{"id":95299,"date":"2019-11-17T19:41:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T01:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95299"},"modified":"2019-11-17T09:06:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-17T16:06:15","slug":"message-that-sri-lankas-president-gotabaya-rajapakse-must-convey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/17\/message-that-sri-lankas-president-gotabaya-rajapakse-must-convey\/","title":{"rendered":"Message that Sri Lanka\u2019s President Gotabaya Rajapakse must convey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sri\nLanka re-reversed a regime change orchestrated in January 2015 which spiraled\nSri Lanka towards a wave of catastrophic changes unbeknown to most, outcomes\nwhich will be felt only as the new administration now takes over. The election\nis one that will enter history books for several reasons and resonates the\nresilience of a proud nation grappling to preserve their history and heritage\nprotecting the islands every inch of turf. As we enter the closure of 2019 and\nlook ahead to 2020 it has a lot of promise in store but there are some factors\nthat needs to be laid out openly and some messages that need to get drilled\ninto the minds of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gotabaya\nRajapakse has become the 7th<\/sup> President of Sri Lanka and will be\ntaking oaths on 18 November, the birthday of his elder brother Mahinda\nRajapakse in Anuradhapura \u2013 the first citadel of Sri Lanka & where sacred\nSri Maha Bodhi is enshrined. The two brothers will enter history books. Poland\nhad twin brothers who were both President & Prime Minister! Mahinda\nRajapakse served as President, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and likely to\nbe Prime Minister again all in a space of 5 years! Without a doubt they will be\nenvied by many which sadly stands out as reason for most of the ill-feelings\ntowards the Rajapakses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nhas the Rajapakse\u2019s received the wrath of many? For the West it is obviously\nthe elimination of their pet LTTE on which West was riding to exert influence\nover Sri Lanka politically and economically. The co-partners UN\/NGO nexus with\ntheir local stooges played a pivotal role in driving a steady anti-Rajapakse\nwave that ignored its development and post-2009 programs to divert attention\nagainst Rajapakse, though within camp, too, they had numerous shortcomings\nwhich should have been immediately addressed. These in fact became golden\nopportunities used during the regime change campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNP\njust blew the chance it was given with a string of corruptions, mismanagement\nand treacheries some of which are unforgiveable. The manner they have allowed\npublic sector personnel to be a law unto themselves is unacceptable. Today some\nof these treacherous secretaries who have helped sign treacherous bilateral agreements\nhave fled the nation while others have helped tweak the law to the advantage of\nthe enemies. These treacheries now need to be investigated and culprits duly\nserved justice. Their crimes are no small ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nhave seen a very significant campaign unfolding. The outgoing President left on\na controversial note surrounding a prison pardoning. The UNP without fielding\nits own candidate once more opted to field a candidate under the infamous swan\nsymbol. It placed its trust in a plethora of parties and individuals that were\nthe team that brought the outgoing President to power. That victory came with\nthe same minority bloc vote while also breaking the Sinhala vote and winning a\nbonus in anti-Rajapakse votes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nSLPP candidate was finally named Gotabaya Rajapakse whose candidature was more\nof a problem to the competition than those proposing to vote for him. Gotabaya\nwas a victim of political\/diplomatic\/NGO victimization via courts both in Sri\nLanka & overseas with a $ funded campaign that did not stop at anything to\ntarnish his image and raise doubts about his candidacy via an unbelievable fake\nnews campaign that even made a joke out of the US State Dept by changing the\nspokespersons dress and dubbing her and no action from US raises eyebrows as to\nwhether they were aware of it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nMCC agreement together with the exposure on the immunities that were to be\ngiven to ACSA and SOFA & US Peace Corps raised alarm bells among the\nnationalists as to what would become of Sri Lanka & the Asian region if it\nbecomes the base for military maneuvers and manipulations which Sri Lanka\nwished to play no role in antagonizing its traditional friends. The Maha Sangha\nand nationalist organizations played a pivotal role in carrying the message to\nthe masses that made the majority realize that the election required them to\nrise to defend the sovereignty & territorial integrity of the nation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nSajith campaigning meant solidifying the UNP bloc vote and garnering as many\nbloc vote via the minority leaders who were all part of the UNP team. The\ncampaign did not require any national policies for it was only meant to appeal\nto and satisfy the bloc votes. The assurance of TNA\u2019s 13 demands was always a\nquestion that many watched to see how far Tamils aligned to TNA separatism and Muslims\nto Muslim fundamentalism. The voter map sadly established that answer. The\nresult destroyed 2 myths \u2013 May 2009 showed that the War\u201d can be won and\nNovember 2019 election victory showed elections can be won without North East\nvotes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can we make out of the North &\nEast votes? