Dr. Sudath Gunasekara Former Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayaka and Ex- President of the Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association (1991-19194)
14. 11. 2019.
After the 16th
of Nov. 2019, this has been an often displayed slogan I have seen in many a
SLPP political parleys. But at all these meetings they only focused and talked
on the need to vote their candidate on the 16th. It indeed is the most critical issue and absolutely
there is no argument about it. But I was deeply disturbed to note that no one
paid any attention to the practical problems they would have to face under the
provisions of the 19th Amendment after the President assumes Office
in a situation where there is already a Government opposed to them in office. No
one spoke a single word about the imminent problems of governance they will
have to face and the solution they propose to overcome that political impasse
after the election and how they expect to overcome this crisis. I hope and wish
already they have a fool proof mechanism in store to overcome this danger. I do
not know whether they keep their strategy a top secret.
However this in
my opinion is very critical as reaping the harvest of the Presidential victory depends
much on the political stability and compatibility of the next Government since
the government is the real machinery through which we have to implement the
Presidential manifesto for which the people have given the mandate. I wish the
SLPP had a preplanned shortcut solution to overcome the 19th A
restrictions so that straight away the new President could appoint Mahinda
Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister in keeping with the burning aspirations of the
masses. Such action will seal the preceding reign of anarchy and immediately
bring victory for the people’s mandate. In the alternative they should have
asked for a full mandate from the people to counter the 19th A
restrictions imposed on the new President so that they could have appointed MR
as the Prime Minister immediately after the President has sworn in. Such
mandate will have the legality of a referendum would have enabled the new
President to circumvent all the barriers in the 19th A without
resorting to vote hunting in a hostile Parliament composed of an anti-Sinhala
anti-national and anti-Buddhist UNP and its Tamil and Muslim allies and the JVP
which is a real high risk gamble they failed in 2018. I really do not know as
to why such precautions were not taken and why their legal luminaries didn’t
advise to do so.
Therefore, although
too late, I suggest the Gota’s Team draw its immediate attention to this
extremely crucial issue lest it gets too late to get ready to face this very
critical aspect of the post Presidential Election scenario.
I also don’t understand as to why the Gota
Team did not ask for a mandate from the country to abolish the Provincial
Councils and the Rajiv/JR Accord of 29th July 1987, that Indian conspiracy that
ruined the entire native political system and paved the way for division,
destabilization and destruction of this country. Had they done that Gota’s
could have got even a bigger majority.
Gota’s Victory is a foregone conclusion and it
is really the victory of the people and he will get elected with the highest
majority ever for any President in this country while Premadasa will go down in
history as the worst loser in the country’s political history.
Talking about
the Election per-se, in my opinion it is definitely a forgone conclusion, as
the Sun and Moon rise in the East, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s victory is a certainty.
He will definitely get elected as the 7th President of the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on the 16th of this month with the
highest majority ever by any Presidential candidate in this country. Only some
unforeseen catastrophe like a sudden subsidence of this Island in the Indian
Ocean on the 16th can stop it. Not only Sajit Premadasa or the traitors
like Mangala, Rajjita, Chandrika and Champika but also not even a God or a Brahma can stop his victory. Going by the general
political tempest fast gathering momentum, in the villages, towns, market and
work places that is getting polarized around the burning patriotic feelings of
the Sinhala Buddhist masses for their motherland, the Sinhala nation and Samma
Ssambuddha Sasana all over the country and even abroad, no one will be able to
reverse that trend. As things stand Gota will get elected with the highest
majority ever for any President in this country while Premadasa will go down in
history as the worst loser in the country’s political history.
However the days
that follow the Presidential elections are not going to be that rosy for two
reasons. That is firstly, the restrictions imposed on the new President by the
19th Amendment and secondly, the peculiar anti-Sinhala and
anti-Buddhist and hostile political composition of the present Parliament headed
by Ranil Wickramasingha and thirdly, the absence of a working majority for the
SLPP and its allies in Parliament.
The purpose of
this brief note is to draw the immediate attention of the SLPP, UPFA, and SLFP
hierarchy and their close advisers to some vital factors and a very critical
situation that might bring about an extremely dangerous (possible) state of
political confusion, uncertainty and instability in the post Presidential
Election period in this country that might crop up. I am making these observations
as a responsible citizen of this country for the benefit of those who are
directly involved in this game to take adequate precautions to avert his
political impasse. What is the guarantee that Ranil will not resort again to
the same game of making Temple Trees the Head Quarter of another International
conspiracy with the assistance of his Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and the Diplomatic
corps of the colonial West? The only consolation we have in this regard is that
there is a different President now presiding over the State of Sri Lanka. I
hope and wish that Ranil will understand that it is Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, a true Sinhala Buddhist leader and not
Sirisena he has to deal with, before he again resorts to such deplorable and
treacherous gimmicks.
Once the new
President is elected the next step is to form the Government, the legal
machinery that has to run the country. Going by the often quoted statements
made on the election stages the new President will appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as
the new Prime Minister who will then name the new Cabinet and form the new
Government. This exactly is the fervent hope and the wish of the majority of
patriotic people in this country. But just now there is a very big hitch to
this dream for the SLPP and its allies, unless they have already made some
concrete arrangements to get the minimum 113 votes required to show the
majority in Parliament to form a Government. This is a Constitutional
requirement which the Supreme Court has already upheld in 2018 on this matter. Going
by the present constitution of the Parliament where the present Government
headed by Ranil Wickramasinha still has a working majority with the UNP,TNA and
even the JVP MPP as it had been functioning for the past miserable and anarchic
4 ½ years, the chances of getting a majority in Parliament for the Mahinda camp
is very remote. He has only 93 SLPP,
SLFP and UPFA plus Rev Ratana and Wijedasa Rajapaksa. Even if we add the highly
unpredictable Wasanta Senanayaka the total come to only 97 while the UNP has
nearly 125. That is UNP 103.TNA 16 and JVP 6.
Therefore,
unless the President’s Camp is already armed with a working majority in Parliament most probably the new President
will be compelled to carry on with Ranil’s Government composed of the same pack
of rogues like Mangala. Rajita, Ravi. Hakeem, Badurdeen, Daya Gamage, Kiriella,
Sajit, Fonseka, Samarawickrama and Madduma Bandara until March 2 nd under
the prevailing situation after which of cause the President can dissolve the
Parliament. Even after dissolution again he will have to work with the same
Cabinet headed by Ranil until the results of the General election are declared.
This is going to be another period of terrific political conflicts and
frustrations that will destroy the hopes and aspirations of the people who have
elected the new President. This means the same chaotic and anarchic situation
that was there for the past 4 ½ years will persist. This time the conflict
could be even worse in view of the restrictions imposed on the powers of the
President by the infamous 19th Amendment, the brain child of RW, the
master mind of the CB scam.
Of cause as some
of the pro Rajapaksa legal circles have already opined the President Gotabhaya may
be able to carry on without much ado as the Head of the State, the Head of the
Cabinet and the Chief Commander of the Armed Forces unlike submissive
Sirirsena. Nevertheless such speculations want be that realistic as there is
going to be much legal conflicts as to the interpretations of the provisions of
the 19th Amendment. As such it will be another six months of utter
confusion, chaos and political instability which the country cannot simply
afford to have at a time like this after a long period of confusion and
absolute anarchy.
The only way out
to avoid this catastrophe is to find some patriotic cross overs from the UNP to
support MR until the General elections are held. How you do that is immaterial so
long as you have a people friendly programme at work, as the end justifies the
means. This in my opinion is the best
arrangement one has to think of in the broader interest of the country and the
people. But going by past experience and knowing the narrow political psyche of
our self-centered power hungry politicians, especially those of the UNP; again
I have my great doubts whether they would comply with that type of patriotic
thinking. A short cut to win them would be to offer them SLPP nomination at the
next election by making them to understand that here is no future for UNP any
more either under Ranil or Sajit. I also would like to propose that the new
President appoint a leaner cabinet of say about 15 for the interim period. That
will make his even more popular as that had been a major clamor by most right
thinking people of this country
When we think of
the conflict between Rannil and Sajjit camps the situation could be even worse
even if if Sajit wins. But this situation can be easily ruled out as Sajit will
never win this election. The most likely slot for Sajit in the next Parliament
is the Leader of the Opposition as Ranil will be voted out as Leader of the
UNP. What exactly will happen after Sajit fail to win; only God can predict.
Whatever it is, definitely there will be a major split in the UNP ending up
with Ranil losing the leadership and Sajit getting elected as the Leader of a
disintegrating Party and that will make him the Leader of the opposition and he
too will go in to political oblivion after losing the next General election.
Post-Presidential
election period might also give rise to two situations within the UNP. That is
first, there could be a temporary reconciliation between Sajith and Ranil Camps
and second, those who don’t like that
situation crossing over to the opposition. Whatever the changes within the UNP
are going to take place in the post Presidential election and whatever
restrictions are supposed to have been imposed on the President by the 19th
A no one can underestimate the authority of the President as he is elected by
the people for a six year period by a thumping majority under the provisions of
the Constitution. Therefore the UNP will have no alternative other than to
cooperate with the President of the people to run the country smoothly until
the next General Election. Their failure to do so will only make them more unpopular
and reduce their vote base at the forthcoming General election. This is where
all politicians, legal luminaries and patriotic citizens have to focus their
attentions in the broader interests of the country and the people as we are not left with any
more room to fall down any further thanks to the four and half years of
Yahapalanaya of Sirisena-Ranil combination.
The struggle for political power throughout
human history all over the world is full of conspiracies, intrigues and even
murder driven by personal ambition and endless vanity and craving for power. This
story is vividly recorded in classical treaties on statecraft like Kautilya’s Arthasatra,
Machiavelli’s’The Princ’ and even in our Mahavamsam and many other historical documents
of the world nations. The stories of Queen Leelawathi where the wife killed the
husbands, Dhatusena and Sitawka Rajasinha where the sons killed the Fathers in
our own ancient history and the famous murder of Julius Cesar by Brutus in
Roman history recall too well known such events. As such I do not consider
these events in contemporary Sri Lankan politics as something extraordinary
either.
I will end this note with a reminder and an
appeal to the Mahasangha of this country. Rev Sirs it was you who advised and
directed the Kings and Queens of this Island Nation throughout history ever
since the advent of Buddhism to this country in 307 BC, whenever there was a
major crisis in the affairs of the state. That is why you have been quite aptly
decorated as the Jatiye Muradevatavun vahanse” of this country. Therefore I
appeal to your good selves to prevail over these, power hungry and self-seeking
unpatriotic rustic politicians, give them wisdom, if you can, and advise them
on the correct path they should take, to protect our mother land the Sasana and
work for the good of the people and their wellbeing as the ancient Kings did,
following the path laid down by the Lord.
The
2019 Presidential Election is expected to generate 82% of valid votes as
an average. This trend is likely to eventuate in Vavuniya, Ratnapura,
Kurunegala, Kilinochchi, Kegalle, Kalutara,Jaffna, Gampaha, Galle, Matara,
Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Monaragala, and Matara. In some districts in
the above list valid votes in the band of 85-90% could not be ruled out.
The
JVP is expected to achieve 4.2% of valid votes. Sajith Premadasa is likely to
achieve 31.3%.
The
Winner Gotabaya Rajapakse is likely to achieve a record 64.5%, marginally short
of a 2/3rd majority. The collection and survey was
concluded 3 days ago, positive movements may even produce 2/3rd
majority for Mr Gotabaya Rajapakse. He is also expected to achieve the
highest majority in the history well in excess of 2 million votes.
The margin of error is 3%+/-.
Survey
shows the Gota campaign was further accelerated during last 2 weeks with the
strategic introduction of Mahinda Sulanga”, aimed at forming a Government with
Mahinda Rajapakse as PM.
The
average (mean) is showing favourable trends towards a High Standard Deviation.
Rajapakses, Geopolitics, ‘Eurocentric Developmentalism,’
and the western hegemony
(Part 20-A)
From
time to time throughout history, if foreign powers recurrently have been
hellbent on grabbing what is legitimately yours, at times by force and
conspiracy, what options would you have in order to resolve that problem? If
their land grab is targeting the most valuable property you have due to its
strategic location in the Indian Ocean, and if this land is historically and
ancestrally belonging to you, and if this conspiracy is being launched with the
active help of some of your own family members plotting against you within,
what is the simple solution you have in your disposal to resolve such dilemma?
The full occupation of the said property is the only solution, isn’t it? Your
significant presence in this property would be the only answer, correct? As
long as you keep this property open without having your physical presence
there, (not just partial presence, but a significant presence) that reason
along encourages others to grab it. Because you haven’t shown that you value
and beholden to this diamond in the rough, because you are so stupid, a
congenital idiot not to know that it is a rare diamond hiding the future of
your success. The land grab becomes easier when the true owner of this property
doesn’t show interest in it. The same stupidity brought disaster to our nation
earlier in our history and now it happens again. It is a time tested,
historically proven truth about the relationship between man and the land, man
and his geography. Outsiders will come in and fill the vacuum and settle there
when you are not there.
