Assassinated Tamil MP remembered 13 years on

181225 Joseph Pararajasingham assassination TNPF NA 1.jpg

The assassinated Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham was remembered across the Tamil homeland today, marking the 13th anniversary of his killing.

Pararajasingham, who was a senior Tamil National Alliance (TNA) figure, and the MP for Batticaloa district, was shot and killed by two armed paramilitary men, whilst he was attending Christmas Eve midnight mass in 2005, at the St Mary's church in Batticaloa town. 

His wife, Sugunam Pararajasingham was seriously wounded in the gunfire.

The assassination, which occurred during the official ceasefire between the government and the LTTE, was condemned by Tamils around the world.

"Mr Pararajasingham served as a supreme political leader working resolutely to confront forces that attempted to destroy Tamil Nationalism. Tamil people across the world regarded him as an honest leader and his murder has angered and saddened all of us," the head of the LTTE's political wing, S. P. Thamilchelvan told mourners in Kilinochchi who had gathered at his funeral to pay their respects. See here for coverage of his memorial event on December 28, 2005 by TamilNet.

Pararajasingham was posthumously conferred the title 'Maamanithar' by the LTTE.

In October 2017, the paramilitary leader, Pillayan was indicted over his murder, however over a year on, he is yet to be brought to trial. 

In November, the Batticaloa High Court judge adjourned the trial until January 9, 2019, extending Pillayan's remand. 

Batticaloa

The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) held a commemorative event in Batticaloa, with party members and local residents paying tribute to the Tamil MP's memory. 

Jaffna 

The TNPF held another event in Jaffna. 

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also held an event in Jaffna. 

Related Articles: 

21 November 2018 : Paramilitary leader remand extended over assassination of Tamil MP

04 January 2018 : Pillayan and paramilitary associates appear in high court over Joseph Pararajasingham murder

27 October 2017 : Pillayan indicted over assassination of Tamil MP

Judiciary Played A Crucial Role In Halting Sirisena’s March To Constitutional Dictatorship

By Veluppillai Thangavelu –DECEMBER 25, 2018

Veluppillai Thangavelu

The high tech drama began on the night of October 26, at 8.30 pm. President Sirisena to everyone surprise appointed his arch-foe Mahinda Rajapaksa, MP as Prime Minister. On the following day, he fired off a letter to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe informing him that he has removed from his office of Prime Minister in virtue of powers vested in him in terms of Article 44 (2) of the constitution. President Sirisena did not know that Article 44(2) does not apply to a sitting Prime Minister. It applies to the appointment of a Prime Minister after the elections. However, President Sirisena claimed that he had been advised by “legal experts” that he does have powers under 44 (2) to dismiss a sitting Prime Minister.

In between the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa on the 26th October and dismissal of Ranil Wickremesinghe on 27th October, there were two Prime Ministers! Not long after the country had no Prime Minister, Ministers or government until Ranil Wickremesinghe took his oaths following the judgment of a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court on December 13th.

Following the parliamentary elections held on August 17, 2015, the incumbent United National Party (UNP) led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) won 106 seats, an increase of 46 since the 2010 election, but failed to secure a majority in Parliament. The main opposition United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won 95 seats, a decline of 49 seats. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest party representing Sri Lankan Tamils, won 16 seats, an increase of two compared to 2010. The remaining eight seats were won by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (6), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (1) and Eelam People’s Democratic Party (1).

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the UNFGG and UNP, was able to form a national government with the support of UPFA MPs loyal to President Maithripala Sirisena.

One of the landmark pieces of legislation enacted by the national government was the 19th Amendment (19A) to the Constitution on 28 April 2015. It was passed by the 225-member Sri Lankan Parliament with 215 voting in favour, one against, one abstained and seven absent. The Amendment envisaged the stripping of many powers of the Executive Presidency, which had been in force since 1978.  It is the most radical reform ever applied to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka enacted by JR Jayawardhane in 1978. He became the first Executive President of Sri Lanka in 1978.

Differences between President Sirisena and Prime Minister began to surface after the formation of the national government. The long-simmering uneasy relationship between the President and Prime Minister over government policies became more acrimonious beginning from 2018. The President accused the Prime Minister of not investigating an alleged plot by Nalaka de Silva, the former DIG of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) to assassinate several VIPs, including him, Though the DIG Nalakka de Silva he was cleared initially of any wrongdoing was subsequently arrested by the CID on Thursday, October 26, one day before Rajapaksa was sworn in as Prime Minister.

The arrest was made during his interrogation by the CID which had questioned him on five separate days over the alleged plot.

A man named Namal Kumara in mid-September disclosed the alleged plot implicating Nalakka de Silva. Kumara has claimed that Silva had discussed the plot with him over phone targeting Sirisena and Rajapaksa.

After the swearing in of Rajapaksa by President Sirisena, the country plunged into a stormy and turbulent constitutional crisis day and night. Here is the timeline:

October 27 – President Sirisena prorogues Parliament until November 16. He issued a formal notice for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to step down. Same day Prime Minister Wickremesinghe addresses the Nation refusing to step down. He said only Parliament can remove him.

