Defection detractions and constitutional red herrings

by Rajan Philips-November 29, 2014,

Our political system is broken in a fundamental sense as a result of the dismantling of the time honoured procedures for periodically changing governments and for providing people with real alternative choices of government. Government changes and choices of government that are fundamental to democracy have been turned into a farce in Sri Lanka thanks to the operation of the executive presidential system, even if not necessarily due to the system itself. The farce has become the routine after 2010. There cannot be much disagreement about these contentions except among those who are either ignorant or are lying.

No one can attribute purity of purpose or honest intentions to the prematurely called presidential election for an illegitimately constitutional third term in office. The intended purpose of the January election has nothing to do with giving people genuine choices for changing government, but everything to do with going through the motions of an election while making sure there will be no change in government. Making sure meant causing disarray in the opposition, sponsoring proxy candidates to sabotage the search for a common candidate, and then state-rolling over a divided opposition to secure the coveted third term prize for family and country. That was the government plan.

Maithripala Sirisena’s defection and his becoming the Common Candidate of the Opposition is an unexpected and serious challenge to the government implementing its plan for continuous re-elections according to its original script. Objectively, the people will have a real election to vote and two winnable alternatives to choose from. That was not the case before Friday, 21 November 2014. Unsurprisingly, after the initial opposition euphoria, the government has been vigorously trying to regain lost ground. The government made it a point to show off its two-thirds support in parliament on the final budget vote last Monday, and made mockery of the 30 to 60 defections boasted by the Common Candidate sponsors.

I am not sure if anyone in the Opposition actually said that all the defections will take place before the budget vote. New defections from the government are more likely to occur, if at all, in daily or weekly trickles before the election rather than in one ‘flood swoop’ to bring down the government in parliament. On the other hand, there were predictions of counter-defections from the opposition to the government, but there has been none so far. And no one broke ranks from the opposition to vote with the government on the budget. That must mean something, that there is some sense in parliament that the political wind in the country is not necessarily blowing the government way. As well, there is the national wind, and there are also the local winds.

Blowing in the wind

Long before Bob Dylan composed his lyric reminding his friend that the answer is "blowin’ in the wind", Aristotle is said to have scientifically opined that female or male conception is determined by the direction of the wind blowing outside, during parental love making. Two thousand years later Bertrand Russell poked fun that Mrs. Aristotle must have been looking at the weather cock before going to bed with her philosopher husband. That is what the Sri Lankan government parliamentarians will be doing for the entire month of December and the first week in the New Year, watching which way the political wind is blowing in their parts of the country before deciding whether to stay with the devil they know or the devil that defected. Or, they can always play safe until the voting is over and make a mad rush from Mahinda to Maithri, through the President’s famous saloon doors, if Maithri were to win the election. As I wrote last week, it is still early days to make predictions. But we can see what is blowing in the wind, or, to change metaphors, what is cooking in the political kitchen.

The opposition seems to have got its directional compass right, but there seems to be plenty of confusion over which, or whose, road map to follow. There have been statements, retractions and restatements, by the Common Candidate himself and by practically everyone else in his camp, about abolishing the executive presidency in 100 days, keeping the executive presidency but removing its dictatorial powers, creating an executive prime minister (whatever that means), restoring the old cabinet form of government with the prime minister as the first among equals, making Ranil Wickremasinghe Prime Minister, calling Chandrika Kumaratunga, ‘Madam’, calling Ranil Wickremasinghe, ‘Sir’, and so on. An agreed upon road map and a Memorandum of Understanding (the new parchment of market economy politics) between the key opposition parties and groups are expected to be unveiled tomorrow under a roof, government willing, somewhere in Colombo. Otherwise, it is expected to be literally a road show. We will see.

The Rajapaksa loyalists outside parliament have pounced with glee on the Opposition’s confusions and contradictions, and even more gleefully on the two very public sponsors of the Common Candidate: Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremasinghe. However much the Rajapaksa loyalists may try to rewrite the terms of reference for the January election, the election ought to be and will be about the record of President Rajapaksa after his second term election in 2010, and not about what Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremasinghe did or did not do when they were President and Prime Minister, respectively, 10 years ago.

