Memories of Prageeth Ekneligoda

அலரி மாளிகைக்கு முன்னால் தேங்காய் உடைத்த ஊடகவியலாளர் பிரகீத் எக்நேலியகொடவின் மனைவி!

by Dayapala Thiranagama-- on 01/27/2015

 And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones…. Is it not crystal clear, comrades that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of the human beings?  George Orwell, Animal Farm, (p.5).
Memories of Prageeth Ekneligoda by Thavam Ratna

In Defence Of ‘The Right To Say’

By Ayathuray Rajasingam -January 27, 2015

Ayathuray Rajasingam

The series of attacks launched by the Islamist terrorists throughout the world sends the message of the denial of the ‘Right to say’ about the freedom enjoyed in democratic countries. It spreads like a cancer and a challenge thrown to the freedom of expression. Upon scrutinizing the motive of the Jihadists it is obvious that they are a bunch of hypocrites which the moderate Islamists should not fail to condemn such uncivilized activities.

European democratic countries have a remarkable history on the achievement of democracy after the period of Renaissance. Prior to the period of Renaissance, all religions were tainted with blood – killing in the name of God – on account of ignorance. Even in Asia there were religious wars. However with the passage of time, all religions accepted the concept of democracy as it assured the freedom to embrace a faith of one’s choice. Religion is a personal affair and a secondary matter. Freedom of expression places a moral obligation on the Clerics not to blend religion with politics.

The conflict between the concept of ‘Right to say’ and some versions in the Quran such as ‘whosoever join the crusade against Islam, will be protected from hellfire and enjoy eternal bliss’ poses number of issues. These slogans are misleading and amount to emotional blackmailing which in turn has the force of driving the young Islamists to join the terrorist organizations such as the ISIS, etc, who are unaware of their fate. Every Religion asserts that God is great, which assertion is not confined to Islam alone. But other religions do not resort to emotional blackmailing. It is time that the radical Islamists realize that they should not create painful situations and create tension and conflict.Read More

Unemployed graduates protest in Batticaloa 26 January 2015 Unemployed graduates in Batticaloa protested on Monday, calling on the new Sri Lankan government to ensure more professional jobs, reports BattiNews.  Holding placards with photographs of the new president, Maithripala Sirisena, the new prime minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, as well as Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former president and close ally of the current one, the graduates questioned why they were still without jobs.  Earlier this month, unemployed graduates in the Jaffna district also protested, calling on the Northern Provincial Council to do more to secure them with professional jobs.

Mammoth demonstrations from 28 th until CJ is ousted ! over 50 organizations join in for good governance

(Lanka-e-News-26.jan.2015, 11.50PM) Like how the erstwhile Rajapakse regime which was pillaging the rights of the people and the country’s assets while staying in the Temple Trees and leading a most luxurious life at the expense of public and treasury funds were thrown out lock , stock and barrel recently , now 50 organizations including trade unions , civil organizations and the lawyers united this evening and decided to launch an uninterrupted struggle to chase out the chief justice (cheat justice ) Mohan Pieris CJ , who has by now earned the disrepute as the most shameless CJ ever to (dis)grace the bench in the Sri Lanka ‘s judicial history .

Like the deposed MaRa this decomposed MoRa (black coated shark) aided and abetted the former in all the crimes and attempted treason against the country , which fact is well and widely known not only among the legal circles but among the entire nation going by his most ignominious conduct all along ,and specially after the defeat of MaRa at the recent elections ,betraying the profession and the country wholesale , in order to prop and prod the Rajapakses to continue in power illegally after being defeated on people’s votes .

The uninterrupted protest campaign against this cheat justice Mohan Peiris is scheduled to commence on the 28 th at 8.30 a.m. at Hultsdorf , Colombo , from in and around the supreme court complex . All these organizations have decided to continue their demonstrations to halt the cheat justice Mohan Peiris alias Pachoris (accomplished liar) from entering the supreme court (SC) , and until he resigns his post before further contaminating the judicial atmosphere .