October 29 – President Sirisena address the nation. He claimed “I noted that there were also differences of culture between Mr Wickremesinghe and me. I believe that all those differences in policy, culture, personality and conduct aggravated this political and economic crisis.

October 30 – Speaker Karu Jayasuriya made a ‘kind request’ to President Maithripala Sirisena to reconvene Parliament to “prevent the country from falling into a crisis” following requests made by the UNP, ITAK, JVP. SLMC MPs to safeguard the privileges and rights of the MPs and establish a majority in Parliament.

November 02 – 119 MPs from several parties met and passed a resolution calling for an immediate convention of Parliament claiming that the removal of the Prime Minister and the appointment of another was unconstitutional.

November 08 – President Sirisena met with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation.  He told the TNA parliamentary group that he would not reappoint UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister even if his party secured a majority in Parliament. He asked the TNA to abstain at voting time.  The TNA told Sirisena it had taken a decision to vote against the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister.

November 09 – President Sirisena dissolved Parliament amid a political crisis following his attempt to replace Sri Lanka’s prime minister. The dissolution took effect from midnight on Friday. A general election was fixed for January 05, 2019.

November 12 –  Twelve Fundamental Right petitions were submitted to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka challenging the president’s decree sacking parliament and calling a snap election, by the UNP, TNA, JVP, SLMC and others demanding the restoration of status quo prevailing prior to 26 October. These were taken up for hearing on the same day by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court. Responding to the petitions, Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya made submissions stating that “the court had no jurisdiction to hear and determine the Fundamental Rights petitions against the dissolution of Parliament”. On the same day, 5 petitions by Prof G. L. Peiris, Minister Udaya Gammanpila, Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara and two others supporting the dissolution of parliament were filed at the Supreme Court. However, in the evening the three Judge bench issued an interim order till 7th December staying the proclamation issued by President Sirisena to dissolve parliament and granted leave to precede with the Fundamental Rights petitions that challenged the President’s dissolving parliament.

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Historic judgement to political impasse - The glorious star shone over SL

 2018-12-25

The star that shone over Bethlehem when Christ was born came to us in the prelude to Christmas, inspiring an independent judiciary whose historic judgement has brought them accolades from all over the world. 

All of us who prayed unceasingly through day and night, ever since that blackest of Fridays on October 26, have to thank God Almighty for yet another miracle. We also owe a debt of deep gratitude to our panel of Judges who stood firm and unwavering in their unanimous judgement and to civil society who played their part stronger than they ever had before,in their steadfast, courageous stand on this issue which badly affected the country as a whole. It was a clear stand for democracy, for what is right and not for who is right.   

This has been a lesson, although bitterly learned at the expense of the country and the people. It should be clear to one and all that the executive Presidency must go, the sooner the better. We cannot allow personal vendetta’s stemming from the whims and fancies of one individual to hold the country to ransom. I quoted two political Giants of the past, the late Dudley Senanayake and the late Dr. Colvin R. de Silva in a previous article on this issue. I didn’t know then that when the late Colvin warned the late President Jayawardene about what would happen if the wrong man was elected executive President, JR had said ‘Que Sera sera’ which means ‘whatever will be, will be’. Colvin’s riposte had been.’ No Dicky, whatever I say will be’.

We also owe a debt of deep gratitude to our panel of Judges who stood firm and unwavering in their unanimous judgement and to civil society who played their part stronger than they ever had before,in their steadfast, courageous stand on this issue which badly affected the country as a whole

This prediction has now come to pass so many years after their deaths. We also have to thank the international community, for taking the stand they did in not recognizing the illegal government, for warning tourists not to come here, for holding back aid and investment.It’s all very well for some who think they know everything to comment that there should be no interference from foreign powers. But the truth of the matter is that countries like ours cannot exist on our own, we need aid, we need investment and we need tourism. In these circumstances,the international communities, particularly those who believe in democracy, have every right to say what they feel and act accordingly.   

By removing the rightfully elected Prime Minister who was elected in keeping with the constitution, without whose help and support, he would never have been elected President and venting his venom against him time and time again in an undignified manner, for one in his position, the President has only helped Ranil to create another record. Previously, he and late Dudley, both shared the honour of being Prime Minister four times. Now Ranil has beaten this record and become PM for the fifth time.   

Even Ranil’s most vociferous critics must admit that no-one but he, could have handled and got over this crisis as he did with two cunning politicians as his protagonists. He never slandered his slanderers back, never lost his cool, remained calm and collected through the traumatic experience in which he was the chief victim. He was targeted with the vilest of abuse, but never even lost his sense of humour, which I was once the victim of in the midst of the crisis! This is a mark of greatness, Ranil Wickremesinghe as a man and as a politician is the genuine article, made of stuff which cannot be bought. These qualities of self control and self discipline have been instilled in him from childhood. His long experience as a lawyer, working under a great name in that field of that time,the late H.W. Jayewardene, his working closely with JR and the late President Premadasa in politics to whom he was very loyal, when others broke away, was when he gained experience in governance, his being widely read on a wide spectrum of subjects, ranging from history, politics, literature, music, has given him a wider dimension on issues which few other politicians today possess. He always remained loyal to the party,led it through the worst times. 

