#IVotedSL | Exercise your vote on the 8th!

by Groundviews 

- on 01/02/2015 

Voting is an important civic responsibility and one way all of us exercise and enjoy our Sovereignty. This responsibility becomes particularly important during a Presidential Election, because of the immense power vested in this office.

VotedSL Exercise Your Vote on the 8th! by Thavam Ratna

Defeat the Rajapaksha Regime! : Joint Statement By Lankans Living Abroad

Lets Defeat the Rajapaksha Regime in Presidential Election-02/01/2015 

We, who had to leave our country due oppressive political situations as well as other reasons and presently live abroad expresses our solidarity with the common opposition to defeat the Rajapaksa regime.

During the last 10 year, the Rajapaksha regime transformed Sri Lanka in to an authoritarian state.
Defeat the Rajapaksha Regime! Joint Statement by Lankans Living Abroad by Thavam Ratna

Victory that cannot be secured through clean elections to be sought via computer fraud

(Lanka-e-News- 01.Jan.2014, 11.50pM) With every sign and signal pointing at sure defeat of Rajapakse at the upcoming Presidential election, and are most ominously staring in his face , the Rajapakses who are now plunged in deep turmoil and trauma being deprived of the option to win on the legitimate votes of the people have got down computer specialists to probe the possibility of rigging the election results and win elections illegitimately.

Before the election results of each electorate reaches the hands of the Elections commissioner ,or prior to the elections commissioner announcing them , it is to be probed by these foreign specialists whether these results can be rigged via the internet .

It is reported that since the election results of outstations are conveyed by fax, these computer specialists are of the view it is difficult to alter these results in between . There is no method to alter results in between pertaining to a fax message , it is learnt.

Yet , according to Edward Snowden , by installing minute camera lenses in the fax machine , whatever information that goes into the fax machine can be immediately fed into a computer by the intelligence unit.

Based on that , it can be decided quickly whatever alterations to be made via the computer . In the circumstances , what these computer specialists are trying are find ways and means to access the data at the Sri Lanka telecom (SLT) communication system and amend them to the advantage of Rajapakse when the election results are released by the elections commissioner’s office to the internet via the SLT .

Computer experts are harboring suspicions ,though the VPN belongs to the Elections commissioner’s office alone to secretly access the internet , there still exists a possibility for the SLT through another computer to open this secret internet path of the elections commissioner’s office for the foreign computer specialists to access .

These foreign computer specialists have been got down ostensibly on the excuse that they are here to improve the ‘PEO TV’ services provided by the government .These specialists are now staying in the Borella PEO TV center from where computer data are re distributed .

Recently , when the opposition politicos participated in the ‘Satana’ program , it is through this center the program was suddenly interrupted. At any rate ,unfortunately for the Rajapakses , every subterfuge and sly effort of theirs so far aimed at winning elections fraudulently have flopped. The opposition is already alert and awake to this latest Rajapakse fraud with a view to nip it in the bud.

The opposition has made a concerted program to combat the Rajapakse election frauds and vote rigging which was naturally expected . The decoys of the opposition are keeping a secret and sharp watch over Harsha Wijewardena , a computer system fraud advisor of the Rajapakses who is always in and out of Temple Trees and the Colombo University. In any case, it is best if all the fraudsters and racketeers associated with the Rajapakses are kept under strict and scrupulous surveillance . Alibaba , a great robber in the old fictions had only forty thieves to support him , but this Alibaba of the present times has countless thieves to aid and abet him. This is why every patriotic citizen must keep a watch over not only this Alibaba but his too many thieves as well

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by     (2015-01-02 02:25:45)

Vote for ‘known devil’, Rajapaksa urges Tamils

In this December 31, 2014 photo, a boy stands next to a wall pasted with election campaign posters of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo. The Tamil writing in the posters reads: “Let us make the country rise — Mahinda!”