The organizations have also bitterly resented and rejected the attempts made by CJ’s friend Tilak Marapone who sought to get this cheat justice (CJ) Peiris a foreign envoy post via Ranil Wickremesinghe , as well as the CJ’s meeting with the Mahanayakes ,as deserving of absolute condemnation.

To a heroic nation craving for good governance, and which ousted wholesale the so called ‘high and mighty’ Medamulana Rajapakses who were ruling most arrogantly and despotically using all the three forces , all the media , and colossal funds (illicit) for their support , booting out this chief justice (cheat justice) who is an obstacle to the very judicial Institutions of which he is an intimate and integral part , as well as to the enforcement of rule of law and the sacrosanct judiciary , is no big task . To the people who had the strength , commitment and will to chase away the brutal and barbaric Goliaths , kicking out this Lilliputian is as simple as batting an eyelid.

Good governance does not follow automatically just because the votes were cast on the 8 th of January. The people’s active support is imperative if that is to be achieved. Tomorrow , discussions are to be held in order to muster the support of the political parties towards this end.

All the organizations are jointly urging everyone to rally round them to chase out this chief justice who is now a byword for criminal injustice . For the sake of restoration of justice and legal norms in this country the organizations are therefore requesting every single party ,its supporters , organizers and people to tuck their lunch packets under their arms and come in their thousands casting away all differences of political hues , caste ,race and religion ,and join in this mammoth struggle commencing 28 th , Wednesday.

All inquiries :

on behalf of the organizing committee will be answered by

Lawyer Lakshan Dias -phone 075 711 9417

Brito Fernando – phone 077 109 2921

Josef Stalin - phone 077 311 2541

The President’s Faux Pas

By Sharmini Serasinghe -January 27, 2015

Sharmini Serasinghe

No leader of a multi religious society, can afford the luxury of being seen practicing his religion, in the full glare of the public!

The President of this country is a representative of all its people; Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Therefore, such a President cannot be seen favoring one faith, even though it is his own. If he must, then he ought to pay equal obeisance to other religions as well. After all, he is the leader of all of us, not just the Buddhists of Sri Lanka.

Hence, it is with deep despair, that I as a Buddhist noted, you PresidentMaithripala Sirisena, paying homage to a Bo tree, even though it is venerated by a majority of the Buddhist populace of this country.

Furthermore, by paying homage to a Bo tree, you Mr. President are also openly violating the teachings of the Buddha, who denounced the worship of objects!

Many would argue that such, are harmless cultural practices. But, nevertheless, such practices are associated with Buddhism, and the leader of this multi religious nation, cannot afford to be associated with one set of cultural/religious practices and not the other.

There are many of us who regard our respective faiths as a very private matter, and to exhibit it in public is in poor taste. Unfortunately this ‘culture’ will not take root in a country like ours, as long as our elected leaders such as you Mr. President don’t give leadership to it.

Furthermore, by publicly paying obeisance to a Bo tree; a symbol of Buddhism, you Mr. President are rubbing salt into raw wounds of the minorities, caused by the maniacal Bodu Bala Sena (BBS).

It is yet not too late, for you Mr. President Sirisena to take a cue from former Presidents JR Jayewardene, Chandrika Kumaratunga, and your Prime Minster Ranil Wickremesinghe, and keep religion where it belongs, and governance of the country, as further away from it as possible.

Those of us who voted you in, would much rather see you spend your time fruitfully; putting the country back on track, instead of worshipping trees.

*Sharmini Serasinghe was Director Communications of the former Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) under Secretary Generals Dr. John Gooneratne and Jayantha Dhanapala. She counts over thirty years in journalism, both print and electronic media.

The Lives The Weerawansas Enjoy!

By Nirmala Kannangara

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Controversy surrounds over how an owner of a small telecommunication centre became a millionaire within a short span of six years. Complaints have been lodged recently with the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption against the leader of the National Freedom Front and former Minister of Housing and Construction Wimal Weerawansa.