The arguments for voting against the Common Candidate are often qualified by the admission that the Rajapaksa government is not faultless, but on balance an assertive and performing Mahinda Rajapaksa is far more preferable to a docile and politically indebted Maithripala Sirisena. This is a strange argument coming from those who have always attributed the faults of the government not at all to the President, but exclusively to his insatiable family and his entourage of bad advisers. And they don’t even make a demand of the President that for the good of the government and the country the presidency must be ‘secularized’ from family bandying and that his bad advisers must be publicly sent packing. The future insurance, according to this argument, against the government’s systemic follies is to find a way to ‘contain’ the Rajapaksa presidency; or, as the Central Committee of the Communist Party in its dialectical wisdom opined: support the President’s re-election for a third term, and continue the fight for good government from within the UPFA for another 99 years, if not the end of time.

Perhaps the strangest argument against the Common Candidate is the constitutional argument. The commitment to abolishing the executive presidency and the promise to do so within a hundred days after the election seems to have disturbed the constitutional hackles of a few commentators. Political memories are not only short, but are also convenient. The current constitution began as a violation of every constitutional norm and convention known to Sri Lanka and has had its own terms consistently and thoroughly subverted and violated throughout its life. The principal victims have been democratic government and law and order in society. The opposition’s common candidacy is an opportunity to breakout of this constitutional logjam, and to suggest that the opposition’s position is constitutionally questionable is self-serving hypocrisy.

There is nothing sacrosanct about the executive presidency in the constitution, in that there is no requirement of a referendum for its abolition or a serious dilution of its powers. A two-thirds majority vote in parliament is all that is required. In his highhanded wisdom, JR Jayewardene prescribed the referendum requirement only for extending the single term of presidency beyond six years, but not for its abolition. Whether the opposition forces and the common candidate will be able to win the election and deliver on what they are promising remains to be seen. But we know what will be delivered by the current government if elected to third presidential term. Political commentary at least at this stage should not be about wagering who will win and arguing for the winning side; instead, it should be about making the right argument regardless of who will win.

SMS messages ban during last week of Presidential elections : Mangala exposes Rajapakse – China conspiracy

(Lanka-e-News- 29.Nov.2014, 11.20AM) It has come to light that the Rajapakse regime is hatching a conspiracy to impose a ban on sms (short message service) messages during the terminal period of the forthcoming Presidential elections , Mangala Samaraweera disclosed at a media briefing held last-day .

This revelation being made by no less a person than a former telecom and communication Minister Mangala Samaraweera , now a UNP M.P. is specially noteworthy.

The defense Ministry has had discussions with chiefs of the mobile phone service companies in this connection. It had been conspired to bar these exchange of sms messages by blaming on so called defects in the servers and technical operations, Samaraweera , the former telecom Minister further revealed.

Even communicating by sms is going to be blocked from 2 nd or 3 rd until the 8 th of January .To achieve this objective , a team of the Chinese government that has arrived is holding discussions with the Intelligence division with a view to de -activate these servers , Mangala Samaraweera warned.

Recently , a Sirasa program telecast was obstructed falsely citing the ground that is was due to a technical fault at the Dialog Company, Samaraweera pointed out. It has been confirmed by now that Hans Wijesuriya , the chief of Dialog Co. is not a businessman who can act independently and impartially. Hence , that obstruction of the Sirasa by Dialog Co. can be attributed to Hans Wijesuriya’s ‘technical’ (or mental ?) defect and not Company’s technical defect , Samaraweera noted.

புலம்பெயர் தமிழர்கள் அவதானத்துடன் செயற்பட வேண்டிய நேரம் : மனோ கணேசன்

 

2014-11-29 16:39:00 | Leftinraj

இந்நாடு இன்று ஒரு ஜனாதிபதி தேர்தலை சந்திக்க தயாராகிக் கொண்டிருக்கும் இந்த வேளையில் புலம் பெயர்ந்து வாழும் தமிழ் உடன்பிறப்புகளும் அவர்களது அமைப்புகளும் மிகவும் அவதானமாக செயற்பட வேண்டும். அவர்கள் மட்டுமல்ல உள்நாட்டிலே செயற்படும் தமிழ்த் தேசிய  சிந்தனையாளர்களும் மிகவும்  சாணக்கியத்துடன் பணியாற்றிட வேண்டுமென முன்னணியின் தலைமையகத்தில் நடைபெற்ற “இன்றைய அரசியல் நிலைமைகள்’ தொடர்பான ஜனநாயக இளைஞர் இணைய வாராந்த கலந்துரையாடலின் போது  ஜனநாயக மக்கள் முன்னணி தலைவர் மனோ கணேசன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இங்கு மனோ கணேசன் தொடர்ந்து கூறியதாவது;

