without strings on the scale that China was giving, we’re absolutely HYPOCRITICAL in destroying the ONLY DEMOCRATIC NATION that in recent times had rid itself of terrorism so COMPLETELY. It seems that the jaundiced West preaching democracy and committing serial blunders wherever they intervened, wanted to destroy the only truly democratic nation in South Asia that shared their democratic ideals, and what’s more, had implemented it themselves since independence to uplift their citizenry and create one of the most egalitarian societies in Asia. And this while coping with a murderous 30-year war sustained from monies gathered in those self-appointed Champions of democracy reducing entire nations into desolate wasteland, and channeling their people’s into a massive refugee exodus.

    Is that what they want to inducd in Sri Lanka too, pitting it’s minorities against the majority, and erasing all possibility a stable society taking root? How would like to have that happen in their own countries, a prospect that increasingly appears to be not too far removed from reality?

    2. MR had no option other than to handover the Presidency of the SLFP to Sirisena. The constitution of the SLFP requires that if the President of Sri Lanka is a member of the SLFP, then he gets to the Chairman of the SLFP as well.

    We have to understand that MR, by nature and legal training, is a law abiding man. He plays by the rules, so he handed over the Chairmanship of the SLFP to Sirisena. That inhetent law abiding nature of MR is one of the primary reasons that I TRUST HIM AS THE PRESIDENT of Sri Lanka; not assorted backstabber and illegal deal makets who engineer staturday night massacres of his own party on the eve of elections and appoint minority parties to serve as the governing party.

    The minorities, in particular, had a great protector and ally in this intrinsically courageous and decent man. They threw away that asset when they helped to oust him. All of us have lost in the process, for MR was the one real hope we had of coming together as equal citizens in a united and progressive nation.

    Now, attitudes have HARDENED on all sides. The more Sri Lanka appears to be weak with a puppet government and patriots being hunted by foreign powers, the MORE DEMANDING AND AGGRESSIVE the Tamil Separatist parties become, closely followed by the Muslims and the Christian fanatics jockeying for their pound of flesh. In reaction, the attitude of the Sinhala Buddhist HARDENING much faster, and the fallout from that will be violence in the short term, and OUSTING of the Yamapalanaya government in the longer term.

    When that happens, MR will no longer be able to delay the implementation of the demands of the Sinhala Buddhists.

    He himself will see the WISDOM of REPEALING the 13A, DISSOLVING the Provincial Councis, ENDING the RECONCILIATION crap with unrepentant separatists, bringing to an end the ETCA, the Hanuman Bridge, the Ramayana Trail, and other economic and cultural attempts to annex Sri Lanka by India, and ENDING ALL of the attempts to cast the blame on the victimized Sinhala people And the War-Heroes of he Armed Forces for the crimes committed in a murderous terrorist war waged by the Eelamists. If Sri Lsnka must LEAVE THE UN to achieve the latter gosls, so be it.

    3. There is NO EVIDENCE that MR called an early election to enable Namal to be President. As far as I know, he was anticipating the continued growth of the regime change activity by foreign powers and wanted to prevent it by calling an early election. He miscalculated not knowing that his trusted PM would rat appa with him and betray him the next morning. Would you TRUST such a BACKSTABBER with the Presidency of your country? I would not and did not. The citizens of Sri lanka are now reaping the bitter medicine of that MISPLACED TRUST in a backstabber unworthy of their trust.

    4. I fully blame MR for allowing thugs like Mervyn and Sahan to pollute his reputation. He should have disciplined them with the full weight if the law. Their doings gave his enemies the only factual criticism they were able to bring against him. Hopefully, he has learned the lesson that great power requires great attention to honor and probity. Trust of the Patriots is too valuable a thing to be trifled with.

  3. Ananda-USA Says:

    Sarath W.!

    I agree with some, but not all of your statements.

    In particular,

    1. Indeed, I too would have liked to see MR repealing the 13A after the conclusion of the war. However, I understand his reasons:

    A. He was able to prevent foreign intervention in the war to rescue the LTTE only by placating India and the pro-LTTE Western Powers only by emphasising that after defeating the terrorists he would implement a 13A+ amounting to additional protection of minorities in a new Senate, but still short of full devolution that excluded land and police powers.

    Post-war he invited the Tamil parties, principally the TNA, to attend a Parliamentary Select Committee to discuss the matter but they refused. They hoped foreign powers would force the GOSL to bend to their will. Current events show that the TNA was not wrong in that assessment.

    B. Having made the 13A+ promise, subject to acceptance by Tamil parties, he could not backtrack easily, especially when Tamil parties refused to even discuss it. There was one way for MR to get out of this fix: state that as the President of a DEMOCRATIC NATION he must seek the approval of his citizens, and submit the 13A to a nationwide referendum, which would be dominated by the votes of Sinhala Buddhists. But, he did not do that.