The Lives the Weerawansas Enjoy by Thavam Ratna

The Mighty Fall Of Rajapaksas

Hariharan's Intelligence blog

Written on January 14, 2015
Power is a heady drug and can make one feel invincible. As Lanka’s former president alienated his own party and minorities with strong-arm tactics, the electorate handed him a defeat he least expected

By Col R Hariharan | INDIA LEGAL January 31, 2015 |GLOBAL TRENDS| Sri Lanka polls

THE recently concluded Sri Lankan presidential elections belied President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s confidence as he was beaten by Maithripala Sirisena, former health minister and a long- term colleague of his. People seem to have preferred “unknown angel” Sirisena to “known devil” Rajapaksa, as he described himself in an election rally.

The Mighty Fall Of Rajapaksas.odt by Thavam Ratna

Proposal For Second Chamber With GGP’s 50:50 Formula

By Sumanasiri Liyanage -January 27, 2015 |

Sumanasiri Liyanage

Since the successful execution of 100 days program of PresidentMaithripala Sirisena is key to the future of his strategy for a national government, it is instructive to redo it through the reflection of the aspirations and hopes as they were expressed by the people at the election. Of course different peoples have had different expectations and hopes. At least their priorities may be different. The interests of the urban middle class when they voted at the last election might have been democracy and good governance. Almost all might have been despised bribery and corruption. However, numerically small nations would have seen election as a space of raising the issue of security and protecting their identity. It seems the government is now working on bringing in 19th Amendment to the Constitution by repealing the infamous 18th Amendment that negated independent commission set up by the 17th Amendment. Also it allowed president to hold office more than twice. We still do not know for sure what would be included in the 19th Amendment, but it seems it will be in line with the proposal submitted by Rev Athuraliya Rathana, MP and his pivithuru lowak movement. As the 100 days program was careful in even mentioning the national question, the issue may not be specifically be addressed in the 19th Amendment.

G. G. Ponnambalam

In my opinion, there is a main drawback in the pre- as well as post- election democracy discourse in Sri Lanka. Mr Sumanthiran, a TNA leader was reported to have said that the reestablishment of democracy in general will help the numerically small nations in general and Tamils in particular. I do not contest that, but the establishment of democracy in general is not adequate for the resolution of the specific democratic issues of the numerically small nations. It is instructive to note that general democracy prevailed in the first two decades after independence, but democracy of numerically small nations, particularly of Tamils were curtailed in the same period later leading to an armed conflict. Both Lenin and Trotsky defining democracy in broad historical terms suggested three main tasks of democratic transformation, namely (1) democratization of the state; (2) national integration that include self-determination of oppressed nations; and (3) resolution of the agrarian question, i.e, abolishing feudal and pre-capitalist remnants in the rural sector. Mr Sumanthiran and many others focused only on the first aspect of democratic transformation and their discussion was confined to its positive side effects on numerically smaller nations. My submission is that this limited version of democracy will not help in attaining democratic transition in Sri Lanka. The second and the third issues should be consciously addressed and incorporated in the struggle for democracy. I add. If we are rereading and enriching the 100 days program in the light of electoral experience, specific proposals on those issues should be included.

Read More

நாட்டில் இராணுவ சூழ்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்த முயற்சி; ராஜித சேனாரத்ன 

வடக்கில் இனவாதத்தை தூண்டி, மூன்று மாதங்களில் ஆட்சியை பிடிக்க இராணுவ சூழ்ச்சி ஒன்று முன்னெடுக்கப்பட்டு வருவதாக அமைச்சரவை பேச்சாளர் ராஜித சேனாரத்ன தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

 

எனக்கு செய்தி ஒன்று வந்துள்ளது. முன்னாள் பாதுகாப்பு செயலாளரின் நெருங்கிய நண்பரான பிரிகேடியர் ஒருவர் இராணுவ முகாம் ஒன்றில் 400 தொடக்கம் 5000 இராணுவத்தினருக்கு விசேட பயிற்சி அளிக்கிறார். அவர்களின் பெயர் என்வசம் உள்ளது. நான் அதனை ஒப்படைப்பேன். 

