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Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Could The Presidential System Be
Abolished In 100 Days?
| by Laksiri Fernando
( December 6, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian ) UPFA General Secretary, Susil Premajayantha, has stated (Divaina, 3 December 2014) that the forthcoming manifesto of Mahinda Rajapaksa or Mahinda Chinthana 2015 would outline constitutional reforms along the previous manifestos of 2005 and 2010. This is hilarious.
[ ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை, 07 டிசெம்பர் 2014, 10:16.41 AM GMT ]
சிங்களத்தின் ஆக்கிரமிப்பு போருக்குள் அகப்பட்டு, உயிருக்கு போராடிய தமிழ்மக்களின் மருத்துவ தேவைகளை, மட்டுப்படுத்தப்பட்ட மருத்துவ வளங்களுடன் மருத்துவர் வரதராஜா அவர்கள் மேற்கொண்டிருந்தார்.
தற்போது புலம்பெயர் தேசமொன்றில் அடைக்கலமடைந்துள்ள மருத்துவர் வரதராஜா அவர்கள், முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் இன அழிப்பின் முழுச்சாட்சியமாக, சனல்-4 தொலைக்காட்சியின் ஆவணப்படம் உள்ளடங்கலாக பல்வேறு தளங்களில் தனது வாக்குமூலங்களை வழங்கியுள்ளார்.
இந்நிலையில் மருத்துவர் வரதராஜா அவர்களின் பணியினை மதிப்பளிக்கும் பொருட்டு, நாடுகடந்த தமிழீழ அரசாங்கம் தனது மாண்பேற்றலை தனது பாராளுமன்ற அமர்வில் வழங்கியுள்ளது.
பிரதமர் வி.உருத்திரகுமாரன் அவர்கள வழங்கிய பட்டயத்தினை மாண்புடன் ஏற்றுக் கொண்ட மருத்துவர் வரதராஜா அவர்கள், இந்த மதிப்பினை வன்னியில் தன்னுடன் பணியாற்றிய அனைத்து மருத்துவபணியாளர்களுடனும் பங்கிட்டுக் கொள்ளவதாக தெரிவித்திருந்தார்.
அமெரிக்காவின் நியூயோர்க்கிலும் பிரான்சிலும் இணைந்ததாக இடம்பெற்று வரும் நா.தமிழீழ அரசாங்கத்தின் மூன்று நாள் அரசவை அமர்வில் இந்நிகழ்வு நெகிழ்வுபூர்வமானதாக அமைந்திருந்தமை இங்கு குறிப்பிடதக்கது.
by Rajan Philips-December 6, 2014,
To be clear, the government, rather the President, called the election prematurely for a third term without precedent. The opposition has turned it into a referendum on the presidency. If one looks for a historical parallel, the closest one can get to is the 1982 referendum. The people lost the referendum then, the government won, and nothing has remained the same thereafter. If the government wins this time, and the people lose again, everything that changed for the worse after 1982 will remain the same and get even worse. Who should win this time? That is the question.
The defection of the SLFP General Secretary to become the opposition’s common candidate has turned the January 8 election from being a farce into a real contest. When nominations close tomorrow, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena are expected to be the two principal candidates. There will be no other candidate from any of the political parties currently represented in parliament. So the election will be a straight contest between the continuation of the status quo and the need for a fundamental change.
I call this a referendum on the presidency. This is not an election, in the customary parliamentary sense. Strange as it may seem, even after 36 years of executive presidency our political narratives are dominated by our understanding and expectations of the parliamentary process. This fact is particularly evident in the criticisms of and expectations that are being projected upon the common candidate and the opposition by the so called public intellectuals. Apart from specific criticisms, there is also an expectation that the common candidate should run on a comprehensive platform, or manifesto, indicating how his victory will solve every one of Sri Lanka’s problems.
This is rather puzzling because the call for a single-issue common candidate has been in the political domain for quite some time. I believe the idea was first seriously mooted by Kumar David, but I do not think even Dr. David traced the historical connection to another Sama Samajist, the larger than life Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, who actually contested the 1982 presidential election, that preceded the fateful referendum that same year, as a single issue candidate. He lost the election badly but no one accused Colvin R. de Silva of running on an elitist agenda to get rid of the presidency without being sensitive to the subaltern concerns of students, trade unions, farmers and the minorities. So why pick on Maithripala Sirisena now? And since when did the Tamil and Muslim problems, or, for that matter, those of university students, middle class workers and hinterland farmers, become a subaltern question? Put another way, would any of their questions be addressed sincerely and satisfactorily by the continuation of the incumbent presidency?