• We must thank the international community, for taking the stand for not recognizing the illegal government
• Ranil, as a man and as a politician is the genuine article, made of stuff which cannot be bought
• He never slandered his slanderers back, never lost his cool, remained calm and collected through the traumatic experience in which he was the chief victim

Insiders say he was able to go through every aspect of the recent case, advise the lawyers, although he has never taken any credit but thanked instead, all those who stood for firmly and fought for democracy. Another fact I must mention, although I may get the sharp end of his tongue for doing so, is that when it was decided to give a gift of cash of Rs. One million to late Lester James Pieris. The government said it could give half the amount. He gave the remaining Rs. 500,000 from his personal savings account. I cannot think of any other politician who would have done this. He is a forgiving person and has always forgiven and even rewarded those who have stabbed him in the back. 

This I think stems from his childhood, he comes from a home where one parent was a Buddhist while the other a christian. He is a Buddhist like his mother, is well read on Buddhism and has always been a devout Buddhist, but he is influenced to a certain extent in his thinking by Christianity too. 

The myth spread by enemies of his unpopularity was proved a lie at the last election when he polled 500,000 votes, the largest ever in that election. There is in his reaction to the slander thrown at him a similarity to Christ’s word on the cross. 

“Father forgive them they know not what they do.”   

President must not lead the opposition

By Jehan Perera-December 24, 2018, 9:45 pm 

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s announcement in parliament that the new Leader of the Opposition would be former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been controversial. Following criticisms Speaker Jayasuriya, who had earlier played a key role in resolving the political crisis in the country, told parliament that he would soon make a statement with regard to the position of the leader of the opposition. Making a special statement in Parliament TNA leader R Sampanthan said the Speaker had not removed him from the opposition leader’s post though he had announced the appointment of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as opposition leader. This is reminiscent of the fate that befell Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when President Maithripala Sirisena replaced him with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa but without informing him beforehand.

As opposition leader, Mr Sampanthan fought very hard to ensure that justice was done, the constitution respected and the rule of law followed with regard to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. It is ironic that having performed this yeoman service, and ensured the successful reappointment of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, that Mr Sampanthan should be its first victim and lose the position he held. The sequence of events in both the removal of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Sampanthan from their positions suggests that following due process, or procedures established by law, is not a strong point in Sri Lanka’s ruling circles.

Instead of following accepted procedures, decisions are made on a political basis and then sprung into action without consideration as to whether they are just or not, or legal or not. The law, and the constitution itself, are too often taken as only a set of guidelines to be followed, but which can be transgressed if deemed necessary by the decision-making party. The belief that elected politicians are entitled to be supreme even above the law and all others because they have the people’s mandate is deeply embedded in Sri Lankan society and not in politicians only. The 1972 constitution purposefully made the judiciary and public service subordinate to the elected parliamentarians on the grounds that they embodied the sovereignty of the people who had given them their vote.

It is a tragedy that President Sirisena has recently been misled into believing that his electoral mandate as president permits him to push the boundaries of presidential powers to their extremes even to the point of transgressing them. He is now acting as a powerful opposition force to the government. This is a complete misreading of his role in the government. Those who are in government are meant to facilitate governance and to jointly solve the problems that exist so that the people may have a better life. This is also and certainly the duty of the president. He needs to find a way to work with the government not to thwart and undermine it.

POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Sri Lanka is still to get over the distortion of democracy that has come with the notion that politicians embody the people’s sovereignty and therefore notions of separation of powers and checks and balances do not really apply to them. The greatest progress in terms of these basic elements of good governance took place in the period January 2015 to October 2018 when President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe gave joint leadership to the creation of a new ethos of governance in which state institutions became more independent from political interference.

State institutions including the judiciary got strengthened in the past three years. Ideally, the judiciary should not be having to resolve political problems that need to be politically negotiated. But if there is a deadlock that is threatening the stability of the polity then the judiciary may have to take up the challenge and look into the legal aspects of the conflict as a way of ending it. The judiciary is better equipped to deal with issues of law concerning the position of the Leader of the Opposition which have a mix of political, legal, moral and ethnic considerations that need to be taken into account.

In the case of who should be the Leader of the Opposition it appears that political considerations have taken precedence over the legal, moral and ethnic aspects of the problem. The political dimension arises from the fact that former president Rajapaksa was unwilling to resign as prime minister despite having lost two successive votes of no-confidence in parliament. It now appears that as part of a package of incentives to persuade the former president to resign as prime minister, which he was refusing to do, he was offered the position of Leader of the Opposition. One of the key interests of the former president would be to obtain a strong political platform from which to launch his next election campaign.