 

அந்த 400 பேரை வடக்கிற்கு அனுப்பி வடக்கில் இராணுவ முகாம்களுக்கு கல்வீச்சு நடத்தி தமிழ் மக்கள் கல் வீசுவதாக கதை சோடித்து இனவாதத்தை தூண்டி மூன்று மாதங்களில் ஆட்சியை கைப்பற்ற முயற்சிக்கின்றனர். 

 

எமக்கு இன்று இராணுவத்தில் இருந்து பொது மக்களிடம் இருந்து தகவல்கள் வருகின்றன. இந்த அரசை பாதுகாக்க முழு நாடும் ஒத்துழைப்பு வழங்கி வருகிறது. 

 

2000 வரையான ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டுக்கள் இதுவரை எமக்கு கிடைக்கப்பெற்றுள்ளன. பொது மக்களே அவற்றை வழங்குகின்றனர். ஹெலிக்கொப்டர் வைத்துள்ள பெண் அரசியல்வாதி குறித்தும் தகவல் கிடைத்துள்ளது என அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

 

 

அவரது கடவுச்சீட்டும் முடக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. தற்போதைய பாதுகாப்பு செயலாளர் குறித்து பாரிய பிரச்சினை எழுத்துள்ளதெனவும் அவர் முன்னாள் பாதுகாப்பு செயலாளரின் நெருங்கிய நண்பர் என்ற தகவல் வெளியாகியுள்ளது.

 

இது குறித்து விசாரணை நடைபெற்றுக் கொண்டிக்கும் போது ஊடகங்களுக்கு கருத்து தெரிவிக்க அவரால் முடியாது.

 

தற்போதைய பாதுகாப்பு செயலாளர் குறித்து அனேக முறைப்பாடுகள் வந்துள்ளது. அவற்றை ஜனாதிபதியின் கவனத்திற்கு கொண்டுவந்துள்ளதாக அவர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=150053835727629549#sthash.yktK9ARh.dpuf

Rajapaksas Attempted A Coup But Failed – Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe

 You said Chief Justice was present at Temple Trees and that his name was brought up in connection with the alleged coup. Could you tell a bit more about this situation?

27/01/2015 

He admitted to us that he was there. He said that he went to see the losing President. He couldn’t deny his presence there, because he met the Prime Minister also when he was at Temple Trees at around 4.45 in the morning.

Is there any more to elaborate on this widely speculated coup?

Certainly, regarding the coup, before the election we furnished material to the Elections Commissioner, you can get details. We gave an entire plan of the coup where they decided to open over 400 temporary camps, and according to my recollection also about 20 barricades in Colombo just after 12.00 midnight. They had named some retired forces officials to be in-charge of the areas, including the areas in which the persons in service were stationed. Therefore we knew they are going ahead with the coup. That was averted due to these reasons; firstly, since we complained in advance to the Elections Commissioner and he took immediate steps to issue the appropriate directions to the forces and the Police, including the Defence Secretary. Secondly, I requested for the agents of the candidates to be accommodated at his office on the night of the election when the results were being released and he did so.

Thirdly, and most importantly, he issued a serious warning that changed the entire history of this country. He said not to shoot the violators below their knees, but rather to shoot them on their heads. These few words are historical that protected the democracy, and even though he may not have had a legal basis for saying it, he still said it and that showed the people how serious he was. The idea was for the restoration of democracy and for that purpose of this solitary sentence by the EC is like another Magna Carta, which restored the democracy.

The whole political history of our country was changed. This was a jab to all the loyal supporters of the then regime who were holding high posts in the forces and the Police. Fourthly, the Opposition Leader gave a stern warning. If the Police or the forces do anything illegal, we will take serious action against them and they will have to pay the heavy price for it. And finally, while the coup attempt was being hatched, and to our knowledge, about two or three senior politicians who alarmed and warned the President about the danger of going ahead with the coup.

There is no conclusion they did, it is still open and the presumption of innocence prevails. The CID and the AG are going ahead with the inquiry. So we won’t go to interfere with that, we will let them come to an independent finding.

The alternative story given by the previous Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is, that it was merely a curfew they were trying to impose to avoid a possible riot resulting from the unprecedented Rajapaksa loss.