MEERA SRINIVASAN-January 3, 2015

Highlights government’s development work, including re-launch of Yal Devi

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday urged northern Tamils to vote for him, the “known devil”, as he was better than the “unknown angel”, as he referred his principal challenger Maithripala Sirisena.

Addressing a public rally in Jaffna, a week ahead of Sri Lanka’s presidential polls, Mr. Rajapaksa said he had invested “billions of rupees” in the North, and not as much in the South, or his own village.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main Tamil party has pledged support to common candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the January 8 election.

The government, the President said, had given a special thrust to education in the North, and that reflected in the very good scores obtained by the students there. Highlighting his government’s development efforts, including re-launching the Yal Devi train to Jaffna, he said: “If you all support me, I will fulfil all my promises to you.”

Last leg of railway line

The last leg of the railway line — which was damaged during the country’s war and restored by Indian Railway’s construction company IRCON — was inaugurated from Jaffna to Kankesanthurai on Friday.

India is helping rebuild the 252 km railway track from Colombo to the harbour town of Kankesanthurai with a $800 million line of credit. The line up to Jaffna was made operational in October.

Maithripala attacked at Pelmadulla rally

January 2, 2015

A public rally attended by Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena was attacked in the Pelmadulla area this evening.

Several persons were reportedly injured after an angry mob pelted stones at the election meeting. 

It has been reported that the attack was carried out after Presidential Candidate Sirisena finished addressing the gathering. 

A tense situation erupted following the incident while police officers intervened to disperse the groups.  

Sri Lanka: Mahinda Rajapaksa Regime Has Ended !

( January 2, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Presidential Candidate of the New Democratic Front, Maithripala Sirisena requested the public not to be deceived by false rumours spread by the government.

He made this statement on addressing a public meeting in Puttalam.

New Year 2015: A Principled Pre-Election Compromise

By Kumar David -January 1, 2015

Prof. Kumar David

Ok it’s 1 January 2015 and the last week before the election. After so much water has flowed under the bridge – I have contributed much water in more ways than one – it is time to draw up our paper, and for better for worse, take a final position. Easiest is to share with interested readers an understanding that I reached with two large e-mail circulation groups. The two extracts reproduced here pretty much sum up what I believe is a realistic but principled compromise. I believe that this position is very close to some of the points that Anura Kumara and the JVP are making.

First correspondence

“IS COMRADE DAVID HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS?”

Reply:

“Better call it ‘adjusting the sights dynamically’ rather than “second thoughts”.  Conditions change and we have to be strategically flexible. Would Napoleon have won so many wars if he did not move and swerve when battle conditions changed?

My modified bottom line now is:

1. OK let’s support this MS bloke and ensure he wins because getting rid of the Pakses is Priority No. 2.
2. But don’t lose sight of Priority No. 1 (abolish EP) which is what counts in the long run.
3. And don’t trust the blighter; within two weeks he lied to us. So build a strong, independent, democratic people’s movement which will not stand for any s**t. In the long run it is the people, not rotten politicians who are the guardians of democracy.
4. The two stage theory – do Priority No.2 now, and let us think about Priority No.1 later WILL NOT WORK if point 3 above is not consolidated. (Greedy politicians do not abdicate power voluntarily once they taste it; the people have to force it)”.

Second correspondence

“3.  YOUR COLLEAGUES MAY BE CORRECT.  KUMAR, “DON’T ROCK THE BOAT”.  AS THEY SAY, “THROW THE BUMS OUT NOW”, TIME FOR A NEW SET OF BUMS.  OR IS IT A CASE OF “THE KNOWN DEVIL IS BETTER THAN THE UNKNOWN”.  THE MUGABE-SYNDROME WILL HAVE NO SOLUTION”.

Reply:

“OK, I have bowed to intense pressure. But the critical matter is not to foster illusions about any of these fellows even if we have no option but to vote for them. So I now say “Vote for the @#*$ (unprintable) but beware he has already lied to us and is a toy in the hands of the JHU”.

