South Africa opposition set for first black leader

SUNDAY 10 MAY 2015

South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance party says it voted Mmusi Maimane as leader on Sunday, making him the first black person to head the traditionally white party.

The party hopes the move will widen its appeal.

South Africa remains deeply divided racially despite the fall of apartheid more than two decades ago, with most of the black population continuing to live in poverty.

He faced chairman Wilmot James for the job, and was elected at a party conference in Port Elizabeth.

Maimane, 34, who begun his victory speech in his native Xhosa language, told delegates his priorities would be fighting for a fairer society with equal opportunities for all.

"We can transcend racial inequality, but this can only happen if every South African acknowledges the injustices of apartheid and if we all recognise that racial inequality of the past still remains with us today," Maimane, who was born in the black township of Soweto in Johannesburg, said.

The Democratic Alliance's (DA) leader of eight years, Helen Zille, 62, stepped down after leading the party to win 22 per cent of the vote in the 2014 national election, its best performance. Ruling party and former liberation movement African National Congress won that poll by more than 60 per cent.

Ms Zille, told The Citizen that she was relieved to be stepping down.

She said: "I will campaign for the DA, I will do what the new leadership would like me to do without trying to lead from the behind and interfering."

She had suggested that a black leader was needed to be a viable opposition against the ruling African National Party.

DA's position as the leading opposition party is challenged by hard-left Economic Freedom Fighters that won 6 per cent of national elections last year.

Maimane's rise to prominence began in 2011, when he became the party's national spokesman. Last year, he lost his bid to lead the provincial government of South Africa's richest province, Gauteng, but shortly afterwards became his party's parliamentary leader.

On Mother’s Day, Brazil Is Sending Its Convicts Home to See Their Moms

BY BENJAMIN SOLOWAY0-MAY 10, 2015

All over the world, people are forgetting to call their mothers on this second Sunday of May. Get on that, if you live in one of the dozens of countries celebrating Mother’s Day on May 10 this year. In Brazil, Dia das Mães is an unusually big deal. Families gather for celebrations and meals. The retail sector sees a spike in business topped only by Christmas. And thousands of prisoners are released temporarily so that they can go home to visit the women who raised them.

Prisoners in Brazil who demonstrate good behavior and meet other requirements are allowed to take five breaks from prison per year: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Children’s Day, Christmas, and one additional, flexible day. During the Christmas furlough two years ago, 47,531 inmates across Brazil left prison on temporary release. Some 2,400 never bothered to return. The Department of Corrections in São Paulo did not respond immediately to questions regarding the size of this year’s mass furlough.

More than 550,000 Brazilians are behind bars — the fourth largest prison population in the world, after the United States, China, and Russia. By most measures, Brazil’s prisons are in horrid shape, plagued by severe overcrowding and rampant violence. In 2013, nearly 60 inmates were murdered — in a single prison. An investigation uncovered that gang leaders were systematically raping inmate’s wives during conjugal visits there as well. In another facility, three prisoners were beheaded during a riot. And beneath the searing horrors that make international headlines, ordinary prisoners face terrible miscarriages of justice, often waiting for years in overcrowded group cells just to stand trial. While spared some of the violence male inmates face, women prisoners also contend with harsh conditions of confinement and abusive treatment, according to Human Rights Watch.

Despite the high rate of escape — which could be reduced through electronic monitoring, according to InSight Crime — the furlough program has substantial benefits: It helps inmates remain engaged with their communities and families, and helps them reintegrate more easily after release. It also leads to a spike in lawbreaking: A 2015 report by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security reported “notable increases” in crime during holidays Brazil — attributable in part to the “liberal system of prison furloughs.”

“Many people in Brazil believe that inmates must suffer, enduring hunger and depravity,” Euza Beloti, a psychologist, told the New York Times in March. “This thinking bolsters a system where prisoners return to society more violent than when they entered prison.”

The furlough system encourages a more progressive approach. And not all furloughs mark traditional, wholesome occasions like Mother’s Day. A new, experimental program has begun granting furloughs for another reason: Rituals deep in the jungle during which inmates consume ayahuasca, a powerful hallucinogen. “Each experience helps me communicate with my victim to beg for forgiveness,” Celmiro de Almeida, a homicide convict who has taken the drug nearly 20 times since going to prison, told the Times.