Wijedasa Rajapaksa

No. It is false, it is completely false. They themselves are the very people who are responsible for all the tension, unrest and division in the country. So long before the election they had created a situation where there could be riots. But in 1994, when Chandrika Bandaranaike became the President, she changed the political culture and said that all the organizers after 4 ‘O clock after the ballot boxes were sealed, must convert all your SLFP branches into a Peace Council and if an incident happened that the organizer would be made responsible and punished. This time also the President and the Prime Minister asked all the organizers to follow the same. And categorically the EC also pointed out that no rallies, pageants or anything. People have passed that era and they will not be fooled by these stories.

Another thing he pointed out was that they would not have summoned the IGP and the AG there if they were going to stage a coup. What can you say to that?
What happened was that they attempted the coup, but failed and could not execute it. Then they have got the AG, this is the information and CJ to give further advice as to how he can remain for the balance two-year period. We didn’t make any allegations against the AG because he did an advisory role to the President, but the Head of State cannot get advice from the CJ. We have nothing against the IGP and the AG, but the forces were not necessary there. If it is to impose a curfew, you can do it through the Police, and only if there is a situation that the Police cannot handle, the forces should be called in. They know this better than anyone. Once it is declared, the system will come into operation.

What is happening at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

 

Tuesday, 27 January 2015 

Although Mangala Samaraweera assumed duties as the Foreign Affairs Minister of the new government his Ministry is still functioning as if G L Peiris is the Foreign Minister. Mr. Samaraweera has no control over the activities of Foreign Ministry. According to senior officials of the Foreign Service there are few main reasons behind this. Some of these reasons are as follows:

1. Minister Samaraweera instructed Foreign Ministry officials to put their acts together when he met them after his appointment as the Minister. But things are happening quite contrary to his expectations. Though Mrs. Chitrangani Wagiswara, the most honest officer of the foreign service ever to serve in the Ministry, appointed as the Secretary, no Additional Secretaries have been appointed so far to assist her. These additional secretary appointments are deliberately delayed by Additional Secretary Abeyratne Rathnayake, an SLAS Officer, and Director General of Overseas Administration (DG/OAD) Mr. Jauhar. Both these officials are very loyal officers of former Secretary Ms. Kshenuka Senevirathne. Their aim is to cripple smooth functioning of the Ministry to portray that both new Minister and the Secretary are incapable of handling the affairs of the Ministry.

2. Rathnayake is an extremely corrupt officer. He was brought to the Foreign Ministry by Rohitha Bogollagama and continues to swindle public funds. Rathnayake is earning huge commissions from all Ministry purchases, vehicle hiring etc. He has helped Sajin Vass Gunawardana to earn millions during CHOGM 2013 and he himself got millions from various transactions. Ministry insiders say that vehicles, computers and furniture bought for CHOGM 2013 cannot be found in the Ministry now. Innocent officials hope that at least under this Yahapalanaya a rogue like Rathnayake will be transferred out of the Ministry or report to the Bribery Commission. Ironically, Rathnayake is in charge of the general administration and financial control of the Foreign Ministry!

3. Jauhar is very loyal to Kshenuka Senevirathne and they got together in Geneva and did business with LTTE operators. These have been exposed by media and JVP did a lot of work for this exposure. So, Senevirathne wants Jauhar to continue as DG/OAD so that all her cases can be prevented from any investigation by the new administration. The position of DG/OAD is the most important position after Secretary at the Ministry. OAD, is responsible for all appointments in the Foreign Service. Though Minister Samaraweera ordered Jauhar to submit lists of all political appointees to Sri Lanka Embassies it has been purposely delayed by him to avoid exposure of corrupt deals of MR government. Jauhar is continuously giving appointments to people nominated by G L Peiris even after the election and appointment of the new Minister. One such appointment is the clerical posting given to Ms. Kanthi Jayakody to Dubai. Jayakody has served under Jauhar and has not passed the examination. But Jauhar has recommended this appointment to G L Peiris and G L has approved it. Jauhar, under instructions of Kshenuka Senevirathne continues to disrupt functions of the Ministry. The new Minister is unaware of all these activities.