‘Gokanna’ is the ancient name of
Trincomalee, an ancient port city located on the east coast of Sri Lanka
overlooking an insulated deepwater natural harbor. This is the only location in
Sri Lanka where we have beautiful precipitous hills in the oceanfront letting an
observer see several miles into the ocean. This is also a well-known habitat of
wild elephants with a specific talent. It is a common spectacle to see them
frequently swimming in the ocean, swimming between forests in the mainland and
the hilly islands situated in the ocean.
Apart from the natural beauty, this has
been the battleground for many battles in the ancient and modern history of Sri
Lanka. Since the Portuguese era, this location has been one of the main
interests of competition among world maritime powers to have it in their
possession. Based on the evidence, we know our location in the Indian Ocean,
especially Trinco harbor is one of the main reasons why most of the western
countries and India supported separatism and terrorism in Sri Lanka. They might
have strategized to weaken the nation trough division of its territory by
pitting different races up against each other.
Trincomalee’s name has been written in
modern world history due to a couple of reasons. One such reason was the
greatest naval battles that took place in its vicinity, between largest
maritime powers at that time, France and England off the coast of Trincomalee.
And also Trincomalee was well known for
its being the commanding post of Lord Mountbatten (British), Supreme Allied
Commander, South East Asia Command, during the second world war.
The onslaught of western maritime
powers who desired to possess this strategic island and the Trinco harbor has
been intensified in recent history after China became an economic powerhouse in
Asia., The western interest of having a foothold in Sri Lanka has never died for
the last 500 years. If we do not put utmost importance to undertaking this
dilemma and divert all our physical and intellectual resources/wealth
prioritizing to resolve it to bring a lasting solution for this problem, our
future in the Indian Ocean will be no different from that of the Chegosians in
Diego Garcia islands.
If we go back to the beginning of the
modern history of the island nation, Sri Lanka’s first western encounter was
the Portuguese. They ruled the coastal belt of the island from 1505-1658. Then
the Dutches ruled almost the same areas approximately for another 150 years and
finally, Britain managed to rule the entire island nation from 1815-1948. The
western powers partially or fully possessed the island for 443 years, during
this time they controlled our ports and maritime capabilities and even our
access to the ocean most of the time. And the western rule tells another aspect
of the culture and their political affiliations of the people of Sri Lanka.
Although the people in coastal belt experienced and lived through western
culture for the entire colonial period of Sri Lanka for 443 years, the people
of the hinterland and deep countryside experienced it only from 1818-1948, just
for 130 years. Isn’t that an important reason to understand why Colombian
thinking is completely different from that of the village people in Sri Lanka?
Colombian is the trusted foster child of western colonialism.
The British were the only colonial
power that could claim to have their full authority in Trincomalee. Until then
it was under the jurisdiction of Sinhala kingdom. (By the way, Wikipedia
carries an article with falls history about Trincomalee glorifying it as a
region entirely remained under the rule of Tamil kingdom for two millennia.
Someone may have to correct this false narrative of history in Wikipedia.)
Then we were granted independence in
1948, eventually, we could establish a fully independent ‘state’ of Sri Lanka
in 1972. We have been independent only for 70 years. However, within 25 years
after the independence, some of the western countries and India rattled and
ruined our so-called ‘Independence.’ They covertly and overtly backed
separatism and terrorist movements in the island, who challenged the legitimate
‘statehood’ and its territorial authority. These terrorist organizations also
desired to possess this land. Even in this conflict, Trincomalee was the target
of many who had stakes in the national issue of Sri Lanka. On the other hand,
we were told that our independence was won by Colombians without shedding a
single drop of blood. How come? No one seems to question this false official
narrative of our history.
‘In-dependent’ Sri
Lanka was kept in-check all the way through
Sri Lanka was never given a chance to rest during her entire
history. However, the desire of the west to get a
foothold in Sri Lanka was not new. It never changed even after ending
western colonialism. During the Portuguese era, the Portuguese had envisioned
to create a second Portugal in Sri Lanka. That was the dream of Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque.
(The notorious conqueror Afonso de Albuquerquewho
raided, captured, and conquered many coastal cities in Asia for the Portuguese
Empire-Wikipedia).The reason and justification
for his decision were related to our strategic location.
By 1590 the Portuguese were
dreaming to colonize the entire island. So they planned to conquer Kandy. Just
before the Portuguese invasion of Kandy, with the intention of enthroning Dona
Katharina in Kandyan court to create a protectorate under Portuguese
supervision, convincing the Viceroy and his war council about the prospects of
conquering and colonizing the entire Island was presented explicitly by their
war strategists as follows…
It is a desirable
possession for any nation. It was, moreover the natural center of the rich
traffic with the southern seas; and so long as the Portuguese were supreme at
sea, its insular position would render its defense against all possible enemies
no difficult matter. Could it be that Ceylon destined to be the scene of the
fulfillment of AlBOQUERQUE’S dream that Ceylon would be established a second
Portuguese nation which should hold sway over the whole of India?” (P.E. Pieris)
This insular position it mentions is nothing but
the Trincomalee harbor I think. And also this statement reveals another
timeless truth behind western desire to possess it. It is to hold sway over the whole of India. Controlling India would
be an easy task for any power if it possesses Trincomalee harbor. This reveals
that the short-sighted foolish Indians have dug their own grave by creating the
separatist monster in Sri Lanka eventually to bite them.
However, the Indian thinking seems to be quite
different. They seem to dig deep and entrench in the island when this endgame
of dividing Sri Lanka happens. As the sole regional power, India might be envisioning
to annex North-East Sri Lanka if everything goes in favor of separatism. When I
say this, I am pretty sure that the Colombians will chuckle and even will post
a comment refuting this hypothesis as complete bunkum. (It is clear that few
commenters in LankaWeb are paid bots by external espionage agencies.) The
reason for this reaction is simply because Colombians don’t get it. They do not
get it because they are brain dead or their brains are full of sawdust. They
live in an alternative reality. While living in such a bubble of a fairy tale type of false reality, they still
possess the authority for giving interpretations and explanations, especially
in our foreign policy matters. This needs to be ended. Yes fully ended.
Why do we persistently having the same problem
for the last 500 years even after the Portuguese, Dutch and British occupation
is ended? And even 70 years after the western occupation was ended? The reason
is that we haven’t been able to get hold of the main location of western
interest in our land fully into our hands. Until the Sri Lankan state fully
occupies the entire eastern flank of the country, and until we move into
Trincomalee and having our significant presence there, the separatism will
stay, terrorism will stay, and the western and Indian interference into our
internal politics will stay. Because the lifeline of all those disorders
originates from a single epicenter, that is nonother than the desire of
outsiders to have Trincomalee in their possession.
For many, our location is the curse for our
country, like hydrocarbon deposits for middle eastern countries and minerals
for the African countries. But how if we think positively about it? Can we turn
this curse into a blessing? But we know that the uncreative foolish Colombians
cannot turn this curse into a blessing because they already have turned this
curse into their personal blessing through NGOs turning our bleeding wounds
into their source of income. If there is any hope, we can hope only that
Rajapaksas would have the courage to change this situation. Mahinda and
Gotabhaya are the only duos who can do it. That is the reason why I decided to
write this article after almost ten years of silence.
Historical periods of a nation associated with
the capital of that period of history. On every occasion, for legitimate
reasons, far-sighted rulers have established their capitals in different
locations in Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Yapahuwa, Dambadeniya,
Kotte, Seethawaka, Kandy are some examples. Always there was the name of a king
also associated with the establishment of these capitals.
But Colombo was established by Portuguese for
colonial reasons. Getting out of this fake city is an overdue task if we truly
need to be independent. If we analyze the reasons for relocating our capital in
this period of political turmoil, the most qualified location will be
Trincomalee. If Gotabhaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa managed to initiate this relocation,
Tamils will be happy (not the separatists), Muslims will be happy; however, the
less happy community will be Sinhalese. The reason is that a good part of the
Sinhalese community is being hoodwinked by the Colombians through their power
of interpretation and explanation of the history of our country. This monopoly
of the Colombians for explanations and interpretations is another area that
needs a radical change.
The map below shows that the perfect location
for establishing our post-independence capital is Trincomalee, not Colombo.
Spice route of Indian
ocean in 16th century (See the significance of Sri Lanka within the
route)
First and foremostly Trincomalee is located in
the east, the emerging future of the world. Secondly, if Sri Lanka to be a
proud nation with her own capital representing her history and culture and its
visual traditions, then she needs to build her capital with her cultural
metaphor imprinted and engraved in it. Colombo is not that capital. It harbors
all the ailments of colonial historical injustices. It is an alien place to the
native. Ask this question within the first few weeks of their arrival from
university students who are coming from villages to Colombo University. They
will tell how alien it is to them. Or they might sing the song of Weraliyadda
as the answer to that question.
මල්වියනින්බැඳීමහබැද්දේඋන්
අකුරුකොරාන්නටනුවරටගියෙමම්
නුවරපිරිලාඑරමිනිකටුවැල්(unfamiliar and
unfavorable colonial weeds and thorny
obstacles)
ආයෙත්බැද්දටඑනවාමම්
මහතූන්වෙනවටවැඩියහොඳායිමට(becoming a gentleman through colonial education)
බැද්දෙබතාක්කරහිටියානම්
Let us build our postcolonial capital
of the new nation of Sri Lanka in Gokanna /Trincomalee
Moving the nation’s
capital is not a new thing in our history. We have moved our capital so many
times for the same reason of external invasions and interference. Then in
independent Sri Lanka, Colombo, the bastion of colonial power, segregation and
apartheid, became our capital. We have moved the capital from Anuradhapura to
Polonnaruwa, then to Yapahuwa, Dambadeniya, Kotte, Seethawaka and to Kandy. But
we got stuck in Colombo. Why? There is no reason for us to be in Colombo
When we go into
history, different historical periods are referred by the name of the capital
of the said period; such as Anuradhapura period, Polonnaruwa period. The modern
history of Sri Lanka referred to as the Colombo period. That is why we have
poets of Kotte period and Colombo period. But the question is, does our capital
Colombo truly represent the soul of the nation? I have a pretty bold answer.
NO! Guarded by parapet wall culture, this is the symbol of Apartheid,
segregation and even compartmentalization of our society. The demolition
(symbolically not literally) of this city and its colonial ruins are overdue
folks.
Based on this background, I would like
to suggest our next president Gotasbhaya Rajapaksa and next prime minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa to relocate our capital in Trincomalee. Why? Because of a
myriad of reasons. This relocation would be the remedy for most of our
vulnerabilities currently we are grappling with. For instance, when the central
government of Sri Lankan state is located there in Trincomalee, the intensity
and velocity of western and Indian interference will be faded away since we
legitimately occupying their object of interest. And also it removes the kernel
of separatism because a separate state cannot survive without Trincomalee.
Since the state of Sri Lanka is firmly situated there, the adversaries who want
to fork their fingers into our affairs to divide us will be discouraged.
Without Trinco, the value of the Tamil cause will be decreased in western
foreign offices. Fake crocodile tears of Human Rights organizations and NGOs
will be dried off without profits. The funding sources for NGOs will be ceased.
One single stroke of statesmanship will resolve a myriad of problems for Sri
Lanka. It will be a Putin-ist masterstroke by Gotabhaya and Mahinda. If they
can do this, Gotabhaya and Mahinda’s names will be written in golden letters in
the history of Sri Lanka. Because it will open a new chapter in our history called
the ‘Trincomalee period.’ Just like every other period was referred with the
name of a king associated with the respective period, Gokann or Trincomalee
period of our history will be referred to Rajapaksas.
Gotabhaya already has
mentioned about the development of Colombo into a futuristic city. That is a
good thing. He should do it. However, our future will be tainted in Colombo and
the futuristic city that he envisions to build in Colombo will be built on the
smelling rotten ruins of colonialism, its tradition of apartheid and
segregation. The entire Colombo is full of rotten colonial ruins contaminating
the air in Colombo mixed with the odor of colonial leftovers. Sorry for the
foul language, but it is the truth. This is the allegorical Trumpian ‘shithole’
by its very meaning of the word, (This is the new word that US presidents added
into the vocabulary of political science in American English, so I consider it
is not a bad word anymore) This is the place where our colonized brown sahibs
thinking that they can become more civilized merely by associating with
bathroom tissues, Sunday English newspapers while constantly uttering empty
English phrases.
It is the place where
all these champions and the admirers of our ‘charitable’ free ‘independence’
from Britain live in. Colombians brag that they won independence from Britain
for us in Sri Lanka. But they never tell us that they never fought or contested
anything to win. They never fought for our independence per se, but instead, received
it through kissing rear ends of colonial masters, and begged for it. Compare
the Indians’ independence struggle with our independence struggle; the Indians
have fought tooth and nail to gain their independence. However, in the case of
Sri Lanka, independence was not at all a glorious achievement to be proud of,
it only confirms our conformity to Britain. The Colombians assured to Britain
not to change anything fundamentally and assured to maintain the status quo in
post-independent Sri Lanka was one main reason why Britishers granted
in-dependence to Colombians.
But again, Indian official historians
never question the reason why the British authority never adhered to even
greater violence for the suppression of Indian independence when they really
neede their colonies to rebuild England in the post-war era. What was the
guaranty for the safety net of Gandhian moment come from? First and foremost,
the historical moment was in favor of Gandhi. Otherwise, he also might have
been ended like Patrice Lumumba. We might have found him hanging in a tea
plantation or in a similar location. Churchill was a well-known megalomaniac
criminal doubly insane than Prabhakaran, capable of using extream violence, but
couldn’t push his already violent suppression into the extream in India. Why?
