By : A.A.M.NIZAM – MATARA

On the eve of the August 5th historical General Election there was a surge of articles written by reactionary scribes and those who self proclaim as political commentators, particularly by those who mushroomed in the latter part of 2014 to launch Sri Lanka’s hitherto worst fake news campaign to oust the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime and in the 2020 General Election too they re-emerged and were painting a bleak future for Sri Lanka in the event of SLPP gaining a 2/3 majority as it was being envisaged by the SLPP and these doomsday pundits warned and earnestly urged the voters to take all measures for what they said to prevent a calamity that could befall on Sri Lanka if the SLPP achieve its objective. 

Victor Ivan, the man who was responsible in the 1970s for introducing bomb manufacturing culture to Sri Lanka and radicalizing the youth of this country to shun the Parliamentary system writing an article titled  The post-election Saga” said that if the government fails to achieve a favourable result conducive to enhancing the trust of the people at the parliamentary election, it might lead to weaken the dominance the government has established at ideological level and after the election, it is likely that the political system of Sri Lanka in its entirety including the President, the Prime Minister, the ruling party and the opposition will end up in a severe deadlock.        

In this article this silly doomsday pundit stated:

• Whatever the strength of the result of the parliamentary election secured by the government, it would be unavoidable that not only the affairs of the government, but also the standard of living of the people will fall into a major crisis
• The government will be compelled to pay the salaries of public servants from loan overdrafts obtained from state banks through the Central Bank and his system cannot last long.
• The collapse of the economy is unlikely to be rectified and restored soon.
• The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has made on the world economy tends to have its depressing repercussions on the economy of Sri Lanka as well.
• The job opportunities of migrant workers, especially those employed in the Middle East, which has been the main source of foreign exchange earnings of Sri Lanka, is at a severe risk.
• It is estimated that around 500,000 jobs might be lost resulting in a steep decline in the transition income Sri Lanka used to receive from migrant workers, which is unavoidable.
• The tourism industry, another major source of foreign exchange earnings, is also in a state of total collapse.
• The garment industry is also in a similar situation. A large number of jobs in the garment sector have already been lost. The risk of losing more jobs persists.
• The government will be compelled to impose more and more taxes to meet its needs and to cover the expenses which in turn will oppress the people who have already been hit hard by the economic downturn.
• The lives of those living on interest earned on savings will become miserable. The cuts in wages, overtime and the other allowances will result in making the lives of those who are employed also equally miserable.
• The socio-economic atmosphere will lead to conflicts, labour disputes and public unrest. Theft, robbery and crime will increase in the country.
• The crisis of balance of payments amidst the potential scenario outlined above will have serious repercussions.
• If the country fails to pay at least one installment due on commercial borrowings obtained from international capital markets on commercial terms, Sri Lanka is likely to be declared a bankrupt country.
• If that happens Sri Lanka will fall into an abyss from which it cannot recover easily.
  Such an eventuality could be avoided only by pursuing a policy of selling valuable resources of the country to foreign powers.
• Sri Lanka cannot be described as a democratic country merely because it conducts elections regularly.
• We did not have mature leaders; mature leaders should have emerged through a freedom struggle.
• All the Heads of State from the time of the first Prime Minister to the present day can be considered as unconscientious leaders who have violated the Constitution of the country.
• Even the judiciary, the supposed protector of the Constitution tends to be encouraging its violation by the politicians.
• This reflects the level of degeneration and the extent of unconscientious and uncivilised character of political and bureaucratic structures of Sri Lanka.
• The failure to build a modern nation disregarding the recognition accorded to ethnic, religious and caste differences can be considered as the main reason for the failure of Sri Lanka.
• The compensation the country has paid for the violent conflicts that arose as a result thereof was enormous. The damage caused by violent conflicts has been estimated as $ 200 billion.
• The next reason for the failure of Sri Lanka can be attributed to the rapacious policy of large-scale plundering of public property pursued since 1978, by people’s representatives elected by public vote, when they were under their temporary custody.
• The State of Sri Lanka can be considered not as a democratic State but a State of pirates and bandits.
• The opportunism and impotence shown by the judiciary of Sri Lanka can be considered as another important factor affecting the failure of Sri Lanka.

The above comments show to what an enormous extent this self proclaimed political commentator who attempted to destabilize this country, once directly and several times indirectly has a grudge against this country.  It is hilarious to find that this individual has remained blind and tongue tight about the enormous progress and services done by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa to this country since his election to presidency on 16^th November last year. 