4. Even though Minister Samaraweera has ordered a revamp of the Ministry no action is being taken by Rathnayake and Jauhar to implement Minister's instructions. The important divisions are manned by loyalists of the former government. No restructuring of internal divisions taken place so far. Persons like Majintha Jayasinghe still holding the key position of Chief of Protocol. He is a spy of the previous government and now getting ready to travel overseas with President Maithripala Sirisena. Jayasinghe together with Kshenuka Senevirathne and Mahishini Colonne taking every step to disrupt activities of the Ministry and the new Secretary. These three officers have formed an axis of evil in the Foreign Ministry.

5. Another serious issue is that the appointment of large number of so called Development Officers (DOs) to the Ministry by the last government. All of these officers are from Hambantota and are members of Nil Balakaya. They have been selected by Sajin Vass to spy on foreign service officers. These DOs are not conversant in English, do not have skills to work in the Foreign Ministry. So they have become liabilities but have been attached to very important divisions. Senior officers say that this group of DOs should be transferred out as a matter of priority.

It is no secret that Minister Samaraweera is a key player of the new government and is preoccupied with 100 day programme activities. In addition he needs to travel abroad which consumes a lot of time. So, he does not have much time to invest to look into functions of the Ministry. Therefore, it will be prudent for Minister Samaraweera to entrust his Deputy Mr. Ajith P Perera to supervise all activities of the Foreign Ministry. If this does not happen Minister Samaraweera will face serious difficulties in managing his Ministry in the future.

With Maithri, Ranil & Mangala – Real Change Should Occur For Tamils Too

By Usha S Sri-Skanda-Rajah -January 26, 2015 

Usha S Sri-Skanda-Rajah

Would Tamils be forced to play the ‘waiting game': Examining some legitimate questions and concerns that Tamils have about their future in the uncertain world of Sri Lankan politics that they are inexorably tied to.

Part 1

I would like to offer my congratulations to President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and External Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Co and wish them the very best towards restoring this island paradise, with a rich heritage, now known as Sri Lanka, to its original glory, where all its inhabitants, living there since pre-historic times and having their distinct traditional homelands in the island, are treated with equality, their distinct socio, political, cultural, ethnic and religious identities and rights preserved and furthered; where real change occurs for Tamils too; meaning the Tamil nation[1] is recognised as such and can govern itself, be it in a united and undivided country[2] – or otherwise.Read More

Army Commander Was Responsible For The Secret Deployment Of Troops – General Fonseka

[General Sarath Fonseka]-26/01/2015

According to the information we have, even before Election Day the Army Commander, under the instructions of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Chief of Defence Staff, had planned something fishy. They got down some 2000 extra troops to Colombo and planned to deploy them in Colombo. This was not carried out under instructions or due to a request made by the IGP or the Elections Commissioner. That means it was definitely done in violation of the law and order in the country. It was a secret, unwanted deployment and the masterminds of the plan had even gone to the lengths of appointing specific officials to specially handle this task.

We heard that if the election results were not going to be in favour of Mahinda Rajapaksa, their plan was to implement the same kind of action, which they did in 2010 that involved detaining the EC and changing the results. This time we heard that even at the very final moments, in the middle of the night, they had been scheming on how to remain in power for two more years without announcing the results.

From the Chinese point of view, it is eventually that they would want to keep some hold in Sri Lanka and control certain aspects in this country because they have invested so much money in this country. Whatever it is, if the Chinese submarines dock in Sri Lanka it would definitely ruffle the feathers of the Indian authorities and they would not agree with it

The former regime’s attempts are made clear from the irregular army deployment, which was definitely not done in the interest of the country’s security. Military deployment in that manner during an election day is unnecessary. This is indicative of a definite attempt to stage a coup but finally, since the results were going against them and due to the warnings issued by the international community to refrain from tampering with the results, they took a step back.
The army was in Colombo even for the next two days until the Army Commander was informed to pull them out of Colombo. CBK informed Secretary of Defence to pull the troops out. So obviously it was a conspiracy and nothing else and it was only prevented due to pressures by various quarters that they could not ignore. The Army Commander started feeling jittery and the IGP and the AG too had stood against the plan so the former President had no choice but to disagree.