No word on how his mom feels about this method of rehabilitation. Call your mother!

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Papaya Seeds: For Gut Health, Liver And Kidney Detox

Papaya Seeds For Gut Health, Liver And Kidney Detox

by CureJoy Editorial - May 8, 2015

Most of the time when we eat Papaya, we trash the Seeds. But little do we know how beneficial they are and how they can prevent and cure a plethora of ailments related to the liver, gut, worms and even diseases like Dengue. The following is a list, that illustrate the benefits of eating Papaya Seeds.

Liver Health

Papaya Seeds contain vital nutrients that help heal cirrhosis of the liver. Grind or crush 5-6 Papaya Seeds and have them with food or juice, especially lime juice. This should be done for 30 days. Moreover eating small amounts of Papaya seeds regularly helps in detoxing the liver and keeps liver diseases at bay.

Kidney Health

Researchers at the University of Karachi have found that Papaya Seeds can be used to improve kidney health and preventing renal failure. The same works wonders for kidney poisoning related diseases.

 

Anti-inflammatory properties

Papaya Seeds are anti-inflammatory making them great for alleviating arthritis, joint disease, swelling, pain, and redness.

Anti-bacterial and Anti-Viral properties

A small amount of Papaya Seeds has been found to kill harmful bacteria like E. coli, Staph, and Salmonella. They also help fight viral infections and cures Dengue, Typhoid, and numerous other diseases. In Nigeria, Papaya Seeds with Milk is an excellent cure for Typhoid fever.

The seeds have been extensively used in Costa Rica to fight against Dengue fever. The juice from papaya leaves can help cure the same.

Making Papaya Juice:

• Use 2 papaya leaves
• Wash and cut into smaller pieces
• Pound and squeeze the pulp through a filter cloth
• Only 2 tablespoons of juice can be squeezed out
• Two tablespoons per serving once a day

Arresting Cancer

Papaya Seeds contain agents that stop the growth of cancer cells and tumors. They contain isothiocyanate which works well for colon, breast, lung, leukemia and prostate cancer.

Destroys Parasites

The Seeds of Papaya contain an alkaloid called “Carpaine” that kills intestinal worms and amoeba parasites. Whereas the Papaya Fruit helps metabolize proteins and makes the gastrointestinal tract an extremely hostile place for parasites to live and thrive. Studies have shown that children in Nigeria have got rid of parasites in their gut 75% of the times, by consuming Papaya Seed Juice for 7 days.

Natural Contraceptive

Papaya Seeds are excellent natural contraceptives for both men and women, without any side-effects, unlike the over-the-counter contraceptives that have numerous adverse effects on prolonged use. For centuries, both men and women in the Indian subcontinent and in parts of Southeast Asia have traditionally used the papaya fruit and its seeds as a form of birth control.

Aids Digestion

Both unripe papaya and papaya seeds are high in the enzyme papain. Papain is a beneficial aid to protein digestion but best avoided for women currently or trying to get pregnant.

For males, eating one teaspoon of Papaya Seeds every day for 3 months can greatly reduce sperm production without affecting libido. Moreover, this effect is temporary: when Papaya Seeds are discontinued the fertility comes back to normal.

How to Eat Papaya Seeds

Papaya Seeds can be eaten raw (though that gives a strong, pepper-like but bitter taste), ground or crushed in Salad dressings, milk or honey.

Conclusion

The goodness of consuming Papaya Seeds are many and not limited to the above list. That being said, one should partake only small quantities of the seed and that also, not very frequently. Excessive consumption may lead to many side effects, notably pregnancy related issues.

As a precaution, pregnant women should not use papaya seeds or the enzyme-rich green papaya. This warning on their use would also extend to breastfeeding. Additionally, while papaya seeds do have strong anti-parasitic properties, they may be too powerful for young children’s gastrointestinal tracts, so a doctor should be consulted before giving them to infants.