Listed below are some of these remarkable services initiated by the President:

• When it became known about the outbreak of the Coroona-Virus immediate steps were taken to prevent it affecting Sri Lankans and a Task Force was formed comprising the armed forces, Health sector officials and it was given complete liberty to formulate strategy to combat the spread of virus which all developed countries such as America, U.K and evem the neighboring India were incapable to do.
• Established 45 quarantine centres and suspected positive patients were subjected to a minimum of 14 days quarantine and areas that were found to be congested with suspected patients were locked down and each and every person in such areas were subjected to strict quarantine measures.
• While Corona death toll in theso-called world’s super developed country America exceeded millions and the neighboring India several thousand Sri Lanka was able to restrict the death toll to only 11 persons and became one of the best Corona controlled country among the 230 affected countries in the world. 
• Special flights were operated to bring in Sri Lankan nationals who were stranded in airports all over the world and all those who arrived in this manner were subjected to PCR tests at both BIA and Mattala airports and all of them were directed to quarantine centres to undergo the required quarantine period;
• Similarly thousands of students who were in foreign countries all over the world were also brought in and thy too were subjected to PCR tests and quarantine. It should also be mentioned that most of these students had been sent to overseas Universities by their parents to save them from Sirisena/Ranil government’s brutal water cannon, tear gas and baton charge attacks;
• Many of the world leaders including the Presidents of the United States, Russia and China and Prime Ministers of U.K, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the World Health Organization commended the President for making Sri Lanka one of the least affected Corona Virus countries in the world. 
• Another Task Force led by Mr. Basil Rajapaksa was formed to look into humanitarian issues.
• A cash payment of Rs. 5,000 per month was paid to each deserving family on the recommendations of the Grama Niladari officers without any form party, ethnic or  rekigious discriminations’
• People’s movements were controlled by curfew measures;
• Wearing face masks and maintaining distance between the people and hand wash while entering places were made compulsory;
• Holding public meetings were banned and gatherings at weddings and other very important functions were restricted;
• Banks, Leasing, Insurance and other financial institutions were ordered to make deferment of acceptance of lease installments for buildings, all kinds of vehicles and three-wheels and loan installment payments;
• Banks were instructed to grant special loans with only 4% interest all businessmen, industrialists, exporters, tourist industry personnel and manufacturers;
• Steps were taken to provide employment to 50,000 unemployed graduates and 100,000 from low income families but it was suspended by the Election Commission saying that it would tantamount  to election bribe and now it has been decided to provide this 150,000 employments from next month (2^nd September)..  
• Schools, Universities and other educational institutions were closed down to protect the children and they were reopened on a scattered basis this month;
• Advanced Level and Grade 5 scholarship examinations usually held in the monthy of August were postponed to the month of October provide the concerned students sufficient time to prepare for their examinations;
• Police, Excise officials and STF were entrusted to carry out sweeping raids under Opertationj Underworld” to apprehend drig peddlers, illicit brewers, under-ground contract killing operators, money launderers and under these operations king-pins of drug and narcotic trade, Police and Prison officials assisting these activities have been taken into custody for the first time’ The drug peddlers and the underworld were ruling this country under the Sirisena/Ranil government thereby Sri Lanka becoming another Mexico and several high ranking Ministers patronizing these anti-social elements;
• Train and bus services were also suspended for several months to prevent the spread of the Virus and re-started last month under strict supervision of maintaining required between passengers, wearing face masks and adhering to other safety measures. 

This reactionary commentator in his desperation over the mammoth and historical victory achieved by the SLPP has written another controversial article titled The dilemma of the Victory” although it may be a dilemma for him and his ilk of traitors but it is a jubilation for the majority of the people of this country similar to the celebration they had on 09^th May. 2009 – the day that ended the 30 years of terrorist aggression against this country. .  .

In this article Ivan laments that undoubtedly, the Government has acquired enormous power, it is huge and miraculous, and the enormity of power alone will not be a solution to the crisis Sri Lanka is facing and it can only be overcome if there is a greater creative wisdom that transcends the magnitude of power. He says that had there been a First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system instead of the current system of Proportional Representation, the result achieved by the SLPP could have been much greater than the result achieved by the United National Party (UNP) in 1977. 