After the election, if the he wins, we will have our work cut out for us. Victory will not be the end but the beginning of another struggle against Mugabe Mark-2. So now my stand is “OK vote for him but build a strong, independent people’s movement which will not stand for any s**t”. This is more positively oriented (for Lanka) than the ‘Shhh-buggers’ who will have no credibility when things begin to go wrong within weeks”.

2015 Presidential Election in Sri Lanka: An Initial Forecast

by Dr. Siri Gamage 

- on 01/02/2015 

As we approach the final week of campaigning for the Presidential election, the political messages of both coalitions are becoming clearer. So are the strategies of both coalitions and trends in voter sentiment as revealed through some surveys and public attendance in political rallies. Defections from the ruling coalition have dominated the political stage though there have been some notable defections from the opposition to the government side also sparingly. As a result of nearly 26 MPS defecting from the ruling coalition, including those from the SLFP and other parties, the stage is set for a sharper contest between Rajapakses and the rest who are opposing them. The emerging trend seems to be for ‘a change’ in the governance of Sri Lanka rather than maintaining the status quo. People who I have spoken to in the country and elsewhere refer to a discernible ‘mood change’ among the voters even though some admire the development work accomplished by the Rajapakses during their rein. They also refer to a greater sense of frustration among the average folk due to the reported corruption of politicians, partisan nature of governance, family rule, cost of living pressures and the disregard for rule of law by those in authority.
2015 Presidential Election in Sri Lanka an Initial Forecast by Thavam Ratna

EU calls for peaceful presidential poll

02/01/2015 

20150102_01-EU Calls for Peaceful Presidential Poll by Thavam Ratna

Vote For Democracy, Rule Of Law, Peace And Harmony – Friday Forum

Friday Forum: A Final Appeal to Fellow Voters.-02/01/2015 

In less than one week, the Sri Lankan electorate will go to the polls to elect a President who will hold office for the next six years. This is probably the most decisive election in Sri Lanka’s post-independence period, and one which will define the destiny of our country as never before. Exercising one’s franchise is both a right and a duty and we urge all Sri Lankans to do so. At this time the Friday Forum calls upon all Sri Lankans, whatever their political affiliation, to carefully consider the issues at stake when casting their vote. Our vote will determine the political, social and economic future of our country and that of our children for many years to come.

Our statement of December 12 appealed to the various categories of officials responsible for the conduct of a free, fair and violence-free election. Since then we deeply regret that we have witnessed outrageous acts of violence like the clash in front of the UNP headquarters, violations of election law such as the continued display of posters and cut-outs, and the reported escape of Deputy Minister Nishantha Muthuhettigama to Singapore via the VIP lounge at the Bandaranaike Airport while being a suspect in a case of arson witha warrant issued for his arrest – none of which appear to have had any legal repercussions.

This election gives us the opportunity to decide whether it is possible that we, our children and future generations will live in a country founded on the norms of participatory democracy, the rule of law and good governance, reinforced by an independent judiciary and public service. We must reflect on which of the choices before us best promises us a government which implements a model of sustainable and people-centred development, ensuring equitable allocation of resources and meeting the needs of all our people, particularly the most disadvantaged. When voting, we must choose which candidate is most likely to achieve what we want for ourselves and our children – a country where all communities will live in peace and harmony with respect and tolerance for our heritage of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity, and where we are all able to exercise our human rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

This election gives us many choices as to the candidate we vote for and the Friday Forum

urges all voters to exercise what is their constitutional right and civic duty, and vote.

We call on our fellow voters to consider which candidate gives us the best opportunity

to achieve democracy, rule of law, peace and harmony in Sri Lanka, for ourselves and

future generations. This will not be achieved easily but the process must begin and we

can make it happen.