The record of the executive presidential system, in general, and its operation under the current incumbent, in particular, is bad on several counts, primarily including: 1) the dismantling of virtually all the institutions fundamental to a functioning democracy and the maintenance of law and order; 2) the total disregard to finding acceptable solutions to the political and humanitarian problems of the Tamils and the Muslims; 3) the rampant corruption and economic inefficiencies that characterize virtually every sector of the economy and impose almost a structural cost-of-living burden on the people; and 4) the institutionalization of family bandysim in a manner that Sri Lanka has never experienced before. This is only the shortest of lists of the problems facing the Sri Lanka’s state and its politics, and there is no easy answer to any of them. There is no illusion that an opposition victory on January 8 will automatically unroll a magical road map to solving any or all of them. But the choice on January 8 is not about who has the better answers to these questions, but between the government’s barefaced denial of fundamental problems and the opposition’s bare recognition of at least some of them.
Significantly, the government has not taken any serious exception to the opposition’s call for fundamentally changing the executive presidential system, even though the President had earlier suggested that he could not abolish the executive presidential system while the TNA and the Tamil Diaspora might still be pursuing the goal of a separate state. Indeed, the government has come up with the rather late and lame promise of major constitutional changes after the election, including changes to the presidential system. The government might be wary of overtly defending the executive presidential system through fear of causing further dissension in government ranks. It was the government’s reluctance to engage the JHU over constitutional amendments that led to JHU’s departure from the government to the opposition fold. The people including the JHU are finally tired of the Tiger bogey, and the government has no way of orchestrating a fatwa on the Tamil voter as it did in 2005.
The government that has got used to staging its own election shows and having its own campaign ways now seems flummoxed by the opposition solidarity around a common candidate emerging from within the government ranks. The smear of western conspiracy is not sticking on the common candidate from Polonnaruwa. What worked in 2010 seems too worn out for 2015. The government has no positive message to offer. It is unable to provide even one good reason why a presidential election is necessary two years too soon, and what additional good a third Rajapaksa term will bring to Sri Lanka. By going all out to protect its two-thirds size in parliament, the government is only exposing its isolation and vulnerability in the country.
The UPFA Secretary boasted to the media that the government alliance includes 14 registered political parties. So what? He might as well have said that the government still includes a record number of ministers for any country in the world, not to mention the renegade rumps of the oldest two political parties in the country. Unlike in India, it is not parliamentarians and political parties who elect the President in Sri Lanka, but the people. That system may change after January 8, but not before. Yet, any notion that the January 8 vote is the opposition’s election to lose is still too premature and too complacent. The opposition and the common candidate can underestimate the government’s resourcefulness to prevail only at their peril.
No Press Freedom In Sri Lanka; Colombo Telegraph Blockade Is One Of The Three Key Developments: Freedom House
Freedom on the Net 2014 – the fifth annual comprehensive study of internet freedom around the globe, covering developments in 65 countries that occurred between May 2013 and May 2014 –found three key issues regarding Sri Lanka’s internet freedom and named Sri Lanka’s “Press Freedom 2014 status” as “Not Free”.
According the report, published on Thursday by the US-based Freedom House, the key developments in Sri Lanka between May 2013 – May 2014 are;- In March 2014, the information ministry formed a committee to regulate social media, shortly after President Rajapaksa dubbed them a “disease;” the scope of its activities remains unclear.
- The Colombo Telegraph website was repeatedly inaccessible, continuing a trend of pressure on online news outlets.
- Incidents of violence and harassment against internet users declined, though traditional journalists met with increased intimidation .
Targeted, politicized censorship continued throughout 2013 and 2014 with the website of the Colombo Telegraph periodically blocked, apparently because of its dissenting content and coverage of controversial political affairs in the country, the report noted.