Why even the leaders after Churchill could not use full force to suppress
Indian independence?
The reason was that Churchills’ hands
were tied by US president Roosevelt; Roosevelt envisioned that the post-war
world was favorable to USA inasmuch colonial empires are dismantled and Europe
is completely decimated. He was envisioning
a new American century. He truly wanted Europe to be destroyed, or in
Clintonian political vocabulary, obliterated. That was the exact reason why he
delayed sending American troops to Europe when the battle was very thick. Not
only that, Rosevelt depleted Churchills’ treasury. Took all the gold for the
payments for the equipment he sent. He demanded the end of the Imperial
preference scheme in trade and wanted Churchill to dismantle the colonial
empire. So wittingly or unwittingly Roosevelt’s position strengthened Gandhi
and created the safety-net in favor of Indian independence.
India’s meek acceptance of independence
and the admiration of their very oppressors by leaders like Naru would be the
reason for the Colombians to adhere to the liberation philosophy of the tongue.
Here I am not referring to patois of Colombians, or their talents in liberatory
orations or sermons. But a completely different way of their use of tongue that
nature had never envisioned. Alas…if there was a single Colombian in Mout
Vernon Virginia with General Geoge Washington during American independence,
General Washington could have averted the wasteful bloodshed and unnecessary
human cost of American independence. The same goes for Haitian leader Toussaint
Louverture, Simón Bolívar, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Lenin, and other
revolutionary leaders.
However, Britain granted independence
to Colombians, not because of Britain’s merciful benevolence. Or, it was not
because they awesomely satisfied the butt liking style of the Colombian tongue.
Actually, it was completely a remote reason, that was the US policy led by
Roosevelt. As I said earlier, Britain granted independence to all its colonies
because US president Roosevelt demanded Britain and Frace to do it if they
wanted the USA to involve in the second world war. Roosevelt’s arm twisting
strategy made British PM Churchill to grant independence to all British
colonies. Roosevelt’s position about America’s involvement in the war was
clear. Roosevelt stubbornly demanded that if the USA to get into the war to
save Britten and Europe from Germany, England and France must agree to
dismantle their colonial empires and imperial preference scheme that choked all
other economies including the USA’s. Dig deep into the history folks, you will
find not only this reality but also that Churchill had hated Roosevelt more
than he hated Hitler.
Our independence was just an offshoot,
a side effect of this larger world event. We never fought for it. Oh no! I am
sorry, in fairness to our ‘Nidahase Piyas in Colombo,’ I must say… yes, indeed,
Colombians fought a fierce battle for our independence with cutleries and wine
glasses in dinner and cocktail parties with Brits.
As a result of the aftermath of the
second world war, Colombians slavishly received our independence as a merciful
charity from Britain on
terms and conditions of the Brits. In India, British conditions brought
disaster. The partition of India was one such condition that Britain created.
Colombians never questions the reasons as to how and why Britain granted our
independence without a fight when they actually vanquished us after beating the
shit out of us in Wellassa in 1818 and in Matale in 1848. Dear folks, can you
be proud of such independence when it is granted without a fight, at least
through a war of words? No, no, no! February 4th should be a day of
mourning, not celebration. Because Colombians received independence after they
destroyed the real fighter, Anagarika Dharmapala, who fought for respectable
independence. Now Colombians can ask why we should have an unnecessary fight
for our independence when Britain was ready to grant it free. Then the question
arises as to why then Britain didn’t want to grant the same independence free
to Anagarika Dharmapala? Isn’t that fishy?
Well, it won’t go
both ways; either you have to live in shame rest of your life or you have to
win your freedom in the same manner you lost it. At least stop this bragging
about it. It is sickening for those who know history. Bragging about winning
our independence this manner is similar to that of bragging about winning a
cricket match (our colonial master’s game) due to bad weather. Since the
Colombians received our independence as a charity (Pinata) from Britain, we
must call the receivers ‘Nidahase Pin-Piyas,’ rather than ‘Nidahaser Piyas.
Please let us stop
this bogus history lesson about the independence of Sri Lanka. Let us face the
bitter reality. We never being independent folks. That is the truth. Just see
how the Colombians behave even today. Aren’t they behave like foreign agents?
Are they behaving independently? Or behaving in-dependence?
By the way, although
it is going out of our subject matter too far, we must thank our first prime
minister of independent Sri Lanka D. S Senanayake for his dedication to the
resettlement program in Galloya project. He also built splendid Senanayake
Samudraya without borrowing a single cent from external lenders. We must bow
our heads for it, not because he never borrowed funds, but for not breaking the
central bank when it was having full of cash.
The reason why D.S
did not need to borrow money for the construction of Senanayake Samudra was
that the British colonial administration had had a wonderful fiscal policy
throughout the colonial time to leave the treasury full of cash when we were
granted independence. And for the foolishness of the Brits, they didn’t know
how to break a central bank. Alas…poor Brits foolishly left the central Bank of
then Ceylon full of cash. For the bad luck of the British colonial leaders,
Ranil was also too young, therefore, he could not teach them how to break a
bank; not just a regular bank, but a central bank. That is the only talent he
had learned in Royal Collage and had mastered in politics. We also must thank
D.S for not breaking the central bank when it was full of cash.
But however, we also
must grudgingly thank Senanayakes for their immense contribution to making us
an independent nation of insurmountable alcoholism (pardon me, because I love
alcohol). According to Kumari Jayawardene’s brilliantly written historical
account of the rise of our colonial bourgeoisie, ‘Nobodies to Somebodies,’
Senanayake family was one of the leading families in Sri Lanka with a humble
beginning, who became wealthier through Arrack licensing in colonial Ceylon. Also,
do not forget to compare that information with the British prisoner Robert
Knox’s account about Sinhalese in the 19th century Ceylon. Knox said
that Ceylonese of the time never consumed alcohol at all. Robert Knox was a
prisoner in the Kandyan kingdom at the end of Duch occupation and beginning of
British influence.
Great job by our
Colombians who became somebodies by spreading alcoholism among locals. It is
remarkable to see what they have done to a non-alcoholic nation, turning them
into the number one alcoholic consuming nation in the world within a short
period of time during the colonial era. No wonder why people called
Senanayake’s ancestral house The Manor of the Bottle.” (බෝතලේවලව්ව)
Colombo is a city of slavish mental
slaves
Colombo is a city without morals. It is
the epicenter of all ill wills of our country. Colombians are the shameless
callous bunch of baboons walking in the breeze of Gallface green with open
butts. Think about the current politics of UNP, NGOs and so-called civil
society. All these parasites are originated in Colombo working hard to enslave
our nation.
First of all, Colombo was created as a
colonial city by the Portuguese. If we were truly gained independence in 1948,
we must have built our own capital elsewhere at that time. But we couldn’t do
it then, because the postcolonial Colombians who gained political power after
independence didn’t want to do it. Now with all the internal and external
political reasons, it is time for Gotabhaya and Mahinda to do it. At the same
time, I would like to add specifics to it by suggesting to relocate our capital
to Trinco once again so Gota and Mahinda can begin their true futuristic city
from ground zero there.
Since Gotabhaya has envisioned other
development plans, our entire resources cannot be diverted into building cities
alone. But his first task must be developing the Gokanna/Trinco harbor into a
modern harbor. Then we must have an international airport in the suburbs. Let
us create an administrative district in it where we can have beautiful
boulevards especially for all government ministries and departments. We also
can have an embassy-row in a newly created beautiful boulevard. All government
ministries can be next to the embassy row. The parliament can be in the center
of the administrative district. The city center can have a gigantic monument,
it could be our own ‘Arc de Triomphe.’ That could be a part of the monument for
our independence. We also can have all cultural centers art galleries, sports
grounds…what not? The streets also can be super-wide allowing for future
expansions.
Gotabhaya
and Mahinda are the futuristic leaders who are capable of taking on this kind
of history-making task.
Gotabhaya is not a typical politician
that calculates every move through the prism of selfish political gains and
party politics. His not being another politician is the exact reason why people
trust him and hoping that he will bring peace and prosperity, and resolve many
of our postcolonial political, economic and social ailments.
The main reason for people to invest a
lot of expectations on Gotabhaya is that they think he has the courage to do
the unthinkable; unthinkable for many other politicians. When many other
politicians repeated the same mantra of the invincibility of the LTTE, he
managed to convince his brother, then president Mahinda Rajapaksa to think
otherwise. With his brother Gotabhaya’s military conviction, Pres. Rajapaksa
professed to Erik Solheim, that he will defeat Prabhakaran. And he did it within
two and a half years of a time frame. No one in the world could believe it. The
entire western world who covertly and overtly supported terrorism in Sri Lanka
took by surprise. In an article I published in 2010 on LankaWeb, I said…
In politics, the creative spirit demands tremendous courage to take
risks; all remarkable politicians in world history were as audacious as they
were fearless risk-takers. Sometimes, of course, creative destruction helps to
build new foundations. In fact, colonial Sri Lanka has been built on a fake
structure that has been reached to its limits. In order to go into the future,
SL ought to demolish not only this fictitious structure itself but also its
ruins. Indeed, as political history revels, there is nothing right or wrong as
such in political actions but only justified measures, justified to the given
circumstance and their contexts. If anyone can suggest an alternative strategy
to disprove the actions of Rajapakse within the current Sri Lankan political
context, then this writer invites them to come forward and submit their views
to Lanka Web to enlighten the readers.”
I think Gotabhaya and Mahinda have this
creative spirit and the courage to apply creative destruction to establish our
nation anew.
The other reason for people to trust
Gotabhaya is Gotabhaya never aspired to be the president of Sri Lanka, but
people are the ones who wanted him to be the president. Although it looks so trivial, it is a very
important reason. This is the exact reason why he had the courage to trash the
13 conditions of the Tamil parties without even reading them. That tells that
he is not in a position to do anything and everything to grab power like his
opponent.
People want Gotabhaya to bring lasting
solutions to our national issue. We know that although we won the war in
Nanthikadal, we haven’t been able to defeated the ideology of terrorism and
separatism.
Gotabhaya era must be an epochal period of change. The history is yearning for a new beginning with a new chapter of our history. The ‘Colombo period’ of our history, the history of the swamp of two river watersheds of river Keleni and Kalu, must be ended. Sri Lanka demands a Gotabhaya version of draining the swamp in Sri Lanka. Colombian ideology must be destroyed into smithereens. The new historical period that begins with Gotabhaya will represent a different Lanka. That new historical period will be called the ‘Gokanna Period’ or the Thrikunamalaya period. Gotabhaya and Mahinda will be the pioneering establishers of this new historical period of Sri Lanka. Is Sri Lanka ready to accept the sea change that is awaiting in the horizon?
In Sri Lanka, voters will elect a new President this weekend and they look likely to bring back a familiar face. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the defence secretary who oversaw the end of a decades-long civil war.
The UN says at least 40,000 Tamil civilians died during the war’s final months and Mr Rajapaksa stands accused of ordering war crimes. But after the easter bombings by Islamist terrorists, his strongman persona and family name has made him favourite to win power.
In this last moment to save the country, the responsibility of all people who love the country is to ensure Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory by voting for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on 16 November, former President and current Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa said.
The only way that the country and the people can be saved from harmful domestic and foreign forces, like the country was saved from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorism is by electing Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the President, he added.
When the country has accepted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is only a citizen of Sri Lanka, all insults against him amount to mere lamentations of regressive forces that have gone berserk in the face of defeat, he opined.
Minister Rajitha Senaratne who hurls insults using liars and men with fake beards would even attempt to level baseless allegations against Gotabaya Rajapaksa in these last few days by bringing Zahran’s wife in or bringing Zahran back from the grave, Opposition Leader Rajapaksa said, adding that Rajith Senaratne is such a person in nature.
He added, “They ruled the country for five years and could have gone to the Court against all the accusations they are levelling, the Opposition Leader claimed, adding that these sudden insults confirm their inability to accept the fact that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is on his way to a grand victory.”
He went on to say that after coming to power, Gotabaya Rajapaksa will launch a systematic investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks and take legal action against and penalise persons engaged in the attack regardless of their status.
He added that a large number of Sri Lankan expatriates who love the country and have seen the services done by Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Government are returning to the country these days to use their votes to ensure Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory.
During my visit to the North, it was confirmed, through the responses of the people that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is becoming an invalid coin among the people of the North, the Opposition Leader Rajapaksa further said.
He went on to say that the way the people of the North detest the present Government and its leaders has become evident through the opposition expressed by them regarding the decision taken by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to back Sajith Premadasa.
Tamil people must act in collaboration against the expectations of the Southern Sinhala people regarding Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory and prevent Sinhala leaders from emerging victorious, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Spokesman and MP, M.A. Sumanthiran said.
At the upcoming Presidential Election, all the Tamil people must unite to stifle the ‘Gotabaya menace,’ he stressed.
He made these statements at a public rally held in Mankulam, Mullaitivu to express support for New Democratic Front (NDF) Presidential Candidate Sajith Premadasa.