இன்று நாங்கள் கத்தியின் மீது நடக்கின்றோம். நடக்கவும் வேண்டும். கால், கைகளை வெட்டிக்கொள்ளவும் கூடாது. இது கஷ்டமான காரியம்தான். இதிலுள்ள கஷ்டம் இந்த காரியத்தில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ள எங்களுக்கு தான் தெரியும். ஆனாலும் முன்னெடுத்த காலை பின் வைக்கும் பழக்கம் எனக்கு கிடையாது. இன்று நான் கஷ்டப்பட்டு உருவாக்கும் இந்த மேடையில் இந்த கஷ்டங்களில் பங்குபெறாதவர்கள் வந்து நாற்காலி போட்டு நாளை உட்காரலாம். அதுபற்றி காலம்தான் முடிவு செய்யும். ஆனால் நான் என்ன செய்கிறேன். அவர் என்ன செய்கிறார். இவர் என்ன  செய்கிறார் என மக்கள் பார்த்துக்கொண்டுதான் இருக்கிறார்கள். எனினும் இன்று நாங்கள் செய்துவரும் காரியங்களை அழித்து விடாதீர்கள் என உள்நாட்டிலும், வெளிநாட்டிலும் வாழும் அனைவரையும் கேட்டுக்கொள்கின்றேன்.

தமிழ், முஸ்லிம் மக்களின் மீதான ஒடுக்குமுறைக்கு எதிராக ஜனநாயக போராட்டங்களை நாங்கள் இன்று முன்னெடுக்கின்றோம். அதேவேளை தங்கள் பிரச்சினைகளை முன்வைத்து பெரும்பான்மை இனமும் ஒருபுறம் கணிசமாக ஒன்றுசேரத் தொடங்கி விட்டது. அவர்கள் எங்கள் பிரச்சினை பற்றி அக்கறை கொண்டுள்ளார்கள் என்று நான் ஒருபோதும் உண்மைக்கு புறம்பாக சொல்ல வில்லையே. ஏனென்றால் எனக்கு உண்மையை மூடி மறைத்து பேசத் தெரியாது.

ஆனால் எனக்கும் எங்களுடன் கரங்கோர்த்துள்ள அணியினருக்கும் சாணக்கியம் தெரியும்.  எந்த பிரச்சினைக்கு எப்போது முன்னுரிமை கொடுக்க வேண்டும் எனத் தெரியும். எனவே ஒன்றுபட்ட இலங்கை நாட்டிலே வாழும் தமிழ், முஸ்லிம் மக்களுக்கும், ஏனைய மத சிறுபான்மையினருக்கும் இன்றைய தினத்தைவிட நல்ல ஒரு நாளைய தினத்தை உருவாக்க விளையும் எங்கள் வேலைத்திட்டத்தை சிதைத்து  விடாதீர்கள் என அனைவரையும் கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறேன். எங்கள் பிரசாரம் அதிகாரபூர்வமாக ஆரம்பித்த பிறகு நாடு முழுக்க வந்து நான் நமது மக்களை சந்தித்து மேலதிக விளக்கங்களை தருவேன். 

Have You Ever Heard Of A King Dutugemunu Who Put The Ten Great Warriors Into Jail?

By Hema Senanayake -  November 29, 2014 

Hema Senanayake

We the people have a great human quality. It is imbedded into our mind. That important quality is sympathy. It is this quality of sympathy which leads you to offer money or food to a panhandler. Sympathy is a wonderful feeling. Some people abuse the sympathy of others.

In the coming presidential election it seems that the government is going to exploit the peoples’ sympathy to the highest possible level. How do they do it? They say, “If the president Rajapkasa is defeated, the Tamil diaspora is hatching an international conspiracy to take him before the International War Tribunal by April 2015.” They further insist that the common candidate of the opposition is aiding and abetting this conspiracy. Why do they say this?