The Army commander was definitely responsible for the secret deployment of troops. He can’t wash his hands off now. He and the Chief of Defence Staff have to take responsibility for that because they acted in violation of the election law. If you have tried to use the military against the election law, without the consent of the EC, you have definitely planned a military coup. Unlawful military deployment is a military coup.

They did not move additional troops to the Northern province but had given certain instructions to obstruct the voting process. They changed the security forces commander in the North before the election and had made plans together with some intelligence officers. We have the details and we shall reveal them at an inquiry in the near future. Together with the intelligence officers they were planning to intimidate the Tamil voters and prevent them from voting.

Mahinda refutes coup and corruption allegations, defends infrastructure costs

January 28, 2015

• Says A/C bathroom at Temple Trees with wide screen built for Commonwealth meeting
• Denies allegations against Shiranthi on gold scam

Defeated President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday issued a two-page denial of allegations that his Government and members of his family had been involved in corruption or plotting a coup, and strongly defended Chinese development projects undertaken during his tenure
In a letter addressed to religious leaders and the people of the country, President Rajapaksa said there was a “media blitz” to vilify him and mislead the public, rather than the following of established procedures to address allegations of wrongdoing.
“I wish to state my position on these matters so that the people will not be misled by this unprecedented campaign of vilification by interested parties.

President Rajapaksa said the accusation that he sought the Attorney General’s advice on how to remain in power illegally, was “an absurdity.”
“It is with deep regret that I state that I am not being allowed to spend my days in peace even after leaving office,” the former President said in his statement.
The air-conditioned with a TV and bathroom at Temple Trees had been refurbished for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2013, in accordance with what the ex-President said were “international specifications.”
“Images of the interior of Temple Trees have been disseminated with the insinuation that I and my family had led an extravagant lifestyle at state expense. Attention was focused on an air conditioned rest room with TV and attached bathroom,” he said in his statement.
“An exhibition and banquet for visiting heads of state were held there. Over the past decade all foreign dignitaries visiting Sri Lanka have been received at Temple Trees and the quality of the facilities available had to suit the purpose,” he explained in the statement.
The former leader said there was even an accusation that his wife had been involved in a scam trying to sell 100 kilos of gold belonging to no less an institution than the Treasury.
“Since the police have already responded to that ridiculous allegation, I do not wish to say anything further on that matter other than to point out that gold belonging to the treasury cannot be sold in that manner even by the Secretary to the Treasury leave alone the First Lady!” the statement said.
“Vehicles that even remotely resemble sports cars are being taken by the police from the houses of their owners in their search for Lamborghinis belonging to my sons. But no Lamborghinis were found. My property in Weeraketiya was raided in search of a seaplane,” the President said, claiming he was being harassed.
He said two containers of personal belongings of his family were examined by the police on suspicion of being items “stolen” from Temple Trees.
“These items were stored in containers because I had no place to go to in Colombo after vacating my official residence. They will remain in the containers until I receive the official residence due to a former president,” his statement said.
The former President whose administration is facing major corruption charges about its development projects claimed all the projects had been evaluated by Technical Evaluation Committees made up of “well qualified and reputed engineers.”
“The project is then evaluated by a Cabinet-appointed tender board which is made up of the most senior civil servants in the country. Every agreement signed with a foreign lending agency is vetted by the Attorney General and has to receive final approval from the Cabinet,” he claimed.
“If the cost of a project is to be artificially inflated as some have alleged, there will have to be collusion between all the relevant bodies of the Government, the international project consultants who design and supervise the project from start to finish, the contractor and the lending agency – a process involving scores of individuals and therefore virtually impossible,” the statement said.
President Rajapaksa said it was the Chinese-funded projects that have been singled out for criticism. “China is a country that has helped all Sri Lankan governments for over six decades. Like all international lending organisations the China Exim Bank also has procedures in place to ensure the integrity of their transactions. I wish to suggest to those concerned that this maligning of a friendly country that has helped us so generously over many decades should stop,” he charged.