The Tamil people must act to stop another Rajapaksa family-administration, including Gotabaya Rajapaksa without giving them any opportunity to resurface, he emphasised, adding that the Tamil people in the North and the East must unite to vote for Sajith Premadasa at the Presidential Election.
The Tamil people who ended the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration should now take action to drive out Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In 2005, the Rajapaksa family came into power because the Tamil people didn’t vote, he added.
He added, “One Presidential candidate in his election manifesto, has stated that he will devolve power in a unitary and an undivided country. Although one candidate had the strength to make such a statement, no such statement can be found in Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election manifesto. They don’t have the strength to at least present a solution to the national issue or to make a statement in that connection. Therefore, we request the Tamil people to vote for NDF Presidential Candidate Sajith Premadasa.”
Daya Gamage worked at the American Embassy in Colombo, as the Sole Foreign Service National and a Political Specialist. He retired in 1994 and has been living in Las Vegas since retirement. After two years of concentration, he has been able to share his knowledge, understanding and his intimate professional association with the US Department of State in the form of a book – ‘Tamil Tigers’ Debt to America’. Being aware of how America’s foreign policy worked- sometimes in a strange manner, he has come out with an unbiased text full of data in his book nowhere else is contained. Daya Gamage has authorised the writer to ‘ to quote anything from his book’ so that the readers will get a clear picture of America’s Foreign Policy, Sri Lanka’s National Issues and the LTTE struggle in depth.Gamage handles the United States Bureau of the Online daily newspaper Asian Tribune constantly making the readers knowledgeable of the manner in which U.S. foreign policy towards Third World nations works. His book is available at Amazon.
The LTTE has been on the US terrorist list since 1997. One of the most brutal, lethal, terrorist organisations in the world ( http://uspolicy.be/headline/campbell- conversations). As the Sri Lankan Army was pushing north into predominantly Tamil areas that were controlled by the LTTE for more than two decades, the Army displaced a large number of Tamil civilians and they began to move away from conflict areas. However, the LTTE systematically refused such efforts to allow those internally displaced persons to move away from these areas to the south where they could have been given food and shelter. So, the LTTE basically and systematically refused all efforts and thus violated international law by not allowing freedom of movement to those civilians. Had the LTTE allowed the Tamils to move towards the south, none of this would have happened in the first place. It is important to make that point, which often gets lost in the debate on this.
Secondly, the LTTE often deliberately placed its heavy artillery amid civilian encampments, precisely to draw fire so that civilians would get killed in the hope to create international outrage and cause the Sri Lanka government to stop fighting and to agree to some sort of a negotiated settlement.
LTTE TACTICS
The Sri Lankan Government, not without reason, argued that the LTTE was never interested in a peace formula and always used cease-fires as a way to re-group and re-arm themselves essentially refusing any of the peace process attempts.
Robert O Blake categorically stated, ” so we faced this very difficult situation. On the one hand, we wanted to see the defeat of a terrible terrorist organisation that had been responsible for hundreds, if not thousands of civil casualties. On the other hand, we wanted to ensure that there were not going to be civilian casualties as a result.”
Daya Gamage was confident that throughout its (un)official role in the Sri Lanka conflict, the United States manoeuvered to secure a ‘defeat and not a total annihilation’ of the LTTE. The US policy throughout was guided by the view that the LTTE was an invincible force and it was an integral part of the Sri Lankan solution as there were a very clear resemblance of its political agenda ( except independent Tamil State) to that of other democratic Tamil political movements.
Political solution
Thirty months before the January 2011 in a radio interview to the University of Madras in Chennai in 2008, Robert O Blake said, “one of the reasons for the lack of recent progress on a consensus APRC document, is that some in Sri Lanka believe that the government should defeat the LTTE and then proceed with a political solution. The US view is that the government should further isolate and weaken the LTTE if it articulates now its vision for a political solution”. The APRC ( All-Party Representative Committee) was in progress to identify national issues represented by elected members of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Daya Gamage states that it should be borne that the US Government in November 2007 froze the United States held assets of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation, which was a ‘ charitable’ organisation associated with the LTTE. In February 2009, the US froze the assets of the Maryland-based Tamil Foundation, on suspicion that they were funneling money to the LTTE.
Regular campaign
The LTTE campaigned regularly to be taken off the US State Department’s terrorist list. However, in August 2006, Federal Authorities arrested and charged eight suspects in New York while attempting to bribe the US officials to remove the LTTE from the terrorist list. The suspects, who were supposed to have had close ties with LTTE leader Prabhakaran, were charged with trying to purchase surface-to-air missile launchers, AK-47, and other weapons for the LTTE.
The Federal authorities took strict measures to prevent Sri Lanka’s LTTE from getting material support, while the US Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment on 21 June 2010 declaring that “even providing opinion in a designated foreign terrorist organisation amounts to providing material support”.
Notwithstanding the United States’ officials step and measure to make it difficult for the LTTE to collect funds on US soil and prevent the transfer of funds overseas to proscribed organisations that the US Treasury Department discovered, after lengthy investigations of the Tamil Tigers giving material support, which is prohibited under federal laws and the US authorities working with Government of Sri Lanka to strengthen Sri Lanka’s financial system’s ability to cut off terror financial system’s ability to cut off terrorist financing flows .
US State Department officials and Foreign Service Officers have been advocating a negotiated settlement with the LTTE. On no occasion have they made remarks or taken an official position advocating the complete annihilation of the movement. Instead, they urged the LTTE to surrender their weapons and come to a negotiated settlement relating to the Tamil issue. The United States took this position with the full knowledge that the LTTE was bent on terrorism and nihilism since its inception in the late 1970s. However, in private ( intimately known to Daya Gamage) US considered LTTE as an agitation movement that epitomised the ‘Tamil national struggle’, and as a useful instrument to exert pressure on the Government of Sri Lanka and its allied ‘ Sinhala Nationalists’ to be more flexible towards ‘Tamil demands’. The FSOs were careful not to give the impression that the United States considered the LTTE as a liberation organisation.
When the Democratic Party Congressman and leading member of the sub-committee on South Asia in the House Foreign Relations Committee, at a hearing on Sri Lanka, asked the principal deputy assistant secretary of the State Department Donald Camp, who was the earlier Labour and Political Officer in the Diplomatic Mission in Colombo whether the Tamil Tigers could be described as a liberation movement, Donald Camp’s response was that no movement bent on terrorism should be considered a liberation movement ( http://www.island.lk/2008/02/11/features1.html).
Reality
Nevertheless, the State Department and the FSOs who served in the Colombo diplomatic mission unofficially believed that the LTTE as an organisation that stood for long-denied Tamil rights. The US further believed that the terrorist manoeuvres and tactics were used to bring some sense to the Sri Lankan authorities. In the opinion of the Americans, Sri Lanka was too stubborn to accept the reality that there was substance to what the Tamil representatives’ organisations emphasised on Tamil rights and their place in Sri Lankan society.
As much as the US attributed the emergence of the Tamil Tiger movement to the grievances of the minority Tamil population in Sri Lanka, this fact was openly confirmed by a State Department official two weeks before the total defeat of the movement.
On 6 May, 2009, Media briefing at the State Department in Washington, Mike Owens, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, was very clear when he said that ‘ legitimate Tamil grievances, in fact, gave birth to the Tamil Tiger,’ a thinking the FSOs at the American embassy in Colombo in the 1980s and 1990s held. And thereafter used as a guiding light to push Sri Lanka, at times through India for a negotiated settlement.
Mike Owens had earlier served in Colombo American embassy’s political section, and before his position as the deputy assistant secretary, he was the director of the State Department’s Office for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Bhutan. At this State Department media briefing, Mike Owens further said the following:
“We, of course, have designated the LTTE as a terrorist organisation, and we certainly have no sympathy for some of the things they have carried out, but I think you do have to ask a very legitimate question: Why did they have a following in the beginning? And I think it is because some in the Tamil Community do have legitimate grievances, and we need to find”. “I think it is imperative for Sri Lankans to find a way to give everyone in the community, all Sri Lankans, a legitimate voice in their government. And so, we want to support the Government of Sri Lanka as they move forward to do exactly that.”
Colombo, November 15 (Ada Derana): The Embassy of the United States in Colombo says the widely circulated dubbed video statement of the US State Department’s spokeswoman regarding the citizenship of SLPP’s presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa is fake.
The spokeswoman of the US Embassy, Nancy VanHorn told Ada Derana that this video, which is currently being circulated in social media, is manipulated and distorted.
A dubbed video which allegedly contains a statement from the spokesperson of the US State Department was released to the social media today (15). VanHorn said the original statement was issued by the US State Department’s spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus on the 9th of July during a media briefing. This statement was fraudulently dubbed and released to social media platforms.
Drastic differences between the colours of the original video and the fake could be noticed.
In the meantime, Ada Derana contacted the US Department of Justice regarding an alleged press release on Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s citizenship, it was revealed that this statement is also manipulated.
This release is claimed to be issued by the US Department of Justice on the 11th of November. However, the Department pointed out that November 11th is a public holiday in the United States, hence the reason as to why such a letter could not have been issued by them.
Sign on Desperation
The fake video and press release were part of a last ditch effort of the Sajith Premadasa camp to put seeds of doubt about the eligibility of his rival Gotabaya Rajapaksa to contest the Presidential election which is to be held on Sunday November 16.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwela, said that the last ditch fake new barrage is due to desperation based on ground level indications that the Gotabaya has greater support.
He reiterated that the fact that SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa had renounced his US citizenship was accepted by the Elections Commissioner. Even those civil society activists who challenged his eligibility to contest in the Court of Appeal had raised only the issue of the manner in which he secured Sri Lankan citizenship. The court had quashed that case.
The expectation in the SLPP camp is that Gotabaya will score high among the Sinhala majority which accounts for more than 70% of the population. Through this, he is expected to make up for lack of support among the minority Tamils and Muslims. However, a section of the minorities could support Gotabaya as his economic agenda and economic focus have acquired some traction in recent years.
The US embassy in Colombo has announced that the video clip on the internet claiming to be a US State Department spokesperson detailing US Citizenship is a fake video.
Media spokeswoman Nancy Van Vonhorn said that it can be verified as a fake video that has been dubbed which is not linked to her department.
A video is being circulated on the internet claiming to be a US State Department spokeswoman detailing on American citizenship.
The US embassy in Colombo today announced that the video is a fake video and it has been fabricated.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact is temporarily down but is not out. Despite this set-back, it is bound to resurface after the Presidential Election when it would be submitted to Parliament as required by the provisions of the Compact. However, a fact that needs to be acknowledged is that if not for the concerted public pressure that included Ven. Ududumbara Kashyapa Thera to launch a protest fast, the Compact would have been signed by now.
The issue is not whether the MCC Compact was beneficial to Sri Lanka as claimed by some or inimical to Sri Lanka’s national interest as claimed by others, it is the secrecy with which the Government set about handling issues relating to this Compact that caused the public to be wary of the true motives behind the smoke screen of addressing poverty with a grant of $480 million. These doubts had justification because until recently, there was a threat that the Cabinet was keen on signing the Compact without submitting it to Parliament, thus repeating the practice the Government adopted when they co-sponsored UNHRC Resolution 30/1.
Strange as it may seem, it has now come to light that the MCC Compact still requires it to be submitted to and enacted by Parliament for Entry into Force. Had this been known from the beginning, most of the concerns would have been assuaged, as it has been a lack of transparency by the Government throughout that has dented U.S.-Sri Lanka relations.
PROVISIONS in the MCC COMPACT
The need to have Parliamentary approval is not prompted by constitutional necessity or for reasons of good governance as some advocate, but instead by a requirement of the Compact itself as stated in Article 7 “ENTRY INTO FORCE”. Section 7.1 titled “Domestic Proceedings”. Section 7.1 which states:
“The Government shall proceed in a timely manner to complete all of the domestic requirements for this Compact and PIA to enter into force. The parties understand that, consistent with Sri Lankan Law, prior to the Government sending letters described in Section 7.3, this Compact is to be SUBMITTED TO AND ENACTED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF SRI LANKA”.
“Submitted to and Enacted by Parliament” means that the MCC Compact would (invariably) be debated in Parliament after which it (should) be transformed into a Legislative Statute before Entry into Force. It is during these debates that Parliament would have the opportunity to raise issues that are of a controversial nature such as the following:
Section 3.6 “Procurement and Grants. The Government shall ensure that the procurement of all goods, works and services by the government or Provider to implement the Program shall be in accordance with MCC’s Program Procurement Guidelines… Accordingly, neither the Government Procurement Guidelines (2006), nor any other laws or Regulations of Sri Lanka regarding procurement shall apply…”
Section 6.4 “Governing Law. This Compact is an international agreement shall be governed by international law”. Since Sri Lanka operates on a dualist legal system the only international laws that would be applicable to Sri Lanka would be those that have been incorporated into domestic law.
Section 6.8 “MCC Status. MCC is a United States government corporation acting on behalf of the United States Government in the due implementation of the Compact. MCC and the United States Government assume no liability for any claims or loss arising out of activities or omissions under this Compact…The Government agrees that MCC and the United States Government or any current or former officer or employee of the MCC or the United States government shall be immune from jurisdiction of all courts and tribunals of Sri Lanka for any claim or loss arising out of activities or omissions under the Compact”.