Not because it is true, but because they want to exploit the peoples’ sympathy shamelessly. This seems to be the government’s main strategy in the political campaign. If the above allegation is true, no president would declare an election while having two more years to serve before expiration of his current term. The government wants win or more correctly abuse the sympathy of people. On the contrary the opposition candidate wants to launch a campaign on policy issues. In this regard his policy on war heroes is clear.

You do not want any of the war heroes to be charged before any court no matter whether it is national or international tribunal. You feel that way because you want to be grateful for the service they have done for the country. But it seems that the president Mahinda Rajapaksa did not have that much of gratefulness or he does not have it now.  If any recent war hero was punished by any court, then it was done not by an International War Tribunal but by a War Tribunal set up by the president himself. The whole country believes that the president or somebody in the administration fixed Sarath Fonseka so as to be punished and put him into jail.

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Rajapaksa’s UPFA gets cold feet in Uva

By a Special Correspondent-November 28, 2014

The Uva Provincial Council suspended its sittings citing cold weather, but the opposition insisted the unprecedented move was to prevent defections that could have toppled President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Chief Minister nephew.

Chief Minister Shashindra Rajapaksa would have lost his job if the opposition planned defections of three members from the ruling party went ahead today (Friday), opposition leader Harin Fernando said.

“The official reason for yesterday’s suspension is that it is too cold for members to have council meetings,” Fernando said. “But, the idea is clearly to prevent a toppling of (Shashindra) Rajapaksa’s Provincial Council.”

Fernando said he was confident of securing the defections although council sessions have been put off until after the January 8 presidential elections.

“We can submit affidavits supporting our claim of support from defectors to prove our majority,” Fernando said. “We hope to take power in the Uva Provincial Council very soon.”

This is the first time that a council has postponed sittings citing cold weather.

Fernando said if it was too cold for council members, then it would be impossible for school children to sit for the December GCE Ordinary Level Examination.

“It is the duty of the government in that case to at least provide warm clothes to O/Level students,” Fernando said.

He has 15 members as against the government’s 18 in the Uva council where at least three from the government side have said they will defect, according to the opposition.

Fernando said the Western Provincial Council too was about to collapse as only two defections were needed there for the opposition to take control of that council.

“They may put off the Western Provincial Council saying it is too hot,” Fernando added.

Flagrant violation of polls laws, elections already not on a level field - CMEV　

November 29, 2014, 6:53 pm 

by Maheen Senanayake

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) is currently in the process of recruiting field staff for the 160 polling divisions and field co-ordinators for the 25 administrative districts in the island.

Asked whether there have been any violence so far with respect to the presidential election,Manjula Gajanayake , national co-ordinator, CMEV said: "On the day the common opposition candidate was presented to the people, several celebrating opposition parties have been threatened. In one instance, Chamila Ranasinghe, a former Pradeshiya Sabha member of the UNP and current supporter was physically assaulted at Maggona Junction."

"However, there is a new form of violence," he said. "The election cut outs of the incumbent president have appeared all over the island almost overnight. However, no authority has been sought for these from any of the local authorities - Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and the Pradeshiya Sabhas".

Explaining further he said "There is a bi-law that all advertisements have to be authorized by the local government body and there is a complete violation of this law by the incumbent president and party in power.

Asked whether taxes associated with such advertising has been collected he said, "forget taxes, not even authority has been sought".

The Sunday Island called the Mayor of Colombo, MJM Muzammil whose number appeared to be roaming out of the country yesterday. Other officials were not available for comment.

In the case of the Municipal Councils, the Mayor and in the case of the Urban Councils or Pradeshiya Sabhas, the Chairmen must grant the necessary permissions that also include the collection of the associated taxes that have to be paid.

One promoter in Colombo who did not wish to be named said "look at all the pennants, and advertisements in Colombo, they carry a number like file number. That is the reference to the authority and taxes being paid. All corporates advertising outdoors have to pay for every pennant, billboard and message out there and corporates in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category have to adhere to these by-laws when there is such flagrant violations on the part of government. And the cost is per day, so the moment that you don’t pay the local authority brings it down. "

Another marketing manager of a multi-national company said "Advertising costs are very high and taxes on outdoor advertising is a serious component".

The CMEVhad been formed in 1997 by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Coalition Against Political Violence as an independent and non-partisan organization to monitor the incidence of election related violence. Currently CMEV is made up of CPA, FMM and INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre.