By Rachelle Chandraan

A Proper Way to Poo? Squatty Potty Review

Katie - Wellness Mama-December 7, 2012

I have to admit, when I started blogging, a post about the proper position while using the restroom was not on my list to write! Lately, I’ve come across research and resources that have convinced me that this is an important topic, and I’m going to attempt to address it while keeping the TMI to a minimum.

The website further explains the most common problems with modern toilet posture and how squatting can help:

A Proper Way to Poo Squatty Potty Review by Thavam Ratna

Something has begun

Future tense: The people of Sri Lanka have known ethnic strife for decades, but the new government promises to unite them. Photo: Reuters/ Andrew Harnik

Different strokes: Maithripala Sirisena hails from the countryside, speaks only Sinhala and was rarely visible at the forefront of politics before he became president. Photo: V. Sudershan

The Maithripala Sirisena government in Sri Lanka wins appreciation in its initial months, but it’s not all smooth-sailing just yet

NAMINI WIJEDASA-May 8, 2015

Sri Lanka’s new leader Maithripala Sirisena won an election against all odds. He now seems determined to unite majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, who have known decades of ethnic tension and war. Many promises, which he was to honour in the first 100 days, were made during the presidential campaign. That deadline passed with most promises falling by the wayside — it isn’t easy being a minority government — but there was delivery on some substantive ones. He has won admiration in the West and even in India for his less intransigent ways. Having been in the president’s office since January, his greatest challenge is to win the backing of his own disunited party.
Something Has Begun by Thavam Ratna

Buddhist Extremists Threaten “The Forgotten People”

By Hilmy Ahamed –May 8, 2015 

Hilmy Ahamed

The Internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Muslim origin from the Northern province who have been branded as the “Forgotten People” during the last 25 years, continue to be intimidated and harassed by some extremist Buddhist forces and a section of the ill informed media. These Muslim IDPs who were forced out of their homes with less than 2 hours notice by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1990, had to leave their villages leaving behind their worldly possessions and lifetime savings. They paid this price because they refused to support or be part of Velupillai Prabaharan’s Eelam quest.

Today, the assault on these innocent Muslims continue to be a politically motivated campaign targeting Minister Rishard Bathiudeen and his fight for justice for his fellow Muslim IDPs. This has the full blessings of the Sinhala extremists, the Catholic church in Mannar and some sections of the political leadership.

Rishard Bathiudeen, who is himself a Muslim IDP from the North was also evicted from his home by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1990. This eviction of the Muslims from the Northern province has been recognized as the worst ethnic cleansing exercise ever undertaken in Sri Lanka. Minister Bathiudeen is being continuously targeted for voicing his disapproval of successive governments’ failure to address the just grievances of his fellow IDPs. The failure of the Government to provide the same opportunities to the Muslim IDPs as the returning Tamil IDPs is a violation of their basic right to return. They were branded as old IDPs and the international community too who champion human rights discriminated against these unfortunate people. The pressure on the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to resettle the Tamil war displaced during the final stages of the battle made these Muslims to be a forgotten people.

The crisis for the Muslims started off from the day they were evicted in 1990. Upon eviction of the entire Muslim community from the North, the LTTE started resettling Tamils, especially the families of LTTE cadres on Muslim lands that the Muslims were forced to abandon. This strategy of colonizing Muslim lands was undertaken as a strategic move to permanently displace the Muslim population from the northern province and has been fully supported by the noted LTTE sympathizer and anti-Muslim crusader of the Northern province, the Bishop of Mannar, Rev. Rayappu Joseph. This had the blessing and support of the Tamil administrative officers who held important government positions. This land grab and the resettlement of Tamils in Muslim lands continue to be a major cause of conflict between the returning Muslim IDPs and the Tamil population who had been settled in the Muslim lands.Read More

BJP leaders discuss Tamils issue with Sri Lankan ministers

C D S Mani,TNN | May 8, 2015, 08.33 PM IST

"The issue of the 13th amendment was discussed with Lankan minister for health Rajitha Senaratne and minister for resettlement D M Swaminathan," BJP national executive member L Ganesan said on his return from Colombo on Thursday. 