These and other contentious issues, the most significant being issues relating to the two main objectives of the Compact, namely, the Transport Project and the Land Project, are likely to be raised when the MCC Compact is submitted to Parliament. However, the Compact itself needs to be presented in a form that it would have the status of a Legislative Statute following which it needs to incorporate any amendments prior to approval by Parliament.
The all-important question that needs to be resolved is whether it would be approved by a simple majority, a two-third majority of Parliament or by a two-third majority of Parliament and a referendum.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The two Project Objectives are the TRANSPORT PROJECT and the LAND PROJECT. Of the two, it would be the Land Project that would determine which majority in Parliament would make the MCC Compact a Legislative Statute.
LAND PROJECT
(a) Summary of Project and Activities
“The Project Objective of the Land Project is to increase the availability of information on private land and under-utilized State Land in order to increase land market activity. The land Project would increase tenure security and tradability of land for smallholders, women and firms through policy and legal reforms….”.
(b) Parcel Fabric Map and State Land Inventory Activity
“The aim of the Parcel Fabric map and State Land Inventory Activity is the creation of a parcel fabric map that covers up to 28 percent of the land area of Sri Lanka, focused on seven districts…The parcel fabric map is intended to become the base map for the completion of an inventory of State lands in the same districts, which is intended to help the Government determine which state lands are underutilized and available for investment and which lands are in active use….”.
(c) Registration of Absolute Land Grants Sub-Activity
“MCC Funding shall support Government efforts to convert permits and grants in State Lands “absolute land grants” that are expected to be registered as freehold rights in land. The sub-activity would support conversion of State Land to the private domain creating a marketable and bankable title to this land holder…”
IMPACT of GRANTING ABSOLUTE TITLE
As admitted in the MCC Compact document the intention of the Land Project is to convert State Lands that are currently held by members of the public on the basis of permits and grants into Private land in order to make them marketable and bankable. Since ALL STATE LAND IS VESTED IN THE REPUBLIC it belongs to all the People of Sri Lanka. It therefore follows that any Legislation that enables permit and grant holders the right to absolute title amounts to a privilege that is denied to others. This violates the Fundamental Rights of those who do NOT hold permits and grants to State Land as provided in Article 12 (1) of the Constitution. Furthermore, since Fundamental Rights are part of the Sovereignty of the people as per Article 3 of the Constitution that state “Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and franchise”, any impact of Article 3 requires a 2/3 approval of Parliament and a referendum. Therefore, if the objectives relating to the Land Project in the MCC Compact are to be fulfilled, a special majority applicable to entrenched Articles is an absolute necessity. If such a majority is not possible, the Land Project component of the MCC Compact cannot be implemented.
The intention of the State Land (Special Provisions) Bill was to be an “AN ACT TO GRANT ABSOLUTE TITLE TO STATE LAND HELD BY CITIZENS WHO ARE HOLDERS OF GRANTS OR INSTRUMENTS OF DISPOSITION; AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO”. Since this Bill was withdrawn no law currently exists to grant absolute title to State Land. Under these circumstances what is the future of the MCC Compact?
CONCLUSION
The MCC Compact has run into a storm of protests from the public. The main reason is speculation arising through the lack of frank information regarding the scope and nature of the project. The fact is that whatever information that was available was what the public could gather in dribs and drabs released by the Government and their spokespersons. For this the government has to take full responsibility.
For instance, these spokespersons keep insisting that there is no mention of a transport link connecting the Ports of Colombo and Trincomalee in the MCC Compact. This is correct. What they do not mention is that the seven targeted districts judiciously selected link the two Ports. Furthermore, growth in these seven districts is not possible without Transport Networks. It is through such networks that the transport link between the two Ports would be established. The credibility deficit in the minds of the public is natural in that if the stated goal of the MCC Compact is to address poverty, why were these particular districts selected considering that the majority are well above the national poverty index?
More importantly, it is the Land Project that is bound to encounter the most resistance. Historically, past attempts to make State Land available to the public have met with considerable resistance, primarily because State Land belongs to the Republic and consequently belongs to ALL the People as part of their sovereignty; a fact stated in Supreme Court judgments. Consequently, granting absolute title to current permit and grant holders would be discriminatory by the rest. Therefore, the only manner by which State Land could be made available with Absolute Title to the public is by securing a 2/3 approval of Parliament and approval by the People at a referendum. This is too high a mountain to climb.
Those associated with the development of the MCC Compact in Sri Lanka should have appraised the U.S. Authorities that the Constitutional impediments associated with the Land Project make it a near insurmountable undertaking. It is inevitable that the ensuing disappointment for this lapse could have an impact on U.S.-Sri Lanka relations.
By Dr. C. S. Weeraratna (csweera@sltnet.lk) Former Professor at Ruhuna and Rajarata universities Courtesy The Island
November 14, 2019, 6:35 pm
Agricultural sector is the cornerstone in the economic and social development of the country and hence, a number of presidential candidates in their manifestoes highlighted the need to improve this sector.. Around 1.6 million ha of the country is cultivated with annual and perennial crops and around 25 percent of Sri Lankans are employed in the agricultural sector.
Domestic Food Sector
Around 860,000 ha in Sri Lanka are under food crops such as cereals, legumes, oil crops, vegetables etc. The total production of most crops, except rice and maize, cultivated in Sri Lanka during the last decade does not show any upward trend. Due to shortage of food availability, a colossal sum of money is spent annually to import food as indicated in the table given below. . In 2018 around Rs 320 billion worth of food including milk food has been imported. Most of these can be locally produced. With about 2.5 million hectares of hitherto uncultivated/partly cultivated land, importing Rs. 320 billion worth of food annually is an anomalous situation.
See Table 1.
Table 1. Value of food imports (Rs. millions)
Numerous food production programmes such as “AMA’, ” Waga Sangramaya” and “Govi Sevana ” were implemented during the last decade but these have not made any significant impact on the agricultural sector of the country, indicated by increase expenditure on importing food. Those responsible need to look into the various issues that limit food production in the country and take appropriate action. It will contribute in a more meaningful way towards the socio-economic development of the country by increasing food security, reducing the annual trade deficit which stands at around US$ 10 billion and also increasing employment opportunities.
Many factors influence level of crop production and an important factor among these is water which tends to be a limiting factor. In spite of the country receiving around 100 billion cubic meters of water annually, inhabitants of many parts of the country do not get a regular supply of water for their farming and domestic activities. . It is estimated that around 60% out of the 100 billion cubic meters of rain water received annually escape to the sea.
An integrated plan needs to be implemented in collaboration with the relevant ministries to improve water supply. One of the main reasons for water shortage in many parts of the country is high surface run-off. Rainwater that falls on to the ground infiltrates and the balance runs-off. Most of the soils, especially those in the high rainfall areas are eroded and cannot retain much water thus favouring run-off. Silt and clay carried by run-off water get into tanks, reducing its capacity to hold water. It is because of this that most tanks spill after a few rains and dry up after a few weeks/months of dry weather. The amount of water available for irrigation, domestic use etc. can be increased considerably by implementing appropriate soil conservation measures which will reduce run-off and promote infiltration. Most farmers have to face droughts which seriously affect crop production although there are around 12,000 tanks in the dry zone which collect rainwater to be used for crop and animal production and various domestic activities. Water shortage which the farmers in the dry zone face can be partly attributed to the inability of the governments from 1977 to rehabilitate most of these tanks.
In addition to cultivating food crops a large number of crops which would yield to agro – industries can be cultivated in the hitherto uncultivated/partly cultivated lands, Among these are cassava, horticultural and floricultural crops, , cane, bamboo, sunflower, castor , ayurvedic herbs, etc. which have a considerable industrial potential. Development of industries based on these crops will also increase export income and will have a tremendous impact on the economy of the country and also provide employment opportunities among rural people. Private sector can be involved in such projects for which appropriate technical assistance need to be given by the relevant public organizations.
Plantation Sector
The plantation sector which includes tea, rubber, coconut, cashew, sugarcane and minor exports crops such as cinnamon, cardamom, cocoa ,plays a very important role in the economy of the country. Since the implementation of the Land Reform Law in 1972, the large estates of tea, rubber and coconut were nationalized and their management was given over to the State Plantations Corporation (SPC) and the Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB). In the year 1992, a large number of these estates, nearly 300, were given on lease to Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs).
The extents under plantation crops is around 870 ,000 ha. Nearly 30% of the labour force is involved in this sector, which earns about 20% of export earnings. . According to Central Bank reports, as shown in Table 2 , the production of these crops does not show any significant increase during the present decade.
See Table 2.
A number of issues can be attributed to this unsatisfactory state in the plantation sector. Among these are (a) Increasing cost of production ( b) Old machinery (c) Land degradation (d) Old age of crops (e) Low value addition (f) Inadequate diversification and intercropping and (g) Insufficient marketing strategies
Land Degradation: One of the important contributory factors for the decline in the productivity of the plantation sector is Land Degradation. Soil erosion, soil compaction, and nutrition depletion, cause productivity of land to decline, making crop production less profitable. In view of the importance of land degradation, the Ministry of Environment, in 2005, established an expert committee on Land Degradation and mitigating the effects of drought in SL. This committee comprised a number of experts in the field of land management and the main role of the committee was to advice the Ministry of Environment, on issues related to controlling land degradation. This committee has not met since Feb. 2013.
At the first national symposium on Land Degradation held in 2010 , organized by the Ministry of Environment and the expert committee on Land Degradation, the participants, who were representing many land-related institutions in the country, revealed that a substantial amount of soil/ha/year is lost due to soil erosion. They were of the view that urgent action such as implementation of proper land use planning and the soil conservation and environment act etc. need to be taken by the relevant organizations to control land degradation.
There are many ministries, departments and other institutions which are expected to take appropriate control measures. During the last few decades a large number of seminars, workshop s have been held on this topic. In spite of all these, land degradation continues to take place evident by the common occurrence of landslides, depleted top soil, siltation of tanks and reservoirs, decline in crop yields, eutrophication etc. The Ministry of Environment (ME) needs to activate the already established Committee on Land Degradation which would make appropriate recommendations to reduce land degradation to be implemented by ME.
Diversification: Productivity of many estates under planation crops is at a low level. Diversification of such unproductive lands is essential . A survey need to be done to identify these unproductive lands which need to be diversified. Such lands may be put under pasture and have cattle which will reduce our expenditure on milk imports, it will also reduce degradation of the lands resulting in less silting of the reservoirs. There are many other crops such as spice crops, horticultural crops etc. which could be cultivated in the unproductive lands. These crops would give better returns to the cultivators. An in-depth study needs to be carried out as early as possible to determine appropriate land use in the unproductive holdings/estates giving due consideration to factors such as climate, topography, availability of labour etc. Those lands which are not going to be diversified need to be managed better. In this regard, infilling, cultivation of better clones and their effective management including better fertilizer and pest management practices, , increased rate of replanting, reducing soil degradation and conservation practices are essential.
Deterioration of the plantation sector will exacerbate the financial and social problems we are facing.. The annual trade deficit which stands at around Rs. 1800 billion and unemployment among the rural plantation community will get worse. In view of these critical issues faced by the Plantation Sector it is necessary that the relevant authorities develop an integrated plan to increase the productivity of the plantation sector.
Lack of an integrated plan is a factor responsible for the low productivity in the agricultural sector. For example a land use policy has been formulated but is not effectively implemented to reduce land degradation which has serious repercussions on the productivity. The Land use policy need to be implemented as an integrated programme in which many ministries have to be involved.
By Noor Nizam – Convener The Muslim Voice” – November 14th., 2019.
The present presidential elections should have the freethinking participation of all Sri Lankans, by the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and others The Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa (the SLPP Presidential candidate) and Basil Rajapaksa have stated that they want the minority votes added to the majority votes when winning this presidency.
Every community has its strengths and weakness. Every community has members who support the various political ideologies. They also support different political parties. For what do they do all these? To get the legitimate share of their RIGHTS and to contribute the best towards their motherland with civic contentiousness.
Sri Lanka is a Nation of mostly peasants, farmers, workers, teachers and small-time traders. Some communities, due to the British divide and rule, political governance and administration from 1812 to 1956, have benefited educationally and career-wise. Since 1956, the majority of Sinhalese have seen tremendous changes in their political and socio-economic development, with much progress in education and professionalism. They are 72% of the population, but penalized by the British and foreign colonization had led them to their plight. The Muslims who comprise 8% of the population have been a sidelined community in the political annals of Sri Lanka, until 1981 and then in 1986 when the SLMC entered the national political arena of Sri Lanka. Since 1946, the elite of the community benefited the best until a change happened in the early 1960 tees with the late Hon. Badiuddin Mahmud becoming the Minister of Education, under the late Hon. Sirimavo R.D.Bandaranaike as the PM.
History has been repeated since then, where the elite, especially those in Colombo, has benefited the best in all avenues of political influence and sharing the spoils of the elections. The worst affected being the Muslims, especially those of the North and Eastern provinces and the denial of the Muslim Factor.
