Maithripala Sirisena Could Learn From Kerry

By Hema Senanayake - December 10, 2014

Hema Senanayake

The words and the way words are spoken are the operational vehicles of inspiration. In order to win, the leader should be inspirational. This is the only way how the leader can build his image to which voters respond. In an election it is the voter response that will make one win. I learnt this lesson from an article published by Professor Stanly Fish of the University of Illinois.

John Kerry was supposed to win but lost to George W. Bush in the presidential race of 2004. During the presidential campaign Professor Stanly Fish at the University of Illinois at Chicago made a seemingly simple point and hinted that Kerry might be defeated. He came to this conclusion after his students of freshman class submitted their judgments after listened to two recorded speeches of Bush and Kerry. Professor Stanly made the students to listen to them studiously. Students’ comments in regard to Kerry’s speech are interesting. Some commented; “difficult to understand,” “can’t seem to make his point clearly,” “I’m not sure what he’s saying,” and “he’s kind of ‘skippy’, all over the place.” Kerry was to be known for his oratory. But orators do make mistakes sometimes.Read More

Ranil- Man Of The Year!

By P.Bertie Ranaweerage -December 10, 2014 

Bertie Ranaweerage

I was sacked by the UNP government whose Minister of Education was Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe, for giving leadership to  the teacher trainees in Teacher Training colleges in the general strike in 1980. For over three years I had to undergo a plenty of hardships. Some fifty strikers committed suicide . I have never voted for the UNP  and never will. Yet I decided to write about Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the UNP, not to attack him but to appreciate him.

All the good people of this country had been searching for a good man or a woman as a common candidate to send MR and his cabal home untilMaitri’s great renunciation. I also took part in that noble endeavour by numerous ways including writing to Colombo Telegraph from time to time. In fact I tried to promote the former President CBK as she was for national reconciliation through power sharing. I knew very well, as many others, that Ranil would not be able to defeat Mahinda as the UNP was thoroughly disorganized, demoralized and split. And it looked like at that time that Ranil was not interested in contesting the Presidential Election.

Many thought that Venerable Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera would contest the Presidential election against Mahinda as he had started a campaign against the executive presidential system but many doubted his ability to defeat Mahinda. Being a Buddhist monk he was unlikely to be voted by non Buddhists  as well as the Tamils and the Muslims.Read More