Ganesan visited Sri Lanka on an invitation from Ilangai Jayaraj, popular orator and expert in Kamban Ramayana, to address a conference in Colombo on the 12 century Tamil epic. 

Ganesan combined his cultural visit with a Track II diplomatic mission with state BJP vice president M Chakravarthy to meet Tamils and interact with Sri Lankan ministers, as a follow up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state to the island nation in March. 

"The issue of giving equal rights to Tamils was discussed with Sri Lankan minister for health Rajitha Senaratne and minister for resettlement D M Swaminathan," said the BJP national executive member. 

Ganesan said the ministers had conveyed their government's commitment to rehabilitate around 80,000 war widows through professional training and skill development programmes. 

During their five-day visit, a delegation of Tamils from Jaffna called on the BJP leaders. The delegation invited them to the northern provinces. Indian origin Tamil settlers in tea estates had also met them. 

Chakravarthy said both Sinhalese and Tamils "are slowly getting out of the LTTE phobia and looking towards the future". 

Speaking about conference, Ganesan said: "Jayaraj has been organising annual conferences on Asian epics and related literature for the past 25 years. This time he invited me to deliver the keynote address." 

The conference was inaugurated by Malaysian deputy minister for sports M Sarvananan on May 1. 

The BJP leaders also joined the Buddha Purnima celebrations in Colombo. "I have not seen something like this for a long time. Every street was crowded in the Lankan capital with people and vehicles. People lined up patiently to receive food specially prepared for the occasion and distributed in various parts of the city," he recalled. 

Sri Lanka: Victory For Mindful Journalism

By Shelton A. Gunaratne –May 9, 2015

Dr. Shelton A. Gunaratne

Perhaps for the first time in the history of English language journalism in Sri Lanka, the Sunday Observer has demonstrated the suitability and feasibility of using mindful journalism as an option for the Anglo-American style of Orientalist journalism that the oligopolistic wire services had spread worldwide since the American Civil War.

I refer to the exemplary editorial published in the Vesak issue of the Sunday Observer under the title “19A: Moment in History.” Obviously, the writer is someone who is conversant with Eastern history and Buddhist literature, not a snob who wants to disgorge his/her knowledge of Anglo-American history in defence of parliamentary democracy.

S/he begins the editorial with Buddha’s allusion to democratic practice in the Sakyan and Vajjian tribal republics of eastern India that survived until the fourth century BCE. Buddha was a staunch advocate of republican democracy. Other tribal republics that practiced direct/representative/constitutional democracy included those of the Licchavis, the Videhas, the Nayas, the Mallas, and the Koliyas. But, as far as I know, this may be the first time that a mainstream English language newspaper in Sri Lanka has traced principles of democratic principles to sub continental Eastern history rather than to the West. If so, this may signify the beginning of mindful journalism in the country because editors are becoming mindful of their indefensible reification of the West as the progenitor of democracy.

The Sunday Island Vesak editorial also commendably dealt with a Buddhist theme although it failed, in my opinion, to use the crux of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths—dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, and magga—to substantiate the need for tolerance of diversity within unity, to drive home the simple truth that most of our dukkha is the result of our unwillingness to comprehend that there is no self because all beings are composites of the Five Aggregates (material form, feelings, perception, karmic/mental fabrications, and consciousness), which are in a constant state of flux. Buddhism is not a religion but a phenomenology that everyone can investigate through mindful meditation. People of all religions can benefit from practicing Buddhist principles without compromising their own religious principles. An editorial with such a thrust would have been a supreme example of mindful reporting or journalism as a social good.

The Sunday Times, on the other hand, failed to apply the mindful approach by focusing its editorial on the diplomatic mission of the U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry without making the slightest attempt to analyze Kerry’s word and deed to the Four Noble Truths. Imagine an editorial writer’s audacity to defy the significance of Vesak by giving priority to the town visit of a Yankee Doodle. However, the Sunday Times had the good sense to publish a handful of in-depth Vesak features written by Buddhists believers like Primrose Jayasinghe, Mervyn Samarakoon and Ajahn Brahmavamso. But these articles were about special aspects of Buddhism; therefore they did not reflect the deliberate practice of mindful journalism.Read More

Dr. Bahu speaks on Mahinda -Maithree discussion and attack on Nirmal (Video)

(Lanka-e-News -09.May.2015, 10.00PM) 

---------------------------
by     (2015-05-09 17:05:04)

Sri Lanka Prez disbands military unit attached to his security

 SriLanka Army >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SriLanka Police

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has disbanded the military unit attached to his security, weeks after a soldier carried a pistol to a function attended him, the worst presidential security breach in 16 years.