Jayantha Dhanapala Professor Savitri Goonesekere Professor Camena Gunaratne

On behalf of The Friday Forum;

Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Professor Camena Gunaratne, Mr. Faiz-ur.Rahman,Mr. Pulasthi Hewamanna, Professor Gananath Obeyesekere, Mr. Javid Yusuf, Ms. Manouri Muttetuwegama, Professor Ranjini Obeyesekere, Mr. Priyantha Gamage, Professor Arjuna Aluwihare, Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka,Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Ms. Damaris Wickremesekera, Ms. Shanthi Dias, Dr. Deepika Udagama,Ms. Suriya Wickremasinghe, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Rt. Reverend Duleep de Chickera,Professor Gameela Samarasinghe, Dr. A. C.Visvalingam, , Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar,Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda, Dr. G. Usvatte-Arrachchi, Mr. S. C. C . Elankovan, Mr.Danesh Casie Chetty , Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Mr. Suresh de Mel, Mr. Chandra Jayaratne

Corruption is rife in several sectors: Dr. Harsha de Silva

-January 2, 2015

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is carrying out projects initiated by Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2003, United National Party Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silvastressed. 
“What the Defence Secretary is doing is taking ad hoc projects from the Singaporean plan that Ranil Wickremesinghe came up with in 2003 and implementing it. They are just paving it with red bricks and saying we did it,” asserted de Silva. 
He also spoke about immediate measures needed to be taken to resurrect the country and revive its economy under a new administration. 
Following are excerpts from the interview:

UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva -January 2, 2015

Q: We are a few days away from the presidential election. How would you describethe current situation? 
A:We haven’t been this optimistic about an outright victory since 2001. We are absolutely confident that we will carry this with a significant majority. Our poll predictions,conducted scientifically by various academics and organisations, all indicate a Maithripala Sirisena win.

Corruption is Rife in Several Sectors Dr. Harsha de Silva by Thavam Ratna

Mahinda takes over all TV channels

 

FRIDAY, 02 JANUARY 2015

A TV political programme participated by candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa is being produced to be telecast over all state and private channels on the 5th, the day all propaganda for the presidential election has to be ended.

The programme is being videoed at President’s House in Kandy. A TV channel has been asked to direct 10 questions to Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa. Only the questions selected from these by the President’s media unit would be directed to Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa by the presenters at the TV programme.

The videoed programme is to be telecast over all TV channels simultaneously on the 5th night. The telecast has been planned so that no other candidate or political party could have access to TV media. The target of the conspiracy is to get the advantage of the last minute TV telecast and not allow any other to contradict anything said by Mr. Rajapaksa, the candidate.

During provincial and other elections Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa carried out such programmes calling them ‘President meets the people’. However, this time it is illegal as Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa is a candidate.

Family massacre

By Premalal Wijerathne & Kavindya Chris Thomas-2015-01-02 

Police yesterday (01) found the four bodies of a family in a coir pit behind their house in the Nainamadama area of Lunuwila, Wennappuwa.
Police Media Spokesman, SSP Ajith Rohana, said that bodies recovered were those of a 52-year-old businessman, his 47-year-old doctor wife and their two children, a 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. They had been bound and dumped in the pit.

According to SSP Rohana, the Director of the Lunuwila Hospital had complained to the office, when his dentist had not shown up for work on a couple of days. The director had also stated that she could not be reached through her mobile phone.
The bodies were found when the police conducted a search of the area.
The Wennappuwa Police have dispatched a special team, under the supervision of SSP Saliya Silva, to conduct investigations.

Petition Challenging MR’s Nomination 

Withdrawn

January 2, 2015

The Petition filed in the Court of Appeal (CA/434/2014), challenging the nominations tendered by the President on the basis he was disqualified to stand for a third term was withdrawn today by the Petitioner, citing popular demand.

The Petitioner in this case informed the Court today that he was withdrawing his Petition as it was apparent that the public opinion on the President has been evidently eroded and in this background the purpose of filing the Petition in the National Interest would be defeated in the event the interim relief prayed for in the Petition is granted by the Court at this state suspending the election. The Petitioner states further that he does so in recognition of the Will of the people and their Sovereignty that would finally determine their popular choice through the exercise of their franchise at the forthcoming Presidential Election.