Rajapaksa’s Cutouts Cause Massive 

Losses To CMC

පිස්සෙක්

( November 29, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The cutouts put up in many parts in Colombo have resulted in a Rs. 21 million loss of revenue to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).

This revelation was made by the ruling party of the CMC, the United National Party (UNP) at the Council’s sessions yesterday (27).

The President’s cutouts have been put up in Colombo without the payment of any fee to the Council.

CMC members have stated that such actions in fact brought disgrace to the governing party.

Meanwhile, an employee of the Road Development Authority (RDA) has been captured on camera pasting posters of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The BBC has reported that the RDA employee is attached to the Authority’s Chilaw office.

The photograph was taken on Thursday (27) morning in old Madampe town area.

Maithri's Brother Dudley Sirisena's Lorry Attacked In Marandagahamula

File Photo
Saturday, 29 November 2014 11:12

A lorry belonging to ‘Araliya Sahal’, owned by the Dudley Sirisena, a brother of Common Candidate Maithripla Sirisena has come under attack in Marandagahamula, Asian Mirror reliably learns.  
මෛත්‍රී සොහොයුරුට බලපෑම්

පොදු අපේක්ෂක මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේනගේ සහෝදරයා වන සහල් ව්‍යාපාරික ඩඩ්ලි සිරිසේන ගේ සහල් ලොරි රථ දෙකකට අද, සෙනසුරාදා බලපෑම් එල්ලවී තිබේ.

MaithMaithri's Brother Dudley Sirisena's Lorry Attacked in Marandagahamula by Thavam Ratna

Collective awakenings and watershed changes in society: Are they in the offing?

• by Dr. Siri Gamage 
• - on 11/28/2014 

When the Berlin Wall fell as a result of continuous and determined efforts of the people of then East Germany, and the Perestroika initiated by Gorbechev, it was not only a watershed moment in Europe but an inspiring, momentous event characterised by the sufferings and future aspirations of millions of East Germans and their sympathisers around the world. Similarly, when Nelson Mandela was freed and he became the President of South Africa not only millions of his countrymen and women celebrated the events but also his admirers around the world expressed a sigh of collective relief. In the case of Sri Lanka, one event that I can remember with similar magnitude was the SWRD Bandaranaike victory in 1956, the nationalization program of foreign owned companies, making of Sinhala the official language, cultural revival associated with his victory, and his unfortunate demise in 1959.
Collective Awakenings and Watershed Changes in Society Are They in the Offing by Thavam Ratna

Is There Anything Called Luck?

| by Victor Cherubim

( November 29, 2014, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) In today’s unstable and unpredictable world, it may be right for some of us to think if there is something called, “luck”.

To some observers, you are born lucky. To have been born at the right time, at the right place and in the right circumstance, confers luck. Others accept this premise as the reason for being lucky. Still many others maintain there is no such thing as being “lucky”.

As luck is so elusive, why is it that “people thrive in uncertainty, take the lead in times of chaos, deal with a world full of disruption, take on forces that we cannot predict, manmade, or an Act of God, like the weather, which we can hardly control. What then do we see as the role played by “luck”?

Luck, in my opinion, happens to everyone, every living being. A leader like Nelson Mandela, a social reformer like Mahatma Gandhi, an eminent theologian like Thomas Aquinas or to come closer home, even to a pop group like, “One Direction,” the difference between them and an ordinary citizen, is that they did not depend on luck to “turn them on”. Was it a leap of faith into the unknown that made them change their life plans, that challenged the time, the place and the circumstance, into which they were born, lived and even endured pain and/or pleasure?

Thousands, in fact thousands of millions, are born with “self worth” or have had the ability to achieve self worth, but perhaps, have been mislead, sometimes “conned” or “conditioned”, to be guided in their path in life as part of their fate, their allotted state, as their destiny. This conditioning is very often an excuse for acceptance.

When we examine the lives of men and women, great and small, in any walk of life or in any field of endeavour and compare them to any one of us, we may be able to note one common factor or feature, everyone has had or experienced at some period extraordinary bouts, periods, sequences of good fortune, yet showed an equally “spectacular” inclination to deny its existence or rather to fritter it away. When the time came to execute their “lucky break,” they perhaps, stumbled, were overwhelmed, or even fell down on their expectation. In short, they failed to “grab luck.”