Police will now be in control of the presidential security division, Police spokesman Assistant Superintendent Ruwan Gunasekera said today.

"The Army unit was attached to the presidential security division during the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime. This unit is now disbanded and the personnel will be returned to their respective regiments," Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera said.

An Army Corporal, attached to the personal security of Rajapaksa's son and parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, breached the security arrangements at an event attended by the President on April 25 as he carried a pistol to the function, prompting police to arrest the soldier and launch a probe.

The Corporal with his pistol was spotted within striking distance of Sirisena at the political gathering in the Rajapaksa home district of Hambantota. The CID started an investigation and the soldier was arrested on May 2.

This was the worst presidential security breach since the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga was seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack blamed on the LTTE in December 1999.

After the military victory over the LTTE in 2009 which ended a bloody separatist campaign of over three decades, the Army was conferred super hero status in the Sri Lankan society.

Rajapaksa rewarded the Army with plum government positions leading to accusations of militarisation of the society at large.

PTI 

Smaller parties chALLENGE 20a IN COURT

Smaller parties chALLENGE 20a IN COURT

By NiranjalaAriyawansha-2015-05-10

Fourteen smaller political parties have taken a unanimous decision to go to Courts against the government if they attempt to adopt the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which includes electoral reforms, as an Bmergency Bill.

Ceylon Today learns that under the present circumstances the government will not be able to get the 20th Amendment to the Constitution passed in Parliament.

Making a statement to Ceylon Today, Leader of the Democratic People's Front, Mano Ganesan said although smaller political parties accept that the electoral system should be amended, if the new electoral system proposed in the amendment is passed as an Emergency Bill, it would cause much harm to the smaller political parties.

He further said that he would force the government to withdraw immediately the 20th Amendment to the Constitution which is due to be tabled in Parliament on 20 May, under these circumstances.
"I have got to know that this amendment will be submitted to the Cabinet on the 13th and tabled in Parliament on the 20th. If that is done, even though we are unwilling, we will go to Court," he stressed.

Under these circumstances, the smaller political parties have decided to meet President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and representatives of the United People's Freedom Alliance next week to discuss these issues.
Fourteen smaller political parties have arrived at this decision at a discussion held at Waters Edge in Battaramulla on 8 May. They have agreed upon three issues at this meeting.

The three proposals are that the forthcoming general election should be held according to the existing electoral system and that when the electoral system is amended, time should be granted to the voters to gain knowledge of it and the speculations that the smaller political parties are attempting to sabotage the electoral reforms should be defeated.

Explaining further, Ganesan said, "There is no justified reason to bring electoral reforms as an Emergency Bill. According to the electoral system that exists now, smaller political parties contest elections at district level and not at electorate level. If an election is held under the amendments scheduled to be submitted, according to the electorate system every seat will be won either by the United National Party or the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. That will cause great harm to the smaller political parties. Therefore, the forthcoming election should definitely be held according to the existing system."
He added that in an election the most important group is the voters and it is essential that they require time to become aware of a new system when a new electoral system is being introduced.

"Even with the present system, given the number of rejected votes in each election, it is possible to see that certain voters who have so much experience in elections in Sri Lanka still do not have proper knowledge regarding elections. Therefore, even if it is accepted, the new election reforms should be subject to further discussion.
As a result, if democracy is to be guaranteed, we would like to request the government to listen to our opinions as well," he stated.
The minor parties, the JVP, SLMC, DPF, EPDP, CWC, UPF, NUW, LSSP, PD, ACMC, NSSP, USP and TULF attended the discussion held at Waters Edge. However, Ganesan said the Jathika Hela Urumaya did not participate in the discussion.