Read the full report here
Peaceful march attacked: Journalist assaulted: Camera equipment damaged
One of the thugs who came to attack shouting at the crowd (Photo:Vikalpa)
Posted on December 6, 2014 by FMM
A group of thugs led by Government politicians has attacked the campaign of the ‘Viyaruwata Erihiwa ; Jeewithya Wenuwen – ‘වියරැවට එරෙහිව, ජීවිතය වෙනුවෙන් ( Against the Craze for the Life) at Eppawala in Anuradhapuraya district few hours ago, yesterday ( 05 Dec 2014), according to a press release issued by Sampath Samarakoon on behalf of the Co-ordination committee.
Chairman of the Eppawala local Government body, the Pradesheeya Sabha, Wasantha Bandara and member of the Sabha Uthitha Kumara has led the gang of thugs that attacked the campaign. Hiru TV journalist Mr.Thisara Saman who was covering the incident was also assaulted and his camera was damaged by the gang.
The gang has arrived as the campaign was coming to an end and assaulted some of the participants including the well-known peace singer Jatathilaka Bandara. The gang has later fled as large number of people gathered against the gang.
Thugs attacked us stating not to criticizes their King. Mr. Jayahilaka Bandara said.
“For all these years I fought for peace I was never attacked. This was the first time. Despite all these obstacles we will continue to fight. Even if they kill me this fight will not stop.” he further stated.
See BBC article from here
FMM press statement about this incident will be published on Monday 8th December.
‘Viyaruwata Erihiwa ; Jeewithya Wenuwen – ‘වියරුවට එරෙහිව, ජීවිතය වෙනුවෙන් campaign is traveling around the country exposing the present regime’s anti-democratic practices and consists of large number of civil groups.
Rajapaksa And Media: Someone Else Has to Undo the Damage
[Media protest in Sri Lanka]
by Ranga Jayasuriya-
None of the predecessors of Mahinda Rajapaksa did anything substantial to uphold the independent media in the country. Country’s media have withered away under successive governments since Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s left-leaning United Front administration ‘nationalized’ the Lake House and effectively turned it into a mouthpiece of the government.
Rajapaksa and Media Someone Else Has to Undo the Damage by Thavam Ratna
Rajapaksa and Media Someone Else Has to Undo the Damage by Thavam Ratna
Pope’s Visit: The Dilemma Of The Church
Unusual things are happening in Rome in the tiny city of the Vatican, which is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Most interestingly the head of the Vatican state, Pope Francis has been shaking the structures of the Vatican which were once thought to be “the unchangeable structures”. All those who are interested in the Catholic Church as well as the media keep a continuous eye on Vatican affairs, because nobody knows what the Pope will do next or where he will make his next visit or what stand he would take regarding an issue.
From the time he was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI he has contributed vastly in resolving social issues. He has enhanced the position of the Church on the social teachings. His apostolic exhortation on “The joy of the Gospel” is widely seen as the foundation of his Papacy. His meetings, visits, weekly audiences and writings, everything portrays a new image of the Church in the contemporary world.
He became very lenient towards the people of other faiths and overlooked those who are well to do. During his meetings with the heads of the states and his visit to various countries he voiced against all sorts of social evils which are melted by those who are in power. Within a short period of time he caught the attention of the international media who follow him on all his visits. It should be noted that he was a contender for the renowned Nobel peace prize for his contributions towards promoting world peace.
SUNDAY, 07 DECEMBER 2014
“This government has been disturbed like maniacs in a lunatic asylum running helter skelter when it is bombed,” says the Information Secretary of the JVP Parliamentarian Vijitha Herath.
Speaking at a media conference held at the head office of the JVP at Pelawatta today (7th) the Information Secretary of the JVP said, “The forthcoming presidential election is illegal. The propaganda campaign of the government too is illegal. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said everybody in the government have eaten enough and now they only need watalappan for dessert. The people in the government are confronted with a predicament due to holding the presidential election before it was due so that those in the government could to eat watalappan for dessert. There is a fable that should be told to explain this well. In ancient times in India at a party given to Brahmins one Brahmin had consumed excessively and was in a very difficult state. Another Brahmin advised him to put a finger in his mouth and vomit to get relief. Then the Brahmin who was suffering from over eating says if he could put a finger in his mouth he would prefer to push a plantain in his mouth. The ministers of this government have been consuming voraciously since 2005.