Finally he states that in the given circumstances he did not wish to throw a life-line to the President to remain in Office for a considerable period in the event the election is suspended by the Court, against the will of the People that has been clearly expressed by the citizens of Sri Lanka in both electronic and print media since filling of his Petition that challenged the Election.

Persisting dilemmas of big power military intervention

December 31, 2014, 12:00 pm 

In this photograph taken on November 1, 2014, a US soldier looks on as he rakes debris from demolished structures at Bagram Air Base, some 50 kms north of Kabul. NATO formally ended its war in Afghanistan on December 28, 2014, holding a low-key ceremony in Kabul after 13 years of conflict that have left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence.

Persisting Dilemmas of Big Power Military Intervention by Thavam Ratna

India says Pakistani boat exploded off coast

India's Defence Ministry released images purportedly showing the boat after the explosion on board [AFP]

02 Jan 2015 India's defence ministry says a Pakistani fishing boat bound for India blew up, killing all four people on board, after the Indian coast guard tried to stop and search it. Indian intelligence said the crew was planning "an illicit transaction" when the vessel was intercepted on New Year's Eve in the Arabian Sea, 365km off India's western coast, according to a government statement released on Friday. In a first reaction, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said it was unclear whether the incident had happened at all. It was not possible to verify independently the Indian government's account. India put security agencies on nationwide alert for an attack last month in the lead-up to a visit by US President Barack Obama at the end of January. Ajay Kumar Pandey, a spokesman for the Indian Coast Guard, declined to comment when asked whether the explosives suspected to be on board the boat were intended for use in a possible attack. Blurred photographs The Indian Defence Ministry released blurred night-time photographs of a burning fishing boat, with time stamps of 4am on New Year's Day. No name or other distinguishing characteristics were visible on the burning boat. No other physical evidence was presented by the Indian government. The coast guard chased the Pakistani boat for almost an hour and fired warning shots before it stopped, the Indian statement said, adding that the crew hid below deck and set the boat on fire. India's vulnerability to attacks along its long coastline was exposed in 2008 after the seaborne assault by Pakistani nationals on Mumbai, the nation's financial capital. Ten Pakistani attackers arrived on a rubber boat in Mumbai for the commando-style assault on two luxury hotels, a train station and a Jewish centre that killed 166 people. Since the attack, India has upgraded coastal security, spending money on patrol vessels, helicopters and building a coastal radar network.

Israel’s anti-African dragnet tightens

Israeli police and immigration officers arrest African asylum-seekers near the border with Egypt, 29 June 2014.

 (Oren Ziv / ActiveStills)

31 December 2014

The past year saw some of the most ruthless Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since the territories were occupied in 1967. Israeli political leadersincited violence against Palestinians and soldiers and civilians carried out these commands, while the government’s parallel war on African refugees raged on.
Israel’s anti-African dragnet tightens.odt by Thavam Ratna

Woman arrested at Luton airport over terror offences

A 25-year-old woman has been arrested at Luton airport on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences.

WEDNESDAY 31 DECEMBER 2014

The woman, from Haringey in London, was arrested at around 11.30am on Wednesday as she disembarked a flight from Istanbul, in Turkey.

The woman is being held at a police station in the west Midlands on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism.

The terror threat level in the UK was raised from substantial to severe earlier this year against a backdrop of increasing concerns over hundreds of aspiring British jihadis travelling to Iraq and Syriato learn terrorist "tradecraft".

In December, counter-terrorism police stopped a flight that had begun taxiing down the runway to stop a 15-year-old girl from travelling to Syria.

Two British men who were arrested after returning to the UK from Syria in January were jailed for 12 years and 8 months on 5 December.

IS fears

Fears of a terrorist attack on Britain's streets have heightened in the wake of the rise of the extremist group Islamic State that has taken over large swathes of Iraq and Syria and attracted thousands of foreign jihadists to its cause, including more than 500 Britons.

A new counter-terrorism and security bill, containing a range of draconian powers including new orders that can block suspected British fighters from returning to the UK, was introduced to parliament this year.