Harpoon ‘whales’

Editorial-May 8, 2015, 7:25 pm 

We thought Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera made a huge mistake when he, at a media briefing on Thursday, claimed that the Rajapaksas had stashed away in offshore accounts funds to the tune of USD 18 billion. We doubted his claim not because we believed that our rulers, both past and present, were paragons of virtue and would not line their pockets at the expense of the country; we thought the amount Samaraweera mentioned was too big to be true and it should be rupees and not dollars. But, he insisted that it was USD 18,000 million and converted it to Sri Lankan rupees to convince the media personnel.

Sri Lanka’s national income stands at about USD 75 bn and its external reserves amount to approximately USD 7 bn. All these decades it has borrowed, from various sources, funds to the tune of USD 24 bn. With the aforesaid USD 18 bn most of the country’s foreign debt could be paid back overnight.

The UNP-led UNF government (2001-2004) strove to obtain foreign loans to the tune of USD 4.5 billion from the so-called Tokyo Co-chairs of Sri Lanka’s peace process and even chose to appease the LTTE for that purpose at their behest. It never got the money and its appeasement policy as well as its controversial Regain Sri Lanka programme led to its downfall. The rest is history.

The government should be maniacally focused on tracing the stolen funds and bring those responsible for the grand robbery to justice without expending its time and energy on hunting for others who have committed lesser offences; fingerlings can be dealt with later. It is the corrupt whales flapping their tails freely in the ocean of black money that need to be harpooned and brought ashore first of all. In fact, that is one of the solemn promises the new government made to the people.

The Rajapaksas continue to trouble the current administration and some ruling party politicians have accused them of trying to scuttle the government’s pro-people programmes. Hardly a day passes without some ruling party bigwig taking a swipe at the ousted ruling family obviously in a bid to keep them at bay.

Yesterday’s pro-Mahinda rally in Kurunegala was a huge success with 54 UPFA MPs attending it in the wake of Sirisena-Mahinda parley which ended inconclusively. It is a worrisome proposition for the government with a general election on the horizon. All signs are that the SLFP will suffer a debilitating split down the middle with a breakaway group backing former President Rajapaksa.

All that the government has to do to take the Rajapaksas off its back and romp home at the next parliamentary polls is to trace the funds they are alleged to have deposited in foreign accounts. If that can be done, President Sirisena will be free from trouble for the rest of his tenure and the UNP can rest assured that it will be able to rule this country as long as it likes, undisturbed. For, besides legal action against its bêtes noires for amassing ill-gotten wealth the government will be able to enhance Samurdhi, Mahapola benefits manifold, develop free education and free health care as never before and subsidise essential commodities without worrying about foreign aid.

The government says it has the US, the EU and India on its side and together they should be able to help find the stolen funds in foreign banks.

So, the government must drop everything and go at full tilt to trace and recover USD 18 bn. Let no excuses be trotted out. All hands on dock!

Sri Lanka: Vasudeva Almost Sanctioning the Assault on Me – Dr. Devasiri

08/05/2015

Responding to Democratic Left Front (DLF) leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri yesterday said that Mr. Nanayakkara’s assessment that the May Day attack would have been expected implies that he too expected his supporters to react in a violent manner to opposing views.

“I don’t know how he knows what my intentions of attending the rally were, but if he is saying I should have expected the attack then what he is indirectly saying is that he is aware of the forces that he is mobilizing, and how their supporters react to their opponents”, “ he said.

“Mr. Nanayakkara said that I had a habit of labelling political movements and the Rajapaksa followers as a fascist movement, but by saying that I should expect attacks, he is indirectly admitting this. He knows that the Mahinda supporters have a habit of attacking their supporters. What does this mean? It means that it does not have a key democratic trait, that of tolerating the views of your opponent” he said

Mr. Dewasiri further stated that his method was to attend public meetings of his political opponents and take issue with them at such gatherings but was never once assaulted.

“I have been attending public meetings of my opponents since I was 16. I attended a JVP rally at the time I was anti JVP and even argued with full time members of the JVP on conflicting views. That is my way of doing politics,” he said.