In the political drama of the Presidential Elections of January 2019 which is happening, again it was the elite (both politically and financially) that have the lobbying power to have their shots. Those governing/controlling the minority parties have shown their colors either to HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa/Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa (SLPP) or NDF candidate Sajith Premadasa, like the peacock” spreading the feathers to gain the benefits of mating. But it is the VOTES” of the members of the communities that they will be trading for future benefits for themselves. This is a special phenomenon in the Muslim Community in the political playing field of Sri Lanka and especially these days.
The Rajapaksa brothers should not be carried away by these sweet talk” of some of the Muslim leaders gathered around them at this hour. The Muslims really want to support HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa and VOTE for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, but the SLPP campaign team lead by Basil Rajapaksa has done a wonderful job to break the unseen fence around them in this campaign and reach out to the 300,000 Muslim voters in the North and East that could support them, directly. You have taken a firm stand on this. It is a few hours left now and you will see the benefits of it on the 17th.,/18th., of November 2019.
The ordinary Muslim voters, are waiting to assure you that they want to vote for you. According to an analysis The Muslim Voice” has done, evidence can be arrived at that at least 38% of the Muslim Vote bank, including the new vote additions in the Muslim community, who voted against Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015 will vote Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the November 16th., 2019 Presidential Elections, Insha Allah. They will do this because – the Muslim Vote Bank has decided to act on their own and not be misled by “OPINION CREATORS”. They will vote Gotabaya/SLPP/Pottuwa as retaliation towards the Muslim politicians, Political Parties and civil society organizations who have hoodwinked the Muslim Vote Bank for their personal gains throughout and especially since January 8th., 2015. They also hope to vote by “NECESSITY” to please the majority community that they also are partners of the victory of the majority and the Maha Sanga or as an investment for their safety because of fear, and this is a REALITY” not a weakness, a move towards reconciliation.
Call out or reach out to
the Muslim VOTERS and talk to them directly Presidential candidate Gotabaya
Rajapaksa after your VICTORY” Insha Allah. They have built a new TRUST” in
you, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa. They need assurances from you, not
through deceptive, hoodwinking opportunistic Muslim politicians, brokers or
agents on the resolution to the Muslim Factor, Land issues in the East,
Socio-Economic and Social development matters, Employment, Education, Religious
security, Madrasa education, MMDA and the general Security of the Nation as an
UNDIVIDED COUNTRY, our MAATHROBOOMIYA which we all Sri Lanka love and have a
duty to protect.
YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD AND DEDICATED TEAM COMPRISING UNDERSTANDING MUSLIM PERSONALITIES LIKE ATTORNEY-AT-LAW ALI SABY – PC WORKING WITH VIYATHMAGA AND ELIYA” ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE PROVEN THEIR DEBUT IN THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. YOU ALSO HAVE A SET OF YOUNG MUSLIM LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLITICIANS IN BERUWELA, ALUTHGAMA AND KALUTARA WHO HAVE STOOD FIRM WITH THE SLPP. IT IS BETTER FOR YOU TO ENGAGE THEM IN YOUR REACH-OUT TO THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN THE NEXT CAMPAIGN FOR THE GENERAL ELECTIONS IN 2020. THE SUGGESTION OF SETTING-UP THE MUSLIM ADMINISTRATION COUNCIL” WIL BE A BIG RELIEF TO THE MUSLIMS IF YOU WILL REALLY SET IT UP. DO NOT TRUST THE DECEPTIVE AND HOODWINKING” ONE OR TWO MINISTERS AND GOVERNOR WHO HAVE JOINED YOU NOW FOR THEY WILL BE WITH YOU FOR THEIR POLITICAL SAFETY AND PERSONAL POLITICAL GAINS, NOT FOR THE INTEREST OF THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
If you do not do this, it may cost the SLPP or its alliance 300,000
to 350,000 Muslim votes, at the next general elections in 2020 and your Muslim
agents or brokers will not be the losers. It will be the Muslim Community at
large and you, as there are chances that the Muslim Vote Bank is drifting away
from the SLMC, ACMC, NATIONAL CONGRESS and the NATIONAL FRONT FOR GOOD
GOVERNANCE towards the JVP or newly formed Muslim Parties. You will have won
the Presidential election, but without the block vote of a major minority community
– the Muslim of Sri Lanka, you may lose forming a majority member government in
2020.
The Muslim Voice” has been at the forefront from around February 2015 lobbying for the Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mahinda Pela”, The Joint Opposition” and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna since its formation of the SLPP in November 2016 till to date. The focus was on the Tamil speaking Muslim Vote Bank. The mode of lobbying and campaigning was the use of the print, internet, and social media avenues. The Muslim Voice” has published nearly 1500 rebuttals” and comments” to support the SLPP and your presidential campaign. Though The Muslim Voice” was slammed by the anti-Mahinda”, anti-Mahinda pela”, the joint opposition”, anti-SLPP and the Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidential election campaign by the deceptive and hoodwinking Muslim leaders, even with threats of legal action, reporting to the law-enforcing authorities and intimidations, The Muslim Voice” which has a large following, did not deter in its sincere campaign to support the Mahinda/Basil and Gotabaya political camp.
IT IS WITH THIS LEGITIMATE RIGHT THAT THE MUSLIM VOICE” IS MAKING THIS KIND REQUEST TO YOU TO CALL OUT OR REACH OUT TO THE MUSLIMS VOTERS AND TALK TO THEM DIRECTLY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GOTABAYA RAJAPAKSA. AFTER YOU’RE VICTORY” on November 14th., 2019, Insha Allah.
About the
writer.
The writer is a longstanding political and Peace activist who has been a Senior Party supporter since 1969 and district Organizer of the SLFP, Trincomalee District for many years. He was a very close confidant of the late Hon. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike and later HE. Mahinda Rajapaksa. In the 2010 Presidential election campaign, the writer co-headed the Muslim Propaganda Unit under Hon. Basil Rajapaksa at Temple Trees which campaigned to harness the Muslim votes. At that elections 20% of the Muslim Vote Bank voted Mahinda Rajapaksa, to become the President even when the SLMC and some Muslim groups worked for Sarath Fonseka. The agenda for Peace in Sri Lanka, the concerns of the Muslim Factor and defending the sovereignty and integrity of Sri Lanka against all anti-Sri Lanka fronts abroad have been his primary engagements. Being a Tamil speaking minority Muslim, he is also very much concerned about the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. He vehemently supports the candidature of HE. Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the forthcoming presidential elections. Member, Viyathmaga, Peace and Political Activist, Political Communication Researcher, SLFP/SLPP Stalwart and former District Organizer, SLFP, Trincomalee District & Former Press and Media Officer to HE Mahinda Rajapaksa – Presidential Secretariat 2011 – 2015.
This is the season for lying. With a few days left for the Presidential election panic and distortion, lies and damned lies have overtaken supporters of one side as they fight tooth and nail to survive an impending change of leadership. One minister on TV (11 Nov 19) produces a snarky looking man with a palpably false beard who says he transported 7000 tons of gold after the war from Jaffna. He named the person who allegedly gave the order, a rival candidate.
Not to be out done another minister on the same day lamented that Army HQ was moved out of the location it had been for ‘150 years’. The 10 acres of land was sold for US $ 125m to Shangri-La Hotels, Hong Kong. This Minister accuses the same rival (named) of having got US $ 5 million (about 5%) for his labours.
It was Benjamin Disraeli who said ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’’. Liars can be of many types. The most common are pathological and compulsive liars. Pathological lairs have high levels of self assurance and are verbally dramatic. The compulsive liar can be habitual or narcissist. They are also called ‘pseudo logic fantastica’. They lie for self preservation or to practice deception.
Liars are wholly indifferent in the choice of truth and falsehood. Pathological liars are “aloof, self centered, with little concern for others. They have a chronic tendency to lie driven by an innate personality disorder. They are cold and calculating. They lie for self preservation having mastered the art of deception. They start with an element of the truth and end with lies. They avoid eye contact and fix their gaze on you. The Compulsive liar is one by habit. He breaks out in a sweat, also avoids eye contact and blinks while rambling and tripping over words. Readers can take their pick in identifying members of this obnoxious tribe.
The gold ‘robbery’ canard was immediately squashed by a veteran wrecker. Goebbels had been out done. The Reserve Bank of India has only 60 tonnes .The value of just 7000 tonnes of gold would be worth nearly $ 30,000 billion.
The minister who sorrowed over Army HQ selling its land needs to know that Army HQ was not situated there for ‘150’ years however suddenly he is attached to that memory. The Ceylon Defence Force was established in 1910. Presumably some type of a HQ even if it was not an Army HQ may have been built around that time- about 109 not ‘150’ years ago. Army HQ raised in 1949 moved to its last location about 30 years ago.
The new Defence HQ will certainly not be the colossal waste of money spent on Diyawanna which may have cost about 10 times its actual value according to the first Vice Chancellor of the Minister’s Katubedde University. He should also have known, though he failed to state it, that the Army land was sold for 3 times its market value according to former deputy Minister Yapa.
The land called Echelon Square where the WTC, Bank of Ceylon HQ and Kingsbury hotels are, also belonged to the Army from 1900 to the late 1970s. They were sold by the UNP. The Sinha Regiment finally and the SL Artillery before, were stationed there. The land on which Taj Samudra stands was similarly sold by the same government. It was also in Army hands until the late 1970s.
There were 2 suicide attacks on Army HQ during his time killing a total of over 25 people. Another attack killed the SL Navy Commander Admiral Clancy Fernando in front of the Taj Samudra hotel, 500 m west of AHQ. Moving Army, SL Navy and SL Air Force HQs and the Defence Ministry to Akurugoda is a well planned move for many reasons including security. Even SF would scarce forbear to cheer ante bellum. After all he wanted a 400,000 army after the war ended. Developing remorse 5 years later for 100 years of half Colonial history is not a convincing performance.
The Minister produced a pamphlet ‘Charge of the Lion Brigade’ immediately after the SL conflict that spanned nearly 30 years. It was not a very wise title to begin with even if the other side called themselves ‘Tigers’. It was actually a silly attempt to use the title of a heroic if not also shambolic ‘Charge’ of the Light Brigade that was over in 30 minutes in the Crimean war over 170 years ago. It was over in 30 minutes. Has it anything in common with SL Army’s victory or history?
The Minister with disdain for intellectual honesty states Prussian Major General Carl Philipp Gottlieb Von Clausewitz (1780- 1831) the author of the best known book on war Vom Kriege (On War) as a ‘military ‘philosopher. He quotes that “war is an extension (continuation) of politics”. This is an over simplified statement that has been misused often. Was it used to show how important politicians like him were in war?
Von Clausewitz fought as an officer in the Russian army at Jena (1806) and was at Waterloo on the staff of Marshal von Blucher. The Minister may have misinterpreted Clausewitz’s philosophy of war that still influences strategy, for this reason.
Some excerpts from the pamphlet make very revealing reading:
“I find it difficult to forgive both the JVP and Premadasa for what they did…”’My wrath towards Premadasa knew no bounds when he gave a new breath to the LTTE’ (page 12) “… we formed a citizen’s front to fight against Premadasa’s gross violations of human rights ….. I saw over 147 dead bodies in the Mahabodhi premises (1989) – (page 10). “…. although we knew that Chandrika Kumaratunga was an anti nationalist and staunch supporter of federalism”…(page 14) “Ranil Wickramasinghe showed his inherent hatred towards the Sinhalese and especially Sinhalese Buddhists”(page 16”).The JVP “committed the most traitorous act when it left .. and worked against Mahinda Rajapakse”. The SL Muslim Congress is the only fundamentalist Muslim party to be funded by Western Embassies. . (pg 77). “…. with Western backing, their stooge -the SLMC – crossed over to the Opposition” (pg 78).The LTTE was provided with … fighter aircraft…” (pg 72). He justifies the killing of VP’s family (page 68). He was then a Minister in MR‘s government. Will his next pamphlet be called ‘Elephant Walk’? Will he add ‘Easter Sunday carnage’?
More
than any other past Presidential Election the one that is to be held tomorrow
(November 16) poses the most difficult challenge to intelligent voters.
Considering over two decades of unwelcome experiences and a continuing corrupt
system will it be a Hobson’s choice for them?
Will
they have to vote for the best of the bad lot?
This
is also a presidential election no former president or prime minister is
contesting.
I
do not wish to blame all ordinary citizens (except dyed- in-the wool UNP
supporters) who voted for the so-called ‘yahapalanaya’ in 2015 because many of
them expected a genuine change since the Rajapaksa regime failed to meet
obligations expected of it after the war victory of 2009. Instead
they sat on their laurels. This undoubtedly led to much
disillusionment.
There’s
no point in trying to find silly excuses saying a Western-Indian conspiracy was
the sole cause of the previous government’s downfall. It is like
the simplistic argument of some communists that a CIA conspiracy was behind the
downfall of the Soviet Bloc. Foreign conspirators and their local agents no
doubt were involved in varying degrees but no external force can succeed unless
there are internal contradictions or internal crisis that can be exploited to
its advantage. This is what happened to both the Soviet and the
Rajapaksa governments. This is the hard fact we need to recognize.
It
is obvious that no other candidate but only Gotabhaya Rajapaksa or Sajith
Premadasa will win. They may not be bad as individuals but the real question is
about many of those around them. We find that in both camps the
old faces – the same dubious characters, who have faced all kinds of allegations
(which have never been probed and action taken) actively campaigning for the two
candidates.