    C. Finally, there was his conviction that ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and PROSPERITY of the entire nation, and especially the war-torn North and East, would defuse the feelings of war-related ALIENATION & Racism DELIBERATELY FOSTETED under 30 years of LTTE rule, would allow him to REPEAL THE 13A and DISMANTLE the PC system without opposition. To this end, he aggressively pursued his program of infrastructure development and reconstruction in the North and East.

    He was ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in this assessment, but he misjudged the INHERENT RACISM of the Tamil Leaders and the enmity of the Western Nations and India that he had earned by the close alliance with China. China was the ONLY NATION prepared to loan Sri Lanka the massive funds needed for the infrastructure development, on easy payment terns, without imposing draconian economic and political conditions in return.

    The Western nations preaching human rights and democracy even as they waged global war on developing nations sowing anarch and chaos in their wake, and refusing to lend to Sri Lanka without strings on the scale that China was giving, we’re absolutely HYPOCRITICAL in destroying the ONLY DEMOCRATIC NATION that in recent times had rid itself of terrorism so COMPLETELY. It seems that the jaundiced West preaching democracy and committing serial blunders wherever they intervened, wanted to destroy the only truly democratic nation in South Asia that shared their democratic ideals, and what’s more, had implemented it themselves since independence to uplift their citizenry and create one of the most egalitarian societies in Asia. And this while coping with a murderous 30-year war sustained from monies gathered in those self-appointed Champions of democracy reducing entire nations into desolate wasteland, and channeling their people’s into a massive refugee exodus.

    Is that what they want to inducd in Sri Lanka too, pitting it’s minorities against the majority, and erasing all possibility a stable society taking root? How would like to have that happen in their own countries, a prospect that increasingly appears to be not too far removed from reality?

    2. MR had no option other than to handover the Presidency of the SLFP to Sirisena. The constitution of the SLFP requires that if the President of Sri Lanka is a member of the SLFP, then he gets to the Chairman of the SLFP as well.

    We have to understand that MR, by nature and legal training, is a law abiding man. He plays by the rules, so he handed over the Chairmanship of the SLFP to Sirisena. That inhetent law abiding nature of MR is one of the primary reasons that I TRUST HIM AS THE PRESIDENT of Sri Lanka; not assorted backstabber and illegal deal makets who engineer staturday night massacres of his own party on the eve of elections and appoint minority parties to serve as the governing party.

    The minorities, in particular, had a great protector and ally in this intrinsically courageous and decent man. They threw away that asset when they helped to oust him. All of us have lost in the process, for MR was the one real hope we had of coming together as equal citizens in a united and progressive nation.

    Now, attitudes have HARDENED on all sides. The more Sri Lanka appears to be weak with a puppet government and patriots being hunted by foreign powers, the MORE DEMANDING AND AGGRESSIVE the Tamil Separatist parties become, closely followed by the Muslims and the Christian fanatics jockeying for their pound of flesh. In reaction, the attitude of the Sinhala Buddhist HARDENING much faster, and the fallout from that will be violence in the short term, and OUSTING of the Yamapalanaya government in the longer term.

    When that happens, MR will no longer be able to delay the implementation of the demands of the Sinhala Buddhists.

    He himself will see the WISDOM of REPEALING the 13A, DISSOLVING the Provincial Councis, ENDING the RECONCILIATION crap with unrepentant separatists, bringing to an end the ETCA, the Hanuman Bridge, the Ramayana Trail, and other economic and cultural attempts to annex Sri Lanka by India, and ENDING ALL of the attempts to cast the blame on the victimized Sinhala people And the War-Heroes of he Armed Forces for the crimes committed in a murderous terrorist war waged by the Eelamists. If Sri Lsnka must LEAVE THE UN to achieve the latter gosls, so be it.

    3. There is NO EVIDENCE that MR called an early election to enable Namal to be President. As far as I know, he was anticipating the continued growth of the regime change activity by foreign powers and wanted to prevent it by calling an early election. He miscalculated not knowing that his trusted PM would rat appa with him and betray him the next morning. Would you TRUST such a BACKSTABBER with the Presidency of your country? I would not and did not. The citizens of Sri lanka are now reaping the bitter medicine of that MISPLACED TRUST in a backstabber unworthy of their trust.

    4. I fully blame MR for allowing thugs like Mervyn and Sahan to pollute his reputation. He should have disciplined them with the full weight if the law. Their doings gave his enemies the only factual criticism they were able to bring against him. Hopefully, he has learned the lesson that great power requires great attention to honor and probity. Trust of the Patriots is too valuable a thing to be trifled with.

  4. Lorenzo Says:

    FULLY AGREE WITH SARATH W except #2.

    All MR fans should ask how did his MPs reduce from 151 in 2010 to 51 in 2015 in just 5 years?