He expressed regret over the comment made by the left wing leader, stating that he had worked closely with him for many years and expected a more genuine condemnation.

“He is almost sanctioning this attack, he has said to look into the issue, but they must actually condemn it without saying I should or would expect violence for expressing my views. I have been doing politics with Vasudeva from the late eighties and worked closely with him since 1994. I was even the editor of his newspaper. I have great respect towards him, but I am really sorry to hear these kinds of comments coming from him” he said.

He added that Mr. Nanayakkara was sending a very ‘interesting’ political message that one should not attend meetings of one’s political opponents.

(Jehan Gunasekara)-

[Original Caption: Dewasiri responds to Vasu]

The baiya and toiya of citizenry

 

Fragments.

Uditha Devapriya-Saturday, May 9, 2015

Harin Fernando, addressing the media at Sirikotha, has commented on the recent meeting between Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa. He dismisses any chance of a reconciliation between the two and pours scorn on those who believe in an imminent bridging (of sorts). He offers balm to hoot: "We reduced the price of koththamalli for those jokers who think the president will join hands with thieves." He identifies those who support such a reconcilition with one word: baiya. Point well made indeed.

 

Now Fernando is not the sort of politician who'd make such a comment. The baiya-toiya dichotomy as I stated in an earlier piece is symptomatic of veiled prejudices against those who voted for Rajapaksa. I can only conclude that Fernando made his remark not knowing (or caring) what he said. The problem however is that his own party isn't helping him in this regard.

 

I have always believed that if there was ever a division which showed in the presidential election, it was largely class-based. Rajapaksa won in electorates where poverty was rampant. He won Anamaduwa, the poorest electorate. He won Attanagalla despite the Bandaranaike "presence". Ethnicity did not factor in there. But everyone seemed to be concerned about the ethnic rift. That is why they ignored the class-factor in the election. For the most part.

 

The UNP is facing a popularity-deficit. This we know. It can't fill that gap by pandering to capital interests. That may explain its attempts at grabbing the rural vote through a self-deemed "populist" budget. But this isn't enough. Attempts can be made. Easily. Validating and exhibiting them is the name of the game however, and where this is concerned President Sirisena and the SLFP still hold the cards.

 

In this regard reducing the Mahinda-Maithripala split to the baiya-toiya dichotomy is not going to help the UNP. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, going by past conduct the party hasn't exactly helped to "bridge" the gap between baiya and toiya (the rural poor and the urban affluent). Given this it's hardly surprising that many view the party to be in favour of class-rifts. I am not saying that this is the case. But perceptions count. Even when they remain unsubstantiated.

 

Secondly, I am amused whenever I hear people saying that the UNP "won". Well it did, but not the way some would have wanted it to. Electoral victory remains as yet a distant dream. But if this remark amuses me then the next one tickles me: "the UNP is the best option for this country, but it cannot win on its own." Now one can argue that electoral numbers don't always bode well for the country, but where's democracy in that?

 

UNPers (especially the more affluent ones) seem content in "shrugging off" democracy this way. People-power however remains potent, whether they like it or not. So they go on calling Rajapaksa's supporters "baiyas". Some of them go as far as calling them "yakkos". Remarks like these reflect on those who make them. Badly.

 

Harin Fernando is one of the more intelligent members of the UNP. He is young but he has humility. His remarks are all the more surprising because one can't expect any intelligent politician to reduce the SLFP-UNP rift to the baiya-toiya rift. True, by baiyas he would have meant those who support Rajapaksa. But this is not what it means. Baiya means villager, or rather "village idiot". When used in particular contexts it is as insulting and stereotypical as black-faces at a minstrel show.

 

The UNP will not get over its perceived anti-rural bias if it continues to pettifog this way. It doesn't take a political analyst to add two and two here. Despite the party's best intentions, continuing to depict the electoral split in the country as a battle (of sorts) between baiyas and toiyas will not be in its interests. Quibbling over imagined differences will not help. Nor will statements disparaging villagers add credence to party, even if they are made outside context.