The landslide victory of the UNP at the ’77 election resulted in weakening the Opposition movements in the Sinhala south (displays his divisive desires by referring to South as Sinhala South and thereby implying North as Tamil North)  to a maximum and creating a single party hegemony. The political outcome of the result of the recent election is more or less similar to that of the ‘77 election. 

This sycophant describes the government that existed before 1977, which unleashed an admirable policy of making the country self sufficient in food and many industrial products and ended the status of ship to mouth life pattern as a repressive economic policy that had a significant impact on the victory of the 1977 Parliamentary Election by the UNP. He adds that the current split of the UNP led to the enormity of the victory of Pohottuwa this time.

He admits that the massive victory of the UNP in 1977 changed the overall trajectory of the country, and the economy was opened up, plundering the resources of the country by government MPs and their cohorts started and Sri Lanka was turned into a country of incessant bloodshed. 

Referring to the JVP hooligans whom he was partly responsible for creating in the past, Ivan says that the JVP demanded for J.R’s his head publicly, but neither the JVP nor the LTTE were able to assassinate him, but he was unfortunate to witness several of his best loyalists and close confidants being assassinated when he was alive.

He asks wat is the present Government which has got an almost similar power going to do now? Will it make Sri Lanka which has been rendered miserable, a paradise? Or will it make it a hell?   

This sycophant in his desperation blames Sirisena/Ranil government for eventually pushing the country into a state of extremism and states that if the two leaders of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa, had managed to maintain the unity of the party subsequent to the defeat at the last Presidential Election, though it was not possible to prevent the Pohottuwa winning the election, at least its victory would not have been so huge.

This reactionary lackey blames UNPcand says that there were no serious or concrete reasons for the split in that party and adds that it occurred because of the arrogance of the two leaders and the stupidity of their main supporters, and find faults with Ranil for not making a serious attempt to defuse the tension that arose on the issue of the party leadership and prevent a rift in the party while safeguarding his authority in it. He says the end result of this split has been the demise of the UNP as a political entity together with the political career of Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Sajith becoming a leader who had lost the strength of the UNP to a large extent.  

Writing about the JVP, he says that JVP is a movement that, after a massive armed struggle, has re-entered the democratic path effectively and it could be described as a political movement which has failed to mobilize itself on a new path creatively and says that  It has to deal with a distorted and corrupt political system. He blames the JVP for not asserting itself strongly for pragmatic reforms to bring about a positive change in the system except for contemplating shortcuts to seize power under the existing system. As a result, instead of becoming an effective alternative, he says it has fallen victim of the cruel system itself, he says.

Referring to TNA this bootlicker says it has suffered a great deal due to its close involvement in the Yahapalana Government, and it refrained from playing a strong role in solving the burning issues of Tamil people and hence it had to pay a huge price for that. 

This backscratcher who was responsible with terrorist proxy Sumanthiran for drafting ignoramus Sajith Premadasa’a presidential election manifesto says that the Samagi Jana Balavegaya, the party led by Sajith, stands as the main force among the Opposition parties even though it has not been able to acquire a strong position. He expresses douts about Sajith Premadasa possessing a strong vision and courage to bring all Opposition movements together under one banner?

Referring to minorities he says that the minorities are the most distressed among the people of Sri Lanka and a significant share of votes polled for the Samagi Jana Balavegaya of Sajith Premadasa (SP) consists of the votes of Muslims and Up-Country Tamils and under the circumstances, if SP fails to pursue a balanced policy that strongly safeguards the interests of the minority communities in a manner that would not undermine the confidence of the majority Sinhala community, certainly it might result in a major depletion in the support base of the Samagi Jana Balavegaya. 

Only a strong leader who possesses the self-confidence to speak out strongly against repressive actions of the Government and the ability to gather together all Opposition movements under one flag and provide a practical solution to the crisis facing Sri Lanka can create a strong Opposition movement against the ruling party, he says and we do not know what is the illusory ‘crisis’ he is referring to/.  

This cynic says that the entire socio-economic and political system is in disarray and the Government is confronted with a situation in which it finds it difficult to pay at least the salaries and pensions of public servants and $ 3 billion has to be paid this year for the foreign debts obtained. Once again this foreign stooge asserts that the only solution available would be to sell the country’s valuable and scarce resources to foreign powers on a large scale and stupidly asks whether the Government have an alternative solution for that?  In conclusion this nincompoop says the Government should explain it to the country and if the Government has a solution for the crisis, which is sound and practical, then it should be supported by everyone to implement it irrespective of differences and without undue obstructions.

To be continued………………………….