The presidential election that was scheduled to be called in 2016 was called two years earlier by Mahinda Rajapaksa himself. He has got agitated and alarmed when the election he himself called becomes disadvantageous for him. Also, the henchman of the ‘palace’ too has got jittery. The Secretary General of the SLFP Maithripala and a group left the government. Mahinda got jittery due to that. The stooge to the ‘palace’ too got jittery. This henchman who is jittery now talks of an international conspiracy while going shopping for the ‘palace’.
If there is a conspiracy it was invited none other than by Mahinda Rajapaksa. The presidential election was called not by embassies, diaspora or international forces. The main accused of the conspiracy is Mahinda Rajapaksa. The truth is this is a ‘watalappan conspiracy’ of the palace. Now the President has lost sanity and mutter nonsense. What ministers say is contradictory. They do not come for TV debates. They say they would not come if the JVP takes part. Some ministers who come for political programmes get agitated and excited. They suddenly leave programmes giving petty excuses.
Minister Dullas Alahapperuma says he would vote with both hands to abolish executive presidency. Dulles raised both his hands to get 18th amendment adopted. Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara says he would support Maithripala if he abolishes the executive presidency. If there is an international conspiracy to abolish executive presidency Minister Dulles Alahapperuma too should be a part of that conspiracy. This government has been disturbed like maniacs in a lunatic asylum getting stirred up when it is bombed. As soon as Maithripala and a group left the government and started campaigning the government was bewildered. The President came out with a ‘story of files’ as he was stupefied and was in a rage. When the President says he has files of ministers the people know that ministers who are involved in frauds and corruption are in the government. People also know about the person who talks about files. The people have comprehended the story the ‘king of files’ talks about. Once the President said an eight month old baby, who cannot utter even the word ‘mother’, said ‘cheers’ to him. Why does the President who is known even to an eight month old child hang his cutout on light posts throughout the country? He blatantly violates election laws. The Commissioner of Elections or the Police are unable to remove his cutouts. These cutouts are put up deploying state institutions. Employees of Pradeshiya Sabhas and urban councils are engaged in his campaign using vehicles of state institutions. Employees of state institutions are helpless. Despite staff grade officers of state services are banned from engaging in politics, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa gets on to political stages using his brother’s arbitrary powers.
Now, distribution of Rs.2500 has commenced in villages. Relief is distributed in Badulla area stating the area suffered due to rain. President’s election campaign is carried out by companies such as Avant-Garde. Officers of Terrorist Investigation Division are deployed for his election campaign. Advertisements are published in newspapers using money from institutions such as CEB and CPC. Millions are spent for advertisements in TV channels. Pensioners are bribed using state institutions. They are given new telephone connections known as ‘kalaguna’. Using state resources and assets for President’s election campaign this way is a serious crime.
The government that doesn’t give relief to the people, even when it is possible to do so, brings down prices of petrol, diesel and gas when it is faced with an election. A small reduction in prices is given to quell the people’s opposition to the government.
At present the price of a barrel of crude oil has come down to US$69. The advantage of this reduced price could be given to the people. But the government doesn’t want to do so. In 2005 a cylinder of gas was Rs. 850. Before Uva Presidential election Rajapaska government had increased this price by Rs.1546 and the price of a cylinder was Rs.2396. Rs.250 was reduced for the Uva election. Now due to the presidential election Rs.250 has been reduced. However, the price of a cylinder of gas has been increased by Rs.1046 since 2005. If excess taxes added for gas, petrol and diesel are reduced people could be given relief as prices in the world market are going down. If one or two more ministers cross over to the opposition diesel and petrol would be given free! As such, people could get more relief if they pressurize the government. Those who have come out of the government have started saying what the JVP has been saying. We are happy that those who were ministers in the government now say what we said to the people.
