Herman Moved To Matara Prison Hospital
October 26, 2013 |
Presidential confidant Herman Guneratne, has been moved to the Matara Prison Hospital from the Merchant Ward of the Colombo National Hospital where he has spending his time in ‘remand’ since the UNP’s factional clashes on October 5.
Guneratne was arrested by Matara Police on 5 October after he used a personal weapon to shoot at pro-Ranil protestors during the clashes.
Herman
Several people including an army soldier was injured when Guneratne fired his weapon into the crowd. He is the only person in the crowd thus far that was holding a firearm during the violence.
Herman Guneratne is the father of expelled UNP reformist and Southern Provincial Councillor Maithri Guneratne who organised the “peaceful march” calling for the oust of the UNP Leader from Matara that led to the clashes.
Herman Guneratne was remanded by the Matara magistrate and asked to return to court on 7th and 21st of October but he was absent, having gotten himself moved to the Merchant Ward in Colombo.
It is expected that he will present himself before the Matara Magistrate and the Matara High Court. He is believed to have obtained a medical certificate claiming he needs to seek medical treatment in a facility in Singapore which may be presented to the Courts for injuries he sustained during the October 5 clashes.
Herman Guneratne is reported to be a close associate of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Obliterating Party Lines And Mahinda-litics
Rasika Jayakody
Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri says political parties in Sri Lanka are obliterating. Instead, he says, there are new centres of power. The SLFP, for instance, is no longer functional. The UPFA, formed just 9 years ago, has replaced the grand old party. Mahinda Rajapaksa, leader of the UPFA, has transcended the party and the ruling coalition has been dwarfed by just one man.
What Nirmal Ranjith presents is an interesting point of view to the present political equation. He made these remarks in an interview with a Sinhala weekend newspaper last week, sharing his viewpoints on the present internecine battle of the United National Party. What he suggests is that a mere leadership change will not resolve the UNP’s internal crisis as the problem is much bigger than that. Be that as it may, the obliteration of boundaries of traditional political parties in Sri Lanka is evident in many of the day-to-day occurrences we come across in the political sphere.
Dayasiri Jayasekera, a strong critique of the government until August this year crossed over to the ruling party at the eleventh hour and contested the North Western Provincial Council election. He obtained more than 330000 preferential and topped the list with a resounding margin. Nearly two months after his cross over, he took oaths as the new Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council, representing the party which came under his trenchant criticism when he was an opposition parliamentarian. Within 60 days, there was a 180 degree change in Dayasiri’s politics as far as the public is concerned. But still he is a conqueror. Strange! Read More