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethno-religious\npolitical parties has become a bane and divider of people. The people are\nmisled by these leaders who use minorities as their pawns for personal\nbargaining for themselves. However, the elders cannot destroy the youth by them\nshouldering divisive politics and separatist notions brainwashed into their\nminds by their political leaders. Gotabaya Rajapakse\u2019s political campaign will\ngo down as one of the cleanest with no posters and encouraging tree planting as\nwell as drawing youth into a future of hope. He stuck to policy and explaining\nhow policy will be implemented. There was no character assassinations or\nmudslinging on his stages except to alert people of impending dangers to the\nNation & its people. The Youth in particular were promised a better and\nbrighter future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nTamil & Muslim youth cannot be disassociated from these programs by their\nelders nursing separatism & fundamentalism. Therefore, the new government\nmust adopt new methods to embrace the youth and children to integrate and leave\nthe separatist elders to take their hatred and revenge to their grave. The\nyouth deserve far more than hatred to be passed from their elders. These are\nlong term efforts but worth every effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India\nwas one of the first to extend congratulatory message to the new President. It\nis to India\u2019s own advantage that they develop genuine and non-bullying methods\nof diplomatic relations in realizing the threat to peace with West entering\nAsia\u2019s shore. The Indian Ocean Rim as a Zone of Peace is something that India\nneeds to work with Sri Lanka on and ensure Sri Lanka does not end up another\nMiddle East or Africa. Asia\u2019s future is development not wars and India must\nrealize that this is a priority that requires a trilateral approach with\nIndia-Sri Lanka & China\u2019s inclusive diplomacy. Russia must also play a\npivotal role. The world should no longer be a militarized zone but one with\nshared development dividends for mutual benefit. No country can force Sri Lanka\nto disassociate with countries that have been Sri Lanka\u2019s friend in times of\nneed both in the past & present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nWest will no doubt re-strategize and return to the UN to again bring in\ntremendous pressure upon Sri Lanka using their usual chorus of \u2018war crimes\u2019 \u2018human\nrights\u2019 \u2018law & order\u2019 state of democracy vocabulary. This is where Sri\nLanka needs to place patriotic diplomats to handle Sri Lanka\u2019s diplomacy to Sri\nLanka\u2019s advantage on international platforms and not have representatives working\nfor the enemy. We do not need any more PrasadK\u2019s in foreign service. A shake up\nof the foreign ministry is a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GR\nhas a vision and we saw that from his work as Defense Secretary but a single\nman cannot rebuild a nation \u2013 it is a clarion call for all citizens to step\nforward as citizens disassociating from petty party politics. From the results\nin key pro-UNP belts it is clear that they had put country first and that is a very\nnoteworthy sign that people can change thinking of the country and it should\ngive hope to minorities too that they need not live wearing the mask of a minority\nwith the mindset that they are marginalized but instead think of becoming a\nstakeholder and partner in development & sustainability. People have been\nvictims of mind conditioning \u2013 to make demands alone without asking what they\nhave contributed to society and the nation to make demands \u2013 what they have\nreciprocated to make unfair demands. It is time they should pose these questions\nto themselves. Reconciliation is no one way street \u2013 without reciprocity and\nwithout duty it does not hold water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nacademics \u2013 professionals, public & private sector will play a major role\nin the future. Let 2020 begin with a set of goals that look forward to\nrebuilding the nation with hope \u2013 with prosperity where new programs will leverage\nevery level of society a level above what they were. The drastic and dangerous\nlegislative changes made by politicians and public officials need to all be\nrevisited and corrected as an immediate action. Any new changes must come with\nopen discourse to ensure that the interests of the country and people and\nfuture generations come first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nmust also mention the nationalists that have always stood as pillars and\nguardians of Mother Lanka. They have known when dangers loom and come forward\nto alert and avert the dangers. If not for their silent and vocal contribution\nthe President would not have got close to 7million votes \u2013 a first for any\nPresident contesting an election and a first for a non-politician to obtain. The\nvolunteers and expats who arrived to vote for the first time on behalf of their\nbirth home deserve much gratitude. No paid campaign could have matched how they\ncontributed to this victory \u2013 so many unsung heroes and heroines cannot be made\nbut they did a major contribution to this victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka must streamline the national security first \u2013 shortcomings, negligence,\nand disregard for national security enabled innocent people to die while\nallowing fundamentalisms to take shape. These must be nipped in the bud as we\ndo not wish to walk into another 30 years of death and destruction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabaya\nRajapakse extended the leaf of peace to all and it is those that rejected who\nmust now come forward and attempt to retake that leaf of peace with good\nintention as Gotabaya Rajapakse is after all the President of all. The\nminorities must learn to live in an inclusive society and it is good to rethink\nhow they have voted. The result showcased where the extremism lay and that is\nnot healthy for the Youth and it is the Youth that matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nGotabaya Rajapakse, we have a straight forward leader \u2013 therefore the citizens\nmust also lean to bat straight. The floating voters and youth vote realized\nthis and made their voice clear. Mudslinging has a short life span and people\nrealized that they needed a future of policies and not character assassinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The divine powers have\nalways guarded this nation and this time Sri Lanka has been very fortunate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To everyone planning to gang\nup again and torment the new leadership \u2013 our kind appeal to you, please leave\nthis nation to breath a bit, allow us the solace to rethink how Sri Lanka\nshould progress, we have not harmed any nation or its security and we never\nwill, all that we ask from the world is to leave us alone to gather our broken\npieces and put it all together on our terms and sort out our differences\namongst us and by us because like in any home, only we know how to put the\npuzzle back together again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please give us a little room and non-interference into our internal affairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sri Lanka re-reversed a regime change orchestrated in January 2015 which spiraled Sri Lanka towards a wave of catastrophic changes unbeknown to most, outcomes which will be felt only as the new administration now takes over. The election is one that will enter history books for several reasons and resonates the resilience of a proud […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}