Trouble at monks’ meeting to promote Gota as next PM

Thursday, 17 July 2014 

A meeting of monks organized with the dishonourable objective of getting defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa appointed as the prime minister in order to resolve the internal crisis faced by the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime has been a total failure.

This meeting took place at the Defence Ministry on June 14, with only 45 monks in participation. The defence secretary had expected total support from them, but unexpectedly, most of the monks present have begun criticizing the government. With the defence secretary failing to take the meeting towards his objective, the gathering dispersed without taking any decision.

Meanwhile, Medagoda Abhayatissa Thera of Sunetradevi Pirivena in Pepiliyana had been handed over the task of organizing another major meeting of monks. But, the Thera is reluctant to go ahead with the plan, which has made the defence secretary worried.

Electioneering to be handed over to Nil Balakaya, Army & homeguards

Thursday, 17 July 2014 

Scenting that leading SLFP figures are going to stay away from campaigning at the presidential elections, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers have decided to use Namal Rajapaksa’s Nil Balakaya, the Army and the Home Guards for the purpose.

Towards that, Nil Balakaya is holding its training camps at every district. University lecturer Dhamma Dissanayake is in charge of the training. Such camps have already taken place in several districts.

Participants are promised government jobs after the election under a so-called 300,000 job generation programme.

The military itself has pointed out that using the Army will not be much of a success in electioneering, as the average soldiers are disillusioned with the government. A top official of the government has told the president that from the military, only the Home Guards from certain districts can be lured into joining the campaign work.