There may be a political case for making former president Mahinda Rajapaksa the opposition leader. But the legal position is not so simple. This arises from the fact that both President Sirisena and former president Rajapaksa are from the same political alliance, the UPFA, which is registered as a political party represented in parliament. The complication is that President Sirisena holds three important cabinet ministries for himself, these being Defence, Mahaweli Development and Environment. These have been given to him by the constitution.

In addition, President Sirisena, even though leader of the UPFA, has purposefully taken a fourth ministry to himself, which is the former Ministry of Law and Order dealing with police and amalgamated it with the Defence Ministry. This shows that he is actively taking part in government. By taking these tasks to himself President Sirisena has ensconced himself and UPFA policies firmly within the government. In these circumstances a legal question arises whether the UPFA can, or ought to, be given the Leader of the Opposition’s position.

LEGAL SOLUTION

The need for a legal solution arises also from the fact that the TNA’s own case for the position of the Leader of the Opposition is complex. The TNA gave strong support to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in his bid to regain the prime minister’s position. The TNA provided the votes of its parliamentarians to give the UNP led by Mr Wickremesinghe a majority in parliament on several occasions. These included the two no-confidence motions against Prime Minister Rajapaksa, the vote of confidence in Mr Wickremesinghe and most recently at the Vote of Account to pass a short-term budget for four months. In this regard the TNA has played the role of a responsible opposition which has safeguarded the democratic process, the constitution and the rule of law when all three were in danger of breaking down.

The responsible role played by the TNA can also be seen in the fact that they acted in the larger interest, rather than in their own narrow self-interest, during the recent political crisis. When both sides were desperate to get the support of the TNA and their 14 votes which made the difference between victory and defeat, the TNA could have struck a hard bargain with either side. At a time when a single parliamentarian was trading at a price of USD 2 million and above, according to President Sirisena no less, the TNA’s 14 parliamentarians could have fetched a premium price in terms of money or political concessions or both. But TNA leader Sampanthan’s commitment was to the democratic process, the upholding of the constitution and the rule of law. He and this party now need to show the Tamil people that their efforts were not in vain and beneficial to those who voted for them.

The fate of TNA leader Sampanthan and the TNA itself cannot be ignored by those who are concerned with political morality and the fostering of inter-ethnic relations. The denial of the opposition leader’s position to them would leave the ethnic minorities without the one position of high status in the polity that they enjoyed, as all other positions are occupied by members of the ethnic majority. The ethnic conflict arose and escalated into war because successive generations of Tamil citizens saw that they were being consistently marginalized and kept out of political decision-making. History must not be permitted to repeat itself either as tragedy or as farce. This is also why constitutional reform continues to be an urgent necessity.

 

British students 'Break The Silence' on Tamil oppression

181126 BTS 5.jpg

British Tamil students held the 'Breaking The Silence' series last month, raising awareness on the stuggles of maintaining Tamil culture and traditions amid ethnic and cultural oppression by the Sri Lankan state. 

 24 December 2018

Across Maaveerar Week (Great Heroe's Week) in November, the Tamil Students Initiative (TSI) held a series of events at universities across London, which included an art exhibition on displacement, talks on the ongoing military oppression in the North-East and discussions on identity within the diaspora, as well as a book club. 

President can have portfolios stipulated in 19A only

December 24, 2018 by

Senior Lawyer J C Weliamuna sys the President can have, according to the 19th amendment, only the portfolios of Defence, Mahaveli Development and Environment.

In a ‘Twitter’ message keyed on 19th December, Nr Weliamuna states, “How many ministries & functions can the President hold? Transitional provisions.51 of 19A give a clear answer. He can assign to himself “subjects & functions of Defence, Mahaveli Development and Environment”. Nothing more! Let’s not confuse ourselves.”

However, President Maithripala Sirisena has taken the portfolio of ‘Law and Order’ in addition to the portfolios of Defence, Mahaveli Development and Environment.

Transitional provisions.51 of 19A states, “51. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Constitution, the person holding office as President on the date of commencement of this Act, so long as he holds the Office of President may assign to himself the subjects and functions of Defence, Mahaweli Development and Environment and determine the Ministries to be in his charge for that purpose and accordingly, any reference in any written law to the Minister to whom such subject or function is assigned, shall be read and construed as a reference to the President.”

Ranil won the battle but could still lose the war

Can the UNP as it is constituted today go forwards as a progressive force of the people and for the people?

“There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
 ~Denis Waitley

2018-12-26

After fifty long days, sanity returned to the Government quarters. The Executive ultimately blinked. The showdown on the greener patches of Colombo, the Presidential Secretariat grounds, ended in peaceful, yet a not-so-amicable settlement of swearing in of Ranil Wickremasinghe as Prime Minster again and on this occasion, for the fifth time in his long political career. That was December 16. On December 20, the new Cabinet was sworn in. When one examines the constituent members of the new Cabinet with a critical mind, the climax that was reached on December 16 was more like premature climax in an erotic sense, so to speak. The promise that was much in the air was dashed; those parliamentarians whom the critical elector wanted fired are there with more and more responsibilities and bigger Ministries. Those who failed miserably during the previous Ranil Wickremasinghe’s tenure as Prime Minister from August 2015 to October 2018 are back in. If the United National Party’s (UNP’s) leadership is not careful and sensible, an even bigger collapse seems to be in the making. The notion of being comfortable just because you beat the President at his own game is a misapprehension.