At the moment the government attempts to deploy various groups against the JVP and the opposition. Mahinda Rajapaksa who asked to have a clean election campaign has started sling mud at his opponents. The government held a media discussion using a mudslinging group recently. The head of this group was former MP Anurudha Polgampola sacked from the JVP in 2008. He was sacked from the JVP as he, using his Parliamentary privileges, tried to take one of his brothers to Japan to earn money. Upul, former provincial council member, who was another in the group, supported Mr. Maithripala Sirisena in 2010 general election. The government is so bankrupt to use such people to sling mud. At present the chief attacker against the government is the leader of our party Comrade Anura Dissanayaka. The government that is unable to endure this attack has sent circulars to officials to find irregularities in ‘Ten Tanks’ project launched by Comrade Anura Dissanayaka when he was a minister. This government can never come up with such unsuccessful attempts.
As such, this despotic executive presidential system should be abolished. We have begun a struggle for this. We are taking measures to remove Rajapaksa family rule. We are paving the way for the people to do what is necessary for it.”
Single-Issue Common-Candidature is a done deal
by Kumar David-December 6, 2014
At last it’s done! SI-CC has been endorsed; it was a steep and at first a solitary climb, but you and I dear reader, now have a different task. We need to hold the Alliance and its leaders to account; hold a sword over their heads as it were. It is not those who loyally served Mahinda Rajapaksa in cabinet and parliament for nine long years who best know the evils of the Executive Presidency; or those who upheld the system when graft, abuse and rights violations proliferated who best understand the state of the nation. The thousands who fought resolutely (I am a lucky unit-of-one in this throng), defied threats and scorn, and in the worst cases disappeared, are the true agents of change.
Turn The Intra-Class Battle For Power Into A Revolutionary Struggle For Democracy And Freedom
By Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe -December 7, 2014
Ajit Rupasinghe
The presidential election is a decisive battle for power between two rival fractions of the Comprador Capitalist Ruling Class. It is to choose which fraction shall lead the country and the people to the future. The aftermath and the ensuing consequences of the election may prove to be as momentous as the election itself. The rising conjuncture constitutes a decisive turning point. There are many powerful players in the fray and the stakes are high. Behind the stage and pulling the strings are the global and regional hegemonic powers vying for strategic leverage in the Land of Lanka. The various foreign powers, particularly the US, China and India, have sunk their fangs deep into our blood veins and vital lifelines. This is as they contend to hook up the Land and the people of Lanka as cogwheels in their respective play for strategic supremacy and regional domination. Internally, the game is being played out by the political representatives or agents who act as proxies to advance the interests of these contending imperialist powers.
The forces of neo-fascist dictatorship represented by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Regime (MRR) and concentrated within the Rajapakse toika and dynasty simply cannot afford to lose power. Geneva is one looming factor. Nor can the Regime face the wrath of the masses or any kind of a People’s Tribunal. Exercising ideological supremacy and political hegemony over the State is crucial to the survival and growth of this theocratic-fascist camp that thrives by exploiting, manipulating and intensifying violent division. Victory at the election is also equally decisive for the common Opposition. Once the swords have been drawn it is difficult to sheath them without a decisive victory. This intra-class battle may lead to a decisive violent confrontation and generalized civil unrest. The forces of neo-fascist reaction will thrive in such a scenario of generalized anarchy and chaos. Under some manufactured ‘crisis of national security and foreign conspiracy’, Martial Law may be an option. My whole political line, analysis and orientation is to prepare the people of Lanka not only to be alert to the possible and horrible scenarios ahead, but more fundamentally to rise up to take up our responsibilities, as opposed to being muted spectators in this intra-class battle for power. This is so we may together guide the ship of liberty and freedom through the volcanic explosions and thundering storms towards the shoes of an enduring victory for the people of Lanka.Read More
Wasteful, Ludicrous And Lethal
| by Tisaranee Gunasekara
“Hiding base sin in pleats of majesty…”
Shakespeare (The Rape of Lucrece)
( December 6, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Maithri Bhavana, the cultivation of benevolence towards all living beings, is an extremely popular form of meditation in Buddhism. The state-owned SLBC has a regular programme on how to practice Maithri Bhavana. That programme, until very recently, was called, Maithri Bhavana.