Research has continually pointed out that it was not for “lack of good luck” but for “lack of proper, precise and punctual execution.” Thus the sayings “take luck as it comes”. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” is for those who don’t rely on luck.

What can be construed as a “lucky break,” is when “preparation meets opportunity”. In the words of Winston Churchill, “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist, sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Preparation for opportunity

The Presidential election in Sri Lanka could be an opportunity. Are we prepared for the unprepared, the unexpected? Of course, many will say, we cannot change the weather, we cannot we change an “Act of God.” We also cannot change a low turnout; we may not be able to take on all the forces outside of our control. But we can certainly, conduct the election in all manner of civility.

Placed with this challenge, the Presidential election is an imponderable task, nobody can underestimate President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and likewise nobody should underestimate the strength and the will of our security forces and our services to maintain law and order.

It is equally understandable that the Common Candidate, Maitripala Sirisena, has taken on an impossible task. He has in the true spirit of the contest accepted to play by the rules of the game. with the right attitude, to woo the voter on the 8th January 2015.

To quote Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me stronger”. It is up to everyone in Sri Lanka to showcase to the world that resilience and not just luck, is the signature of our great democracy.

Let’s have a free and fair election

Editorial-November 29, 2014,

With the presidential election only a few short weeks away, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his campaigners have been first off the blocks and the whole country is awash with propaganda material. Rajapaksa’s smiling face beams at his countrymen and women from lamp posts and cutouts mounted at various strategic places. Before the poll is taken, we will have many more of these and thousands of tons of polluting polythene will have been expended whatever the law on such displays. We can only hope that the opposition’s common candidate, Mr. Maitripala Sirisena, will keep to his promise not to utilize such propaganda material. Now that the battle lines are drawn and it is clear that the contest will be between the incumbent and the opposition-backed challenger, with a few sundry others who will not be taken seriously by the electorate also throwing their hats into the ring, it is essential that a free and fair election is ensured. This country has known such elections with the voters changing both UNP and SLFP governments several times in the past; but these, sadly, have become fewer and far between in our recent contemporary history. No incumbent president has been defeated although Rajapaksa, having abolished the previous two-term limit by the 18th Amendment, is our first president seeking a third term.

No government, past or present, can claim that their hands have been clean of the crime of abusing state resources for electoral purposes. Such abuse has grown exponentially at recent elections and there is little reason for optimism that it will change this time round. We have just seen the passage of the 2015 budget packed with election goodies with the president quoted blithely asserting that "all our budgets are election budgets." Whether there will be delivery or not on all the promises made is an open question. Pensioners have already received bigger cheques although there is yet no clarity on how and when the promise of 12 percent interest from state banks for senior citizens’ savings deposits will be forthcoming. Quite apart from the budget promises the prohibition of `treating’ of voters by candidates is flagrantly broken with the president being the chief offender. We do not know whether the election law comes into play only after nominations are received. If this is the case, it is an incentive for the runners to do now whatever they will not be permitted to do later; but given the way recent elections have been run, there is every possibility that the rules would be broken with impunity.

We repeat what we said last week that there must be a clear statement before the election on whether President Rajapaksa, if re-elected, will take his oaths for his new term immediately thereafter and that term would end six years later. We say this because this is a grey area. The country never had a clear explanation of why President Chandrika Kumaratunga took her oaths twice after re-election. There is speculation on the possibility that Rajapaksa will take his oaths for his new term only after his current term ends two years down the road. If this is the case, it is totally unacceptable. The president is empowered by the constitution to call a premature election and he would presumably do so if he judges that the electoral situation is propitious for his re-election at that particular point of time. If he loses, obviously he must step down right away. There is no question of his claiming that he would do so once his previous term has run out and making such an attempt will surely unleash anarchy on the streets. But if he wins, saying his new term will commence only after the previous term has ended would be a case of buttering his bread on both sides. The people are entitled to know what the actual situation is before the forthcoming election and no Supreme Court opinion on that subject, hidden as happened in the recent referral or otherwise, will be acceptable. Sadly, the credibility of the country’s highest court has from the time of the impeachment of the previous chief justice, been seriously eroded.