The collapse that was referred to in the previous paragraph is coming. The average constituent is becoming disenchanted by the day. The Executive’s behaviour from October 26, 2018 is not the beginning of this coming disaster; it certainly accelerated its pace. Yet the polarization of the country along the lines of the UNP-led coalition and the Rajapaksa-led league has confirmed that a party like the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has no place in the mainstream of the country’s body politic. The JVP’s history and its inglorious days of ’87 – ’89 have left a bitter memory of murder and mayhem. Its gory details and mindless and arbitrary execution of innocent fellow countrymen would take a long time to be erased. It would not be as easy as a deletion of data from a laptop which is an integral part of modern society.

Nothing ‘new’ in the Cabinet

In such a confusing context, against such a brutally realistic backdrop, Ranil Wickremasinghe named a ‘new’ Cabinet of Ministers. The only thing that is deceptively ironic is there is nothing ‘new’ in that Cabinet. Decorating and rewarding failures is a cruel effecting of what should not be done. In politics, as in all other affairs of human enterprise, a long-term strategic methodology to decision-making is preferable to retail-management of daily affairs. Ancient sage, Chanakya said thus: “Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, what the results might be and will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.” I’m sure Ranil Wickremasinghe has read Chanakya’s ‘Arthashastra’, one of the original works of political science in human history, yet he does not seem to have understood the essence of Chanakya’s core teachings. Repeating one’s failed policies and lack of wisdom and guts to sacrifice even one’s own close friends for a long-term and strategic move in favor of better and more prosperous country is a very grave mistake on the part of our Prime Minister; but he has time to rectify them, but the window of opportunity is closing fast. They say that Wickremasinghe is an enormously experienced politician, yet one wonders if Ranil’s experience would fit into Oscar Wilde’s famous quote: “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes”.

Nevertheless, the time Ranil and his cabinet of Ministers have is limited only to ten short months, just ten months. In the political life of a nation, ten months is a mere wink’s lifetime. Can the UNP, as it is today, without a major shakeup of its fundamental structure and its leadership at all levels, with a nagging lack of daring to change its course of the political life of the country, which is looking forward to leading a nation from the brink of insane leadership at the Presidential level and given the calm or ironic docility displayed by the citizenry of the land, be successful at the next elections?

• "Nevertheless, the time Ranil and his cabinet of Ministers have is limited"

• "The country is increasingly becoming disenchanted with her leaders on all sides"

The answer to the aforementioned question does not look to be very promising. The country is increasingly becoming disenchanted with her leaders on all sides. A voice for more stringent adherence to principles of accountability and transparency is being heard only from the JVP quarters. The alluring dynamic for a more rational and visionary politician or politicians is irresistible. Yet there seems to be none on the horizon. Nevertheless, the UNP could be that fresh face, provided it decides to choose another alternative, an alternative that which not only presents a fresh face(s) in the forthcoming elections, but also offers itself as a serious fighter against corruption and nepotism. On these new frontiers of anti-corruption, the commander-in-chief cannot be those who have been tried and tested already, nor could it spring out from amongst those who profess a rebirth of an already ‘dead-era’. Empty slogans and selfish ego trips have not taken us anywhere. The constitutional crisis that just came to a closure ironically opened many other windows into new dimensions of politicians whose hitherto hidden agendas got unconcealed.

The dilemma confronting Wickremasinghe and the UNP couldn’t be clearer. The crisis brought some personalities to the notice of the conscience of the people. Some displayed remarkable strength of character by taking irrevocable steps towards the safeguard of democracy and majority rule; some showed unmistakable signs of solidarity in the face of irresistible gifts of money and ministerial postings; some young guns in the UNP itself exhibited enviable sense of discipline and strategic poise by placing the future of the Party above their selfish ambitions. Yet some failed in this crisis moment. Such men would one day be revealed for those who failed had baggage to prove such selfish and sinister motives. The social media played a decisive role, not only in exposing and running to ridicule the Executive who so richly deserved such ridicule; that specific media channel also exposed the hidden ambitions of some politicians who daydreamed about the Premiership falling on their lap; relying on the Executive’s unkind and crazy orders they, those unambiguously ambitious and selfish men, were rightly measured by their fellow party men and the observations made were stored away for future reference.

Can the UNP go forward?

But the fundamental question remains. Can the UNP as it is constituted today go forwards as a progressive force of the people and for the people? Can it be successful in future elections at which the overwhelming majority of voters are Sinhalese Buddhists? Can the failed members of the Wickremasinghe Cabinet produce the desired results which they couldn’t in the period of 2015 to 2018 October? The voter is not all that ignorant when it comes to measuring of a political party as far as promises made and promises kept are concerned. In that harsh context, the constitution of the latest Cabinet does not emerge as auspicious.