    This is a DROP of 100 MPs. Also it came after MR won the war. Surely, MR’s government should have done something HORRIBLY WRONG.

    FIXING these problems is ESSENTIAL to win again. Unfortunately, there are some people who want to whitewash wrongs and tell MR to carryon. They are not friends but enemies.

    1. Not brave enough to conduct a referendum soon after May 2009 and give people a chance to decide on the 13th amendment, not India.

    This was MR’s biggest shortcoming. It created more problems later. How many times I BEGGED MR to SCRAP 13 amendment? Lankaweb has enough evidence? UVA PC election was won very marginally and everyone knew MR’s rule was over.

    2. Handing over the SLFP presidency to My3 when he joined the UNP to contest against the official SLFP candidate.

    You can’t blame MR. He had to as per SLFP constitution.

    3. Calling the presidential election early so that he can groom Namal to the top job, frustrating senior party members.

    Another BIG blunder. It was a BONUS for the anti-MR camp. SLFP was NEVER a party of RUGBY PLAYERS wearing expensive watches, driving luxury cars (not NR’s cars though) and venerating SALMAN KHAN.

    I was with Maru Sira’s campaign and I can tell you how ECSTATIC they were when NR was doing all these. They said NR was their PROPAGANDA MANAGER!

    4. Giving too much power to Basil and tolerating thugs and crooks like Mervyn and Sajin

    Very true. ALL 3 could NOT make it to parliament in 2015!!

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

    MR comes from H’tota district – a 96% Singhala district where people are grateful, helpful, religious and kind. You help them once and they will help you twice. MR contested from H’tota 7 times and won 6. But as president he had to contest the entire island. He tried what worked in H’tota in the north and east NOT knowing how racist they are and how they don’t care about development. DISASTER. You give a lion meat and he eats but you give a cow some meat and it will run away.

    IF you want MR to come back to power, tell him to learn these 3 lessons and he can win. IF you want MR to keep losing, tell him to carryon as perfect.

  5. Nanda Says:

    Lorenzo,
    What are you talking about ?

    Now some crowds are attracted. MR lovers think,

    1. MR lost because of UNP CBK lies, not because of his mistakes.
    2. No people have realised they were fooled by lies.
    3. Therefore next Election ( If ANY ) will be a landslide win to MR !

    This is called FOOLSIHNESS at best. All the people here who predicted MR would win both elections are the ones appear to be thinking this way, unfortunately.
    Unfortunately I have to wait very long to prove Sinhalese are not that FOOLISH.

    All MR is doing is what Jayasuriya , Murali did for Sri Lankan cricket.
    Now they are kicked out of cricket gradually new people coming up.

    When those new heroes appear one day, it may be too late. We will see who is the greatest betrayer then.

  6. Charles Says:

    Ananda USA-

    it is strange that the people prop up here from time to time to Oppose the former President for some thing or other. But this government having been there for nearly 18 months had done nothing positive and beneficial to the copuntry and the people. The former President is not a perfect man. There are infact no perfect persons.

    All are subject to greed, aversion and delusion.Amoung them there are those who are less of this or more of that etc. But on the whole, of the Political leaders we have had since Independence the former President Mahinda Rajapakse is remarkably far better than the rest. And there is none in the horizonn who could be equalled to him. So why not those who prop up now and then evaluate Mahinda Rajapakse correctly and speak positively about him or leave him out of their criticism completely and support X,Y, or Z.? If they want Sirisena,Ranil, Chandrika, or Sampanthan say so and write off Mahinda we have no objection ?

  7. SenaD Says:

    Charles,

    You said: “The former President is not a perfect man. There are infact no perfect persons.”

    “But on the whole, of the Political leaders we have had since Independence the former President Mahinda Rajapakse is remarkably far better than the rest. And there is none in the horizonn who could be equalled to him.”

    I too agree with you on these. All have to work with what IS available at present.

  8. Fran Diaz Says:

    Agree with Ananda & Charles.

    ———-

    Only time shows up good & useless politicos.
    MR has come out on top as the best leader in the recent years. He is only ONE dedicated human being trying hard to serve the Nation against odds that are great.
    The wise will support him so that the greatest good is done for all in Lanka.

    Common sense : with or without MR, Lanka PEOPLE will have to become the PROTECTORS OF HUMAN VALUES here and lay down life supporting & Protective Laws to guard the Country, or foreign agencies will prevail and Lanka will be laid into some kind of a inhuman wasteland as ‘fighting dinosaurs’ advance into Lanka territory. When wars happen, the law of the jungle prevails.

  9. Fran Diaz Says:

    Best for ALL to get together and declare the Law that ALL Ports in Lanka should be used ONLY for PEACEFUL PURPOSES.

    There was also a Declaration through the UN (1971) that the INDIAN OCEAN be a Zone of Peace. This is a UN Declaration and shouldn’t that be revisited and put forward again now ?

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