 

Mahinda Rajapaksa has a presence. It arguably is bigger than that of any of his predecessors, barring perhaps Ranasinghe Premadasa and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Even there the gap is clear: Rajapaksa has within 10 years achieved what Premadasa couldn't in four and Bandaranaike couldn't in 15. The irony is that he retains popularity even when he clearly is tainted. No one has venerated a man this corrupt here before.

Ranil Wickremesinghe is different. Some call him the shrewdest politician we have here. I would agree and disagree. For starters, it was under him that the UNP underwent a facelift. If J. R. Jayawardena stood for mild capitalism and Premadasa for populist conservatism, Wickremesinghe's UNP successfully took on the SLFP during the Kumaratunge years and embraced liberal conservatism. It also unfortunately took on an identity-less identity thanks largely to the ceasefire years.

It is this transformation which effectively undid both him and his party, owing partly to the misconception that the SLFP was leftist. Well, the SLFP has never been leftist, at least not since 1975 when Felix Dias Bandaranaike became Finance Minister. Mahinda Rajapaksa's "leftism" was in reality a more crony version of Premadasa's populist capitalism, never mind how many leftist parties were and are with him.

My point is this: Wickremesinghe's shrewdness can be his undoing. He gambled when he embraced Sirisena as the common opposition candidate. His party retained that liberal conservative streak when he gave key ministerial portfolios to his faction. He is surviving in the government thanks largely to a sleeping president who seems content (thankfully, one notes) in not exercising his powers fully. In this context it would make sense for the UNP to capitalise on the ground situation through a facelift.

Writing about a month before Sirisena became the common candidate, Dr Dayan Jayatilleka assessed the ground situation and presented his ideal Opposition context:

"The good news is that there are two chances at the coconut shy; two interlinked opportunities to dismantle the clan-based oligarchy. One is at the presidential election – but that’s already pretty much a goner. The other is to use the presidential election as a massive consciousness raising exercise – with Sajith Premadasa, Sujeeva Senasinghe, Harsha de Silva, Eran Wickremaratne, Rosie Senanayake, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sunil Handunetti, Vijitha Herath, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Lal Kantha, and Tilvin Silva in a pincer move."

Outside Sajith (given his conduct one can hardly agree with what his champions cut him out as), the rest of the names from the UNP merit serious assessment. Neither Harsha nor Eran has shown himself to be a follower of any anti-baiya streak. Rosie Senanayake is a different matter of course, but she is no Chandrika Kumaratunge and neither is Sujeeva Senasinghe another Ravi Karunanayake.

That is one point. The other is policy. That has always been the UNP's strong point. Ever since 1975 it has effectively undone the SLFP when it comes to reason-driven development, barring the latter part of the Jayawardena regime and the Ranasinghe Premadasa years. Harsha de Silva is (to my mind at least) a near-perfect technocrat, in the mould of N. M. Perera, and certainly a right-wing J. K. Galbraith. It is policy that drives him. Reason-driven policy. That wins my vote any day.

The UNP's "pincer move" to redesign itself will not work as long as the Ranil faction is given precedence. Neither Harsha nor Eran belongs to this group. They are politically nonaligned. They are not pro-Ranil but that doesn't make them anti-Ranil either. That is why they do not belong to the Sajith Premadasa camp. That is why it makes sense to promote them, because they and they alone have what it takes to redefine the party and possibly make it more progressive than it already is. Part of this redesign will no doubt remove the anti-baiya prejudice it is associated with at present.

In this regard it would also make sense to stop raising hairs with the baiya-toiya conflict. That is past. This is now. Seasoned politicians do not poke fun at those they oppose with the hillbilly tag. That offends not just those the UNP can get from the opposite camp but also those they already have outside the urban affluent crowd.

For now at least, Ranil Wickremesinghe remains the man of the moment. It would be tragic indeed if he goes down in history as a man who wasn't able to capitalise on this moment. Given past conduct, however, I think it's safe to assume he will go through this. Meanwhile, he and his party must go through that facelift I mentioned above. The one will not be possible, it must be noted, without the other. It's as simple as that.

Uditha Devapriya is a freelance writer who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com