The
crooks and thugs on both sides appear to think they will suffer little or no
punishment whoever wins. In addition we see on both sides
politicos who have jumped from party platform to another over the past two
decades. How much influence will they wield if either candidate
wins? Either way, we as ordinary citizens can expect no
fundamental change in this corrupt system no matter who wins. The
main reason is balanced and objective thinking is alien to the majority of our
voters irrespective of their political views. They can never
understand the complexities of a situation and suffer from selective amnesia.
They look at issues through tinted glasses, depending on their political
preferences. Many of them are blind loyalists of leaders and/or parties. They
cannot bear to see or hear any criticism of their idols. They are like the three
proverbial monkeys.
It
is the utter disillusionment with the past performance of the two main parties /
alliances that an unprecedented number of independent presidential candidates
are contesting this time. The blind worshipers of the three main
candidates however seem to think that all such candidates are trying to
undermine the support for this or that main candidate
What
should the intelligent voter do? Should his/her vote go for the
candidate in whom he/she has full confidence? Can anyone have such
faith in a candidate until we see his performance? Hence
regardless whom we elect we are compelled to take a risk.
We
must also make note that the 19th Amendment has limited presidential
powers.
Although
many of the independent candidates have excellent proposals unfortunately they
cannot draw the attention of the majority, the since the latter always go on the
beaten track. We cannot envisage a third group / alliance coming to power in Sri
Lanka unlike in Pakistan in the foreseeable future.
The
only option for most people then is to vote for person – out of the two main
candidates – whose campaign raised less doubts regardless of whether he gets the
first or second preference.
Voters
need answers at least to the following.
The
Podu Jana Peramuna and the JVP both appointed their candidates without much
delay whereas until the last minute the UNP-led New Democratic Front could not
decide on a candidate. Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was dilly dallying.
Conflict of opinion within the party on who should become the candidate came out
into the open. Some seemed almost confident that Sajith would not be selected.
But since their hopes were dashed they are now compelled to back him. Will this
friction surface again? Will Ranil allow him to do as he wants?
Since
Sajith Premadasa is a Cabinet Minister of the present Government how many of the
promises he is now making has he been able to fulfill during the past four
years? If it is very little, why was it so? Was he obstructed at every turn?
Then
there’s the hullabaloo over Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s alleged U.S. citizenship.
Sajith supporters have already lost a court case on this issue.
The American Embassy in Colombo has stated that it will take several
months for the Federal Government to release the lists of all those who have
renounced U.S. citizenship. Therefore it would not be possible for
the embassy to provide answers right now to whether this or that individual is
no longer a U.S. citizen.
If
the New Democratic Front says it cannot accept lawyer Ali Sabry’s denial that
Gotabhaya is a U.S. citizen then the NDF should provide irrefutable proof in a
court of law that the documents Ali Sabry showed to the media are forgeries.
Merely speculating and raising suspicions are an exercise in futility since
these have no bearings on the Elections Commission.
If
the NDF is very sure that Gotabhaya is still a U.S. citizen they have time to
find proof even after the election. If such proof is found and
assuming that Gotabhaya has won his victory can still be declared null and
void. When Rajapaksa supporter Geetha Kumarasinghe announced that
she had renounced her Swiss citizenship no one questioned her claim.
Then
why was this hurry to prove that Gotabhaya is still a U.S. citizen and get him
out of the way?
These
are points to ponder.
Anyway,
whoever wins the election we need a strong independent (not guided by party
loyalties) opposition – watch dog to keep the government on its toes.
Royal Park murder convict Jude Shramantha Jayamaha has appealed for a second chance saying he never intended to harm anyone and that he was ashamed for what has happened. Jayamaha was serving life in prison over the 2005 murder of Swedish national Yvonne Johnson at the Royal Park condominium. President Maithripala Sirisena last week granted a Presidential pardon to the convict, a move which drew outrage among the public, some politicians and others. In an open letter issued today, 34-year-old Jude Shramantha Jayamaha said that nothing can replace Yvonne but he will keep on trying to make amends with her family. The full letter: An Open Letter to Sri Lanka from Jude Shramantha Jayamaha
I write this letter to every family and individual who is affected by the recent news of my release from prison and consider it unfair. This is my story. I am the product of a broken home as my parents are divorced. I grew up lonely, hurting, insecure and never understood what it’s like to belong to a close knit family. By the time I was 16, I had grown into a disgruntled youth with little control over how I behaved in society.
Today, I stand as a 34 yr old, who has spent the best years of my youth in prison, enclosed in a 6 x 8 ft room with access to only 30 mins of sunlight everyday.
It was the darkest period of my life, locked up for over 12 hours of each day, with a bucket as a latrine, which also served as my chair. I slept on the floor and the pillow I lay my head on was also my desk. If there was a hell on earth; I experienced it in the last 14+ years. I’m out now, but in a world that I hardly know or recognize. And all I see is your anger and hate directed at me – not that I don’t deserve it, but please understand that I am not the same 19 year old who was imprisoned
TO THE JOHNSON FAMILY : I don’t have adequate words to express my grief towards what has come upon the Johnson family. I want you to know that I never intended to harm anyone. I don’t have the words to take away the pain. This is what has played on my mind; every day for the last 14 years. Sadly, I know that nothing I can ever say or do; will make this go away and make things right for you, although I so wish I could. You knew me as a child, I have been in and out of your house and you have always been so gracious and kind to me. I’m so ashamed for what has happened. This has caused immeasurable pain to all of you and everyone in my family. There has only been sadness, loss and grief throughout this 15 years for everyone. I have tried many times to contact you and express my heart; but I was never successful. I can’t replace Yvonne, and even if you don’t believe me now, I will keep on trying to make amends.
TO SOCIETY : I understand the anger you feel. But please judge me for what I am today and what I am attempting to do with my life. I ask for your forgiveness, as I am a changed man – I have had days and years to do nothing but look at myself and think of everything I could have done different. I met Ven. RathanaThero for the first time, when I was at a particularly low point in my life – around 5 years ago. He was meeting prisoners to give us meditation advice, and in a very long time, someone looked at me with kindness. It was he who gave me the desire to believe in life again and even motivated me to pick up my studies again. I did a distance education BSC Economics degree from the University of London/London School of Economics against innumerable odds. Please understand I had no access to a computer, online research, desk, table, or even a chair or lighting. I sat on my toilet bucket and used my pillow as a desk. Every tutorial or assignment was hand written and posted – I did this to prove to myself and everyone else that I was a changed man. I kept at it and even went on to do a Masters of Business from the Open University; a first for any prisoner in Sri Lanka. I promise you that I did not receive special privileges while doing any of this. But doing it all despite the odds helped me and gave some direction to the mess I had made in my life. For me it was a turning point, and now plan to complete my Phd on Development Economics, so that one day, I can give back by working for the development of my country; that is if I am given the opportunity. As for my release from prison, I must place on record that it was not an arbitrary decision by the President as currently being portrayed. It was a process that began 3 years ago, with continual sequences of reviews and approvals.
Following is a brief outline of the process:
2005 – I entered prison
2013- The Prison Review board comprising of retired judges, police, prison commissioner, phycologist, criminologist, AGs dept and Justice ministry started reviewing all Prisoners on Death Row, myself included!
2016 – After detailed interviews; 250 Prisoners out of 600, were commuted to life imprisonment with reports specifying that we are fit to be reintroduced to society. 2016 onwards – A range of civil society members, Buddhist monks, other religious clergy and professionals started a movement to release young rehabilitated and educated prisoners.
2018 to 2019 – The judges report, Prisons Department report, Attorney General’s review report and Justice Ministry recommendation, amongst other documents, citing a fair release for me were reviewed by the Presidents legal review board.
2019 – Based on the recommendations above, constitutional procedures and the opinion of the Legal Review Board – my release was approved. In closing, I would like to say that despite all the procedure, my release on the 9th of November 2019, still came as a surprise to me as it would have been to you all. Yes, I was hopeful but as a prisoner for 14 plus years, I did not know what to expect or imagine what it would be like if the prison gate opened for me. There are some who still think I should be inside prison and I can’t change that. But if you don’t believe anything else, at least believe that the pardon that was given to me, was not a result of any coercion or influence, but purely through process and as I pointed out earlier. I am one of several hundreds of people who are fortunate enough to be afforded a second chance at life through the merit based pardoning system. I ask for your understanding, because that is the kind of country we live in – where there is hope for even the worst criminal and mercy and forgiveness is a way of life.
Rt. Hon. Maithripala Sirisena President of Sri Lanka President’s Secretariat Galle Face Colombo 1 Sri Lanka.
Mr.
President:
Re: Granting Presidential pardon to
34-year-old Shramantha Jude Anthony Jayamaha who was serving a life sentence
for murdering 19-year old Yvonne Johnsson at Rajagiriya’s Royal Park Towers.
My reaction
under my breath was, You silly fool, why the heck did you do that
for! Was it money, or was that you wanted to be elevated to the
status of a Tin-God before you left your Presidential Office!” My annoyance was visceral, and my eyes were red cartwheeling with anger
spitting dragon breath at you.
But I held
back writing to you spilling my bile, until I read the news item Galle
Bishop denies ever requesting President to pardon Jayamaha.”
Oops! President, what was that all about. Were you hiding behind the men of cloth, some saffron robed, and others in white, black and crimson robes with their white collars starched towards Heaven. An easy way out for a ‘loving’ father of a daughter who made an idiot of himself. Would you have let a young punk touch your daughter to hurt her. I don’t think so. Would I? No bloody way. Oh No, I won’t let him go!
The murder took place due to an argument over
a love affair between a youth and the young girl, seems to be the excuse given
to you by Ven Athraliye Rathana Thero as the reason for that brutal killing.
Damn it! What an excuse to take away a
young life.., Mr. President. this Punk
had no right to take young Yvonne’s
right-to-her life. It was not a simple
tiff like –
‘Arapung Lucia dhora,
Malu Kade Jora Mumma; Suruttu paththu karaganda matta, Lucia arpungko dhora.’
I don’t think Jora would have strangled Lucia to death and beat the shit
out of her to have her skull fractured into 64 pieces. That was brutal, that
was sick, that was demonic, and was no excuse to pardon such a killer, such a
brutal murderer. That is the bottom line, Mr. President.
You had very
little compassion for Yvonne’s Mum
Chamalika, Dad Roger and sister Carolyn, whose hearts have been bleeding ever
since that brutal death, grieving for their daughter, grieving for the sister.
You couldn’t have cared two Yahapalanayo-farts for that grieving family. Give me a break President Sirisena, give a break Rathana Thero. As a dad of a daughter and a brother of five sisters, my heart is bleeding for Mum and Dad Johnssons and sister Carolyn.
The reason
for my anger was simple. For the past
seven-years I have been wearing a
round lapel button on my winter
coat which says take action on violence
against women”. And for the past
11-years I, as the Coordinator of the Outreach Programs at the Theravadha Buddhist temple, Hilda
Jayewardenaramaya in Ottawa have collected warm clothes, mitts , scarves,
toques etc., displayed on the temple’s Buddhist Mitten Tree to be donated on
the Poya day each December to the Interval
House that looks after abused women and children. That is my Mission, that is our Mission. And that
is why I cannot condone your stupidity, Mr. President
You tell me
Mr. President, will your Minister of Tourism John Amaratunga go around the
world and tell the 19-year old women who would have loved to visit our
resplendent island, Sri Lanka, and now scared that they might return home in a
plywood box having been killed by a 19-year old Sinhalese punk. Is he going to assure them by saying:
We promise you that there won’t be 19-year old Sinhalese punks lurking behind walls, behind pillars, behind bushes, behind doors at night clubs, to get at you, to rape you and murder you We will assure you for your safety.’
Can Minister
Amaratunga assure them that he wouldn’t tolerate, a punk telling a buddy who would want to gang rape a pretty foreign 19-year old, saying: Don’t
worry Machan, my family is rich, they will get us off this soup. The top Yahapalanayo guys love the smell of
thousand rupee notes. Did you enjoy her, Was she good?” John Amaratunga has his job cut out to
convince the 19-year old foreign women, begging them to visit our
resplendent Sri Lanka.
So Mr. President, did you really wanted to be
elevated to the position of a Tin-God before you left your Presidential office,
and leave behind an indelible mark of
‘compassion’ by pardening Jude. Roger,
Chamalika and Carolyn really didn’t matter to you did they? Who are you now Mr.
President Maithripala Sirisena? Are you
now been christened as God My3 Sirisen by all those who
came to you, as mentioned in your Press Release, requesting you to pardon Jude,
the heinous killer of young Yvonne denying her, her right-to-her-life, the
worst human rights violation in humanity.
I am still
angry. My anger is visceral, and my eyes
are red cartwheeling spitting dragon breath at Tin-God My3 Sirisen.
Please take
good care of your daughter. Don’t let a
single punk harm her. Don’t you abdicate
that ultimate responsibility for your daughter, as her ‘loving’ Dad. You certainly did not show that you cared for
the pain of the Johnsson family. To hell with your
ego wanting to be the Tin- God My3 Sirisen, Who the hell
cares. Certainly not me.