President J.R. Jayewardene, in the run-up to the election that brought President Premadasa into office, was famously quoted having publicly said "hondin ho narakin me chandaya dinnana oney." Loosely translated this means that "(we) must win this election by fair means or foul." Unfortunately, this has become a necessity for his presidential successors given their kind of governance record in office. Thankfully, Jayewardene was able to live out his life in this country after his presidency ended and he died of natural causes; so also President D.B. Wijetunga who was not a controversial president who had his high office thrust upon him. Not so President Premadasa who was assassinated during his first term having successfully overcome an impeachment effort. We are certainly glad that candidate Sirisena is already on record that the Rajapaksas will be looked after IF he should win. That, of course, is a big `if’ this yet being early days and his coalition of backers still being cobbled together.

Ideally all candidates would upon nomination solemnly pledge to the nation that they would cooperate to the fullest to ensure that the election is free and fair. They will conform to election and other laws governing the contest. We do not know whether such pledges are of any use or will be honoured; but at least that would be a beginning. State resources, of course, would be largely available to the incumbent. But the opposition candidate would also have recourse to facilities such as the Mayor of Colombo’s official residence which the UNP has previously used as an election center. Compared to the massive resources, both human and material, that will be available to the president, the little the opposition can command through, for example, local bodies in their control, will be a drop in the ocean. The Elections Commissioner has in the past not demonstrated the ability to ensure that the candidates played the game according to the rules. He has complained that the law is inadequate and of the lack of resources to enforce whatever laws that exist. Hopefully he would take heart from the strength of public opinion that must be demonstrated from now on that the voter will not stand for any transgression or jilmaat as former JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe famously said after a previous election. A lot of money is already being splashed and much more would be spent. The people will never know from where it came.

State employees paste President’s posters

Post by මාධ්යවේදියා.

 Saturday, 29 November 2014 

An employee of the Road Development Authority (RDA) has been captured on camera pasting posters of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The BBC has reported that the RDA employee is attached to the Authority’s Chilaw office.

The photograph was taken on Thursday (27) morning in old Madampe town area.

Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya a few days back issued a special circular to all ministry secretaries, department and statutory board heads as well as other relevant authorities about the misuse of state properties and resources during the period of the election. The Commissioner cited that such violations should be avoided by the authorities in the run up to the Presidential poll in January next year.
- LH -

Who Will win? Or Mahinda?

By P. Bertie Ranaweerage -November 29, 2014

Bertie Ranaweerage

The political landscape in Sri Lanka has turned upside down during the last seven days with the announcement made by Mr.Maithripala Sirisena, the former Minister of Health that he would challenge the incumbent President at the next Presidential Election as the common candidate. The President and his government never expected that he would be challenged by the General Secretary of his own political party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Panic stricken President’s family members ran helter- skelter fearing that they would lose power at the forth coming Presidential Election. They pressed some Ministers and MPs  to call press conferences  and deny that they would desert the government. State owned SLBC, Rupavahini and ITN, and the Lake House editors have been instructed to  attack Maithri, Chandrikaand the UNP from morning to late into the night. Racists such as Nalinda Siva, Gunadasa Amarasekara, Bengamuwe Nalaka  have begun  to mislead the public. We can expect all the Sinhala racist organizations such as BBS , Ravana Balaya, Sinhala Rawaya to join forces to launch a vituperative attack against the common candidate as they are aware that the victory of Maithri will be a grave threat to their very existence.

In the meantime the Minister of Disaster Management  Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera has made an  revealing  statement at a press conference held at the SLFP head office on November 25. According to a news story published in the Daily Mirror he admitted that the UPFA members had  amassed dirty lucre as much as they needed and  as such there is no need for them to continue the  plundering. Therefore, he requested not to defeat the government by voting the opposition candidate. That statement alone shows their fear and confusion. My view is all the government henchmen and most of the government Ministers and deputy Ministers are in mortal fear that Mahinda’s days are numbered.Read More

NDP MP commemorates event honouring fallen Tamil Tigers, likens it to Remembrance Day in parliament

NDP MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan giving her statement in support of commemorating Tamil Heroes Day, Nov. 27, 2014.

Stewart Bell | November 27, 2014 

TORONTO — Canada’s public safety minister said Thursday he was “shocked and appalled” after a New Democratic Party MP rose in the House of Commons to commemorate Tamil Heroes Day, which honours fallen Tamil Tigers rebels.

NDP MP commemorates event honouring fallen Tamil Tigers, likens it to Remembrance Day in parliament.odt by Thavam Ratna