UPFA, NDF all set for do-or-die battle on Jan. 8
By Our Political Editor-Sunday, December 07, 2014
Sirisena and common front leaders sign agreements outlining reforms package for first one hundred days
Large number of dummy candidates with ulterior motives for presidential pollRajapaksa confident, says Ranil would have been a better opponent, hits out at ChandrikaSLMC likely to split if it does not quit; Fonseka seeks rank of Field Marshal and post of Defence Minister
Large number of dummy candidates with ulterior motives for presidential pollRajapaksa confident, says Ranil would have been a better opponent, hits out at ChandrikaSLMC likely to split if it does not quit; Fonseka seeks rank of Field Marshal and post of Defence Minister
The crowd waving blue, green and red falgs at the common opposition candidate's Hyde Park meeting which was much less than expected. Pic by Ranjith Perera
The official countdown for the January 8 presidential election gets under way with tomorrow’s nominations where more than fifteen candidates will be in the fray. That the political battle will be between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main rival Maithripala Sirisena, the main contenders, is all too well known. What remains to be known are the allegiances of at least some of the other candidates. That they will ‘back’ one of the two main contestants is of great interest in what is politically termed “dummy candidates.” It is only their stated stances after nominations that would highlight who they are in support of.
WikiLeaks: SLFP-JVP MoU; Maithripala Wants Peace With The LTTE, But Not In The UNP Way
December 8, 2014
“Amid fanfare, President Kumaratunga’s SLFP party and the radical JVP formally entered into a political alliance on January 20. The alliance is basically an electoral pact, but an MOU attacking the GSL’s handling of the peace track was also agreed to. In a related development, Somawansa Amarasinghe, a key JVP leader and noted hard-liner based in the UK (see bio-data in Para 10), is making a rare visit to Sri Lanka. While some observers believe the pact is inherently shaky, there is renewed speculation that parliamentary elections may be in the offing.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The classified diplomatic cable details the “Memorandum of Understanding” between the President Chandrika Kumaratunga-led SLFP and the Somawansa Amarasinghe-led JVP. The “Confidential” is cable signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Jeffrey J. Lunstead on January 21, 2004.
The ambassador wrote; “As flagged in Ref B, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party formally entered into a political alliance called the “United People’s Freedom Alliance” on January 20. (The SLFP is the core constituent element in the President’s People’s Alliance, ‘PA’, grouping.) The pact was signed amid considerable fanfare and at ‘an auspicious hour’ at a ceremony in a conference hall in Colombo. The ceremony was televised live on state-owned television and was broadcast on radio. The high point of the ceremony was the signing of the SLFP/JVP ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) which is reviewed below. Maithripala Sirisena, chief of the SLFP, and Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the JVP, signed the document on behalf of their respective parties. (For reasons that are unclear, President Kumaratunga did not attend the ceremony.) In his speech, Sirisena said the SLFP supported peace with the Tamil Tigers, but opposed how the GSL was handling the peace process. Silva, meanwhile, condemned the GSL on various fronts in much harsher terms and also paid homage to Rohana Wijeweera, the JVP founder who was killed during the JVP’s 1987-89 insurrection.”
“None of the speeches at the ceremony mentioned the Norwegian government’s peace facilitation role, which has been on hold pending resolution of the cohabitation impasse between the President and the Prime Minister. The MOU also did not mention Norway. At a January 21 joint SLFP/JVP news conference, however, Mangala Samaraweera, a senior PA MP, stated that “Norway’s role has been questioned by many. We will reconsider the role of Norway.” Tilvin Silva of the JVP also piped in to say that he did not think Norway had any role in the peace process.” the ambassador Lunstead further wrote.
Placing a comment the ambassador wrote; “The pact signed on January 20 took almost a year to conclude, with the President mulling over the matter for months before giving it her blessing. This is in fact the second time that the two parties have signed a pact: in September 2001, the JVP agreed to support the then-PA government in Parliament. That pact collapsed about a month later when the PA government fell and elections were called. The September 2001 deal was shaky and this latest pact may be shaky, too. Minister Milinda Moragoda told the Ambassador today that he thought the two parties would get into serious arguments about seat allotments in Parliament down the line. He added that he did not see how a party “run by a family” (the SLFP) could realistically align for long with an ideologically driven party like the Marxist JVP. That said, the signing of the pact has led to renewed speculation that parliamentary elections may be in the offing. Moragoda did not appear too concerned about that possibility. Other observers, however, believe the President may think that the pact provides her party its best chance to defeat the UNP in elections, while also giving her leverage over the PM during the ongoing cohabitation dispute.”
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