And I say
POX to everyone who came to you to convince you to pardon Jude Jayamaha. And I
am angry.
President, permit me to take a small space in my letter to you to say a few words to the Johnsson’s to compensate for the lack of compassion you showed them in comparison to what you afforded Jude, who murdered their Yvonne. And that hurts. And you are damn well guilty of it in my eyes.
Roger, Chamalika and Carolyn,
believe me when I tell you that my heart has been bleeding for you. Permit me to join hands with you in prayer
for Yvonne’s soul.
And through this letter to President Sirisena, permit me to extend my condolence to you –
May stars carry your sadness away, May flowers fill your heart with beauty, May hope forever wipe away your tears, And above all, may silence make you strong.” and take good care of yourselves, all three of you. Shanthi…shanthi…shanthi!
The writer has reported from Sri Lanka as a foreign correspondent and is the author of After the Fall: Sri Lanka in Victory and War
A surfeit of candidates may be seen as an indication of greater public enthusiasm for participation in the democratic process.
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa
As Sri Lankans prepare to elect their next President on Saturday (November 16), they seem to be spoilt for choice. This time over, there are an unprecedented 35 candidates in the fray for the post of President. The highest number of candidates in a presidential election so far was in 2010, when 22 candidates had joined the race — which itself was a record at the time. This time, the number is up by more than half. A surfeit of candidates may be seen as an indication of greater public enthusiasm for participation in the democratic process. On the other hand, it may as well be reflective of an underlying cynicism. A vague feeling that the people are not getting the leadership choices they would perhaps prefer to have. In this situation, the latter seems to be the case.
Traditionally, elections in Sri Lanka have mainly been a two-horse race between the right-of-centre United National Party (UNP) and the left-of-centre Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), with a select few smaller parties — such as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the JVP — representing regional or sectional interests and occupying the margins. An odd Independent was often seen as an aberration, intended to make a point rather than to make an impact on the outcome. This time four Muslims, two Tamils and two Buddhist monks are among the several others who have jointed the race.
Most of the Independents may not make much difference to the final outcome, but groups representing the regional or sectional interests are bound to cut into the votes of the two main contenders — former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and sitting minister Sajith Premadasa.
Even as Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential aspirations had been in public knowledge for some time, it was only in April this year that he was able to renounce his American citizenship to qualify for the contest. He had since entered the field as the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a party earlier launched by his elder brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The ruling coalition led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe was taking even longer in naming their candidate. Their dilemmas were manifold.
For one, President Sirisena continued to weigh his options about setting himself up as a candidate. But once Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his entry into the fray, President Sirisena ruled himself out of the race. As for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, he had been harbouring presidential ambitions for even longer. But in the current situation, he did not enjoy the party’s unanimous support. It took the party some time to persuade him to step aside in order to make way for a candidate who could command better support within the party than he could muster. It was thus that the ruling coalition was finally able to zero in on Sajith Premadasa, a sitting minister and the son of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, as its choice.
Perhaps, aware of the fact that given his wartime record as defence secretary he may not be able to cut much ice with Tamil voters, Mr Rajapaksa has since been focusing on consolidating the Sinhalese votebank. Since last month, he has made several speeches indicating his future priorities as President. In one case, for example, he promised to release the soldiers who were in jail on charges of excesses committed against many innocent civilians (mostly Tamil) during the operations. That was supposed to help him consolidate his support base among the majority Sinhalese — many of whom see the war against the LTTE as a patriotic duty. And so, they believe any excesses committed during the operations deserved to be applauded rather than punished.
Many Muslim voters, who had backed the senior Rajapaksa earlier, have since moved away in view of the stringent Sinhala rhetoric of the present campaign. But the Rajapaksa camp is not worried. They are banking on the fact that any loss of minority votes would be more than made up by the majority Sinhalese.
Thus, on balance, Gotabaya Rajapaksa does seem to be enjoying some edge over his main rival. But even so, there still are a whole lot of allegations pertaining to the human rights record of the period when he was in office that remained to be dealt with. These include cases involving the murder of journalists and killing of unarmed Tamil civilians — including some in custody — pending against Mr Gotabaya in the courts in Sri Lanka and in the United States.
Apart from the high-profile case of the murder of Sunday Leader editor Lasanatha Wickeramatunga, which attracted international attention, there are others such as the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekanaligoda and attacks on journalists Upali Temnakoon and Keith Noyahr. These pertain to the period when defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa was acting as the principal hatchet man of the regime while President Mahinda Rajapaksa was waging an all-out war against the Tamil Tigers. It was no surprise, therefore, that a section of the Sri Lankan elite recently started the Stop Gota Movement” as a counter to the winning streak in the Rajapaksa camp. But movements such as these often make an intellectual point, but rarely make an impact on the wider constituency. More so in a society that has been no stranger to polarisation on ethnic lines.
In the event of Gotabaya Rajapaksa winning, he has given enough indications about who the new Prime Minister is going to be — none else but his senior sibling and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is going to be a strong government, as the former defence secretary has promised during the campaign. And as earlier, two other Rajapaksa siblings are due to play an important role in the government. As President, Mahinda Rajapaksa had earlier quite adeptly used the threat of a tilt” towards China to influence Indian positions. How that plays out in the future one can only wait and see!
(Bloomberg) — A family of strongmen are eyeing a return to power in Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Saturday, an outcome that could also shift the island nation back toward China.
The Rajapaksas, once a powerful force in the island nation’s politics who lost the presidency in 2015, are staging a comeback. This time Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 70, is running for the top job, backed by family members including his brother Mahinda, who enjoyed warm ties with Beijing during his 10-year rule.
His main opponent is Sajith Premadasa, 52, a member of the ruling alliance that took power four years ago vowing to push for greater democracy, more transparent finances and an independent foreign policy that improved ties with India and the U.S. He also hails from a prominent political dynasty: His father served as president for four years until he was killed by a suicide bomber in 1993.
While there are no reliable polls on who will come out on top, the two men represent a stark choice for voters. A Rajapaksa victory could mean a throwback to the old authoritarian ways where opposing the government could have dangerous consequences. Premadasa focuses on national reconciliation in a country still recovering from a prolonged civil war and also promises greater market-based economic reforms.
At stake is the stability of a nation that has increasing strategic importance due in part to its proximity to some of the world’s most important sea lines. The winner will inherit an economy where growth has slowed to a more than five-year low of 1.6% in the quarter ended June, a debt level hovering at 83% of gross domestic product and minority communities still reeling from the aftermath of deadly Easter bombings on churches and hotels.
There are fears that a Rajapaksa win will return Sri Lanka to an era of impunity for human rights abuses and corruption,” said Paul Staniland, assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago who specializes in researching political violence and international security in South Asia. At a broad level, Sri Lanka would likely tilt back toward China,” he added, even though Rajapaksa hasn’t fully embraced Beijing on the campaign trail.
Family First
Two recent events are looming over the election. One is a constitutional crisis last year when the current president sought to install Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister instead of Ranil Wickremesinghe, a bid that ultimately failed when the Supreme Court shot it down. The other is the April bombings that killed some 250 people.
If the constitutional coup brought it right back to why we care about governance, the Easter attack brought it right back to why we care about security,” Nishan De Mel, the executive director of the Colombo-based risk analysis group Verite Research, said in an interview. The coup lost points for the Rajapaksas, he said: It reminded everybody why they voted them out.”
The campaign of Rajapaksa, fronting the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna — a Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist party — may hinge on whether voters are ready to re-embrace the man who was defense secretary in 2009 when the military crushed a three-decade long Tamil insurgency. Gotabaya’s role during the end of the civil war drew allegations of widespread human rights abuses.
If Gotabaya wins, he’ll bring his family with him. Mahinda, who was briefly appointed prime minister last year during a constitutional crisis, is looking to get that job back. Another brother, Basil Rajapaksa, is serving as Gotabaya’s campaign manager. Mahinda’s son is also now a member of parliament.
During his decade in power, Mahinda borrowed heavily from Beijing to fund infrastructure projects after the war ended. One of them, a port in southern Hambantota, lost money and was eventually sold to a state-owned Chinese firm by the current government in a much-criticized debt-to-equity swap on a 99-year lease.
Gotabaya may withdraw from or renegotiate international commitments that don’t serve the country’s interests, including those with China, according to Nivard Cabraal, a former central bank governor who’s tipped to be finance minister under a Rajapaksa government.
We will renegotiate the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement,” he said. We have to have a discussion and see if we can come up with something that is workable for both countries.”
Cabraal also flagged that a Rajapaksa government would renegotiate the terms of the country’s IMF program and the port deal with China. We don’t want to have ownership of our strategic assets being with any country, not China, not the U.S., not anyone.”
‘Good v Evil’
Premadasa’s team sees the election as a turning point for Sri Lanka’s future, although they have some work to do to convince the general public.
The fact that he’s the candidate, and not Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, shows just how little faith citizens have in the current administration. Whatever advances the government made on political reforms during their four-year rule have been overshadowed by their inability to tackle corruption and the significant security failures that led to the Easter bombings.
Whether we win or lose, this is about right versus wrong, about good versus evil,” said Harsha de Silva, Minister for Economic Reforms in the current government. This is about exclusion versus inclusion. It’s about whether this country will be sustained or not.”
De Silva acknowledged voters were angry with the government over corruption despite moves to make peace within communities fractured by war and ensuring land was returned to Tamil minorities. Premadasa plans to focus on reducing import duties, reforming taxes and state-owned enterprises, and opening up the economy for foreign investment.
We have to be like Singapore, we have to be like Dubai,” De Silva said in an interview in his office in Colombo.
Minority Vote
To win, Premadasa will need the support of the minority Tamil and Muslim populations that together form about 25% of the country’s population. For the country’s Tamil minority at least, a lot rides on Premadasa’s success.
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, who leads the Tamil National Alliance, has been critical of the government, particularly the security failures around the Easter attacks. But it’s the return of a Rajapaksa-led administration that worries him most.
They have been dictatorial, they have not respected other government institutions like the legislature and the judiciary,” Sampanthan said from his modest bungalow in the north eastern town of Trincomalee. It is a one-man show, and a one-family show.”
The new government must work on a durable political solution to give Tamil people adequate powers in the areas they have historically lived, he said, adding: They need a sense of belonging to this country.”
And the 86-year-old doesn’t think that’s possible under a Rajapaksa government.
This country has no future unless this problem is resolved,” he said. Nobody will want to invest in this country. We are deep in debt with no way out — we need a new vision.”
–With assistance from Asantha Sirimanne.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ruth Pollard in Colombo at rpollard2@bloomberg.net;Anusha Ondaatjie in Colombo at anushao@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Muneeza Naqvi
In an open letter, Shramantha Jude Jayamaha, who was convicted over the Royal Park murder and released on a presidential pardon recently, requested society to give him another chance.
I ask for your understanding, because that is the kind of country we live in – where there is hope for even the worst criminal and mercy and forgiveness is a way of life. Please give me another chance,” he said.
In a lengthy letter, Mr. Jayamaha elaborated on his story, his family background, the murder, conviction, prison life and the pardon.
He said he has no adequate words to express his grief towards what has come upon the Johnson family and said he was so ashamed for what has happened.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (13) said his vision is to give priority to national security.
“We had a good security plan. But, this Cabinet of Ministers didn’t bother about national security and made plans to send war heroes to international Courts.
He was speaking at the final SLPP public rally held in Homagama. Rajapaksa added, “Those who worked to eradicate drugs and the underworld were arrested. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) provided a great service. But this Government misused them for politics.
That is why the Government did not listen to them. We will ensure national security. I will ensure your and your children’s safety.”
“We faced a lot of troubles during the past four years. This government did everything possible to block my candidacy. The United National Party (UNP) will sling mud at me during the next two days, too. The UNP will try to deceive you. Don’t believe them. Our victory is definite. Don’t harm anyone.
I will establish a clean, good governance. We have a good vision to develop the economy. This Government did not develop any local industry. All these industries have collapsed. This Government started the re-export process, and that caused a huge damage. We should protect these industries. We got the best price for Ceylon tea. Now we don’t receive that income.
Local businessmen and industries have collapsed. We will protect them. The taxes are too much and the people can’t pay them. We will make a simple tax system. We will increase investments and develop the country. Tourism industry has also collapsed. As a Government, we should intervene and the facilities should be increased. Our aim is to attract seven million tourists and earn USD 10 billion; we will make it happen.”
The SLPP Presidential candidate further said that since Asian countries widely use technology, it is a good opportunity for Sri Lanka. “We will develop the IT industry, and train the youth and make job opportunities,” he added.
Rajapaksa went on to say, “An effective education system is necessary. Today’s education system is exam-centric. It should be student-centric. We will develop universities, and create new programmes. We should establish more technical colleges. All those who pass the Advanced Level exam will be able to enter a university. We need a workforce of 300,000.
We will do it. That’s what a government should do. All sectors will be developed under a clear programme. All those plans are practical. I promise to do everything mentioned in my manifesto during my term in office. I did everything as promised.”
“I ended the war. I developed Colombo and other cities. I will fulfil my responsibilities. Trust me; do your job, I will do mine,” he emphasised.
Mohan K Tikku Courtesy The Asian Age