Ranil Wickremasinghe’s choices are limited and there is very little time in which he could make those choices work. He could continue to dwell in his comfort zone, amongst his closest friends and head for certain disaster; or he could make some changes in his Cabinet, replace those good-for-nothing Ministers with some aggressive and forward-looking younger ones and pursue the Rajapaksas in a very authentic way and bring them before the Courts of Law. He has a third choice too. And that is keeping the same Cabinet as it is constituted today and still pursues the Rajapaksas with more aggression and urgency. In other words, Ranil Wickremasinghe has to portray himself and his Cabinet as a totally different one from the recent past; it is extremely difficult but not impossible. The second tier-leadership of the Party and its rank and file would be more than willing and able to pursue such a novel and daring line of action.

• "The constitutional crisis that just came to a closure ironically opened many other windows"

• "The voter is not all that ignorant when it comes to measuring of a political party"

Our county is in pain; she has suffered enough; her politicians have led this beautiful land into an ugly abyss of corruption, nepotism and political vandalism. Her children are living a nightmare which clothes itself in moving screens of television and Smart Phone. Those whose parents belong to the so-called elite and wealthy are meandering from one nightclub to another in Colombo as if they own the land’s coffers and its limited wealth.         

                 
Change is coming and its face does not look pretty, at east as it promises now. The sad and petulant countenance could be altered and it needs to be done now, not next month, not next year and not tomorrow, it has to be done now. Ranil Wickremasinghe’s burden is heavy; he cannot complain nor can he place that on another. He and he alone has to carry that. That is the burden of leadership. He has to both treat that burden as his privilege and take it to its logical end of good governance. His other choice is brutal, unkind and terminal: continue in the same mode and perish. He has won a battle; yet he could still lose the war.

(The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com )

Us & Them – Flash Floods In The Northern Sri Lanka & Aftermath

By Nanda Wanninayaka –DECEMBER 24, 2018

Nanda Wanninayaka

The news about the North being badly affected by flash floods last weekend did not appear in the Sinhala and English press till 48 hours as far as I saw. Not even the websites that publish rubbish gossip immediately after some minute juicy news were worried about what is happening to the people in the North. Most parts of the North have 4G, 3G or at least 2G and anyone can get pictures and videos in a few seconds. But not even those Facebook heroes were interested in doing something to our brothers and sisters in the Up North. Do we want to have North – South division once again?

When a natural disaster happens in the South all TV Channels and Radio Stations collect relief aids and deliver them to the affected with much fanfare in a rat race to say “We did it first” and crave for increasing their ratings for their media houses. But I don’t see that urge this time. Now don’t say that the media houses in the North don’t cover this type of catastrophes in their media. If we are the so called “majority” and the Big Brother, don’t we have to take the initiative to extend our support to the “minority” Little Sister? Isn’t this the right moment for us to show our love and compassion to them?

This is high time we forgot the “US and THEM” attitude and become “WE” instead.

I can’t do much. All I did was contacting the chief monks of Mahawilachchiya and Tantirimale so that they could mobilize the villagers and muster some relief aid and deliver it to our friends in the North. They did it during tsunami in a big way. I am sure they will do it this time too even though they underwent a long drought and have nothing much to offer. But they have compassion. I am sure you all have it too. We showed such a solidarity to the North and East of Sri Lanka during the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 and even though the magnitude of the disaster is much less this time, still people are affected and our contribution is needed.

I talked to a friend of mine in Kilinochchi, Miss Dekala Murugesu, a young volunteer who does a lot to uplift education in the district with some supporters in the Diaspora. She directed me to Mr. Raj Sivaraj, the Divisional Secretary of Kandawalai who does the coordinating part of relief aids. He says the government has taken care of food needs and all they need is things like sanitary stuff, soap mosquito coils, toothpaste and tooth brush, disinfections, cleaning liquid, rubber slippers, etc. So, do not worry about food.

Since the new school term is to start early January, the kids may need clothes for school uniforms, bicycles, exercise books and other school supplies, etc. These kids have suffered enough during a 3-decade-long war and should not be left optionless once again due to the flooding. Let’s try our best to ensure they get uninterrupted education as soon as the schools start on January 03, 2019.

According to the people I talked to from the North, all three-armed forces are doing a commendable job and the people highly appreciate them. The armed forces can take care of rescue missions, urgent needs, etc. but now it is our duty to help with the other needs of the people. Government is providing immediate flood relief such as foods, transporting the people back to their houses, etc. but people’s lifestyles have to be restored to normalcy as fast as possible.

Around 7000 people have been affected in Kandawalai alone and they are being sheltered in government property right now. Now that the flood levels are reducing, displaced want to go homes and clean their houses. (Please read the attached detailed information sheets about the all 4 DS Divisions in Kilinochchi district which were sent by Mr. Raj Sivaraj.)

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The polarisation of American politics: Lessons for Sri Lanka

 Tuesday, 25 December 2018

Back in 1984, President Ronald Reagan won 49 out of 50 states in America. Reagan was a Republican (same party as Donald Trump). President Johnson (Democrat) won 44 out of 50 states in 1964.

Today, it would be beyond a miracle if a Republican can win Washington or New York or a Democrat win that many states in the Bible belt of America. Since 2000, 40 out of the 50 states in the US have voted the same party at each presidential elections. An increasing polarisation of the vote base. America has become polarised like many countries around the world.

According to Pew Research of 1994, 20% of Americans had a very unfavourable view about the opposing party but today Americans saying they have an unfavourable view about the party on the other side of the political aisle is 90%. We have seen outright hatred towards Obama coming from the Republican base. From saying Obama was not born in America to certain fringe groups calling him the anti-Christ. That is a staggering increase in enmity along party lines and shows a divided country.


American politicians divided firmly

Firstly, the American Congress is divided like never before and the ideological difference is great. The number of Senators and House of Representatives wanting to please even a small percentage of voters on the other side of the political aisle has lessened as politicians contest in their party strongholds.

A Democrat contesting in New York or California has no reason to please Republican voters as these states are Liberal strongholds. Same way a Republican contesting in Texas or Arizona does not need liberal votes as these are conservative strongholds. So politicians are firmly either conservative or liberal.

Middle ground politicians in America are disappearing. This has a snowball effect. Conservative politicians in return pass Conservative policies and liberals tend to move away and this happens vice versa in Liberal strongholds as well.


Polarisation of the American people

The divide is seen very clearly nowadays in America and it is getting bad. People who consistently call themselves Conservative or Liberal has doubled from 10% to 21%. And only 39% of Americans take a middle ground in politics while in the late 1990s, it was 49%. We are seeing a process where the people of America are moving into two opposite camps.

There is an urban-rural divide as well with 59% of urban voters voting for Hillary Clinton and 62% of rural voters voting for Donald Trump. The number of Liberals saying it is important to have racial and ethnic diversity is four times more than the Conservatives. The difference does not stay with politics either but even lifestyles are getting polarised. Three quarters of Conservatives want large neighbourhoods with distance between houses and also prefer to have schools, stores and restaurants distant from their homes, which explains the fact that the majority of Republican voters are rural. The Liberals on the other hand prefer smaller houses with amenities being closer.

The polarisation is growing as the Republican-Democrat divide is intensifying greatly in issues such as government, race, immigration, national security, environment protection, gun control, abortion, trade, etc., which were already high during the Obama years but now have reached a new high under Donald Trump.


Snowballing effect

It is only getting worse – 49% of consistent Democrats and 63% of consistent Republicans say their close friends share similar views. This means these people mix with likeminded people on the same side of the political aisle and do not get to hear the argument from the other side of the political aisle.

This is made worse by the American media establishment where many media corporations have positioned themselves either as Conservative or Liberal. Vast majority of the Republican vote base get their news from channels such as Fox News. Fox news caters to the conservative base of America and give news the Conservatives want to hear. The Liberal media establishment led by media corporations such as CNN and NBC cater to the Democratic base and this draws the anger of the US President who calls them fake news and makes the Liberal media look like the enemy of the Republican voters.


A new era of hostilities 

This explains why according to Pew Research, the percentage of Republicans viewing the Democrats as unfavourable has gone up from 17% to 43% and Democrats viewing Republicans as unfavourable has gone up to 38% from 16% before.

It gets more judgemental as people who are considered more religious are considered stronger Republicans, implying Democrats are further away from God. The scary part is that now the Republicans and the Democrats say the policies and activities of the other side is a national threat.

The consequences and the damages are also great, as people are under societal pressure to adapt to the people around them. According to a Gallup poll, even college educated Republican voters say climate change is exaggerated even though they see the proof of global warming and its devastation around the world. They are afraid to accept climate change because of the fear that they will be labelled a Democrat.

The stronger the supporter of Donald Trump, the more likely he/or she is to call global warming a hoax. This does not help the fight against global warming and explains why the United States is the only country in the world to not sign the Paris Climate Agreement. Even Syria and North Korea see climate change as a threat and have signed.

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out the 50 states in America which would be impossible today for a Republican to win that many. Same as how Johnson won 44 states in 1964. In the America of today, we already know which way many states are going to vote. And elections are decided by a few swing states such as Ohio and Florida.


Swing districts of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has not reached the level of polarisation America has yet but we can see a trend towards it. Back in the 1960s, the UNP and SLFP could win any district in Sri Lanka but today it is not thinkable.

The UNP of J.R. Jayawardene and Premadasa won districts such as Anuradhapura and Matara which the UNP of Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot win today and vice versa.

We have come to a stage where we know which districts in Sri Lanka are voting which way before the elections. Like America’s swing states which decide elections, Sri Lanka too is beginning to have its own swing districts. We can call districts such as Puttalam, Gampaha and Polonnaruwa swing districts with many of the other districts pretty much decided before an election is called.

POWER CORRUPTS

 2018-12-26

It would appear that the much hackneyed phrase “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely,” was specifically coined to portray what is happening in our country today!!!  The voters of this country have been taken for fools; we didn’t know who this moron called Maithripala Sirisena was, it was Chandrika and Ranil who foisted him on us and now we can’t get rid of him!!!  We are told never to trust any leader with too much power and after the colossal mistake made by J.R. Jayawardena bringing in the Executive Presidency; we, the citizens of this country, have had to contend with many abuses of this wretched POWER when it passed into the wrong hands, as it has today!!!  The burning rhetoric of Dr. Colvin R. de Silva’s prediction is painfully visible today when this moronic baboon can’t get it into his thick skull that what he DID and what he is CONTINUING TO DO IS WRONG, DEAD WRONG!!! Who gave him the RIGHT, THE POWER TO SACK RANIL???  The Executive Presidency!!! Nothing penetrates the head of one who does not want to acknowledge HE IS WRONG!!!  How does one describe such base ingratitude???  Specifically speaking, GREED is the summation of this moron’s idiocy!!!  

Respect can’t be bought

Reading the eulogies and tributes to the late George Bush, one particular tribute from Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, in the USA, was striking, in the present context of our country; he said and I quote: “He was the first President to teach me that in a democracy sometimes you fall short and, that how you handle that is just as important as how you win.”!!!  I guess the sublime meaning of this, portraying how President Bush handled defeat with grace, would be totally lost on our Presidential moron!!!   People earn respect in various ways and once respect is established, mostly in the case of politicians like our own, the fear of failure sets in and they will do anything it takes to keep that position!!! What they fail to realize is that respect is EARNED IT CANNOT BE BOUGHT; WHEN SUPPOSED ‘RESPECT’ IS BOUGHT, VARIOUS STRATEGIES EMERGE TO KEEP THAT RESPECT AND REMAIN IN POWER!!!

Dealing with autocracy

When you have to deal with a leader who has too much power and who plays tricks to stay in power; then few dare to criticize him!!!  He cannot be restrained, he does not permit the necessary checks and balances and refuses to listen to any criticism, constructive or otherwise, is shouted down, not listened to!!!  Criticism, constructive or otherwise is an essential part of a healthy democracy!!!  Today, we are not dealing with democracy but an autocracy!!! A dictatorial moron who should go back to the farm he came from!!!  It was heartening to note from one of today’s headlines “RW HITS BACK AT MS” (6/12 ‘DAILY FT’) that Ranil was finally hitting back!!!  Why couldn’t and why didn’t he do it all this time???  Why did he allow the moron to get away with all his personal attacks???  

Mental cases

Congratulations to Sarath Fonseka for his brilliant realization that most of the nuts we have in Parliament are MENTAL CASES!!!  What we desperately need NOW is NEW BLOOD, NEW IDEAS, YOUNG MINISTERS who are capable of facing whatever is dealt out to them and CARRYING IT WITHOUT FEAR TO A SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION FOR THE COUNTRY!!!  All the ancient relics who are now incapable, inconclusive, incompetent, taking up valuable space of Parliament must, for the sake of the country, go back home where they belong and leave the YOUNG ONES, THE NEW GENERATION TO SHOW WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR THE COUNTRY, STARTING WITH ABOLISHING THE EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCY!!!  The Parliamentarians we have now are an incompetent, spent force, damp squibs or as they say in Sinhala ‘PUSSWEDILLAS’ they don’t want to go with dignity, all they want to do is hang on when they can’t even make their presence felt!!!  Most of the young ones we have are sons of brilliant politicians who left their mark on the history of this country and these young men will be proud to uphold the dignity of Parliament and carry on the legacy their fathers inculcated in them!!! COUNTRY FIRST!!!  TO MAKE VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COUNTRY!!!  AFTER 70 YEARS OF FREEDOM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY THAT SUCH MADNESS HAS TAKEN PLACE AND WE ARE LEFT WITHOUT A GOVERNMENT!!!  THEY ARE WASTING MONEY ON PARLIAMENTARY SITTINGS WHEN NOTHING CONCRETE OR WORTHWHILE IS GENERATED!!!  TOURISM IS NON EXISTENT; A FRIEND FROM SWITZERLAND SAID ALL BOOKINGS TO SRI LANKA FOR CHRISTMAS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED!!!

Please go

Our President has threatened to go back to his VERY VISIBLE “GRASS ROOTS” – why doesn’t he???  No one is stopping him, it would be a service, a boon for the country if he does go, he would be doing a huge favor for himself and the country!!!  PLEASE GO!!!  In a video that is going viral, our politicians have been likened to ‘Post Turtles’ – while stitching a cut on the hand of a 75 year old man, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man and eventually the topic got around to politicians and their role as our leaders!!!  The old man said “Well, as I see it, most politicians are ‘Post Turtles’ – not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a ‘Post Turtle’ was – the old man said when you are driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top , that’s a ‘Post Turtle’ -  the old man saw the puzzled look on the Doctor’s face so he continued to explain “You know the Turtle didn’t get up there by himself, he doesn’t belong up there, he doesn’t know what to do while he is up there, he is elevated beyond his ability to function, and you just wonder what kind of dumb a…..  put him up there to begin with”!!!  Best explanation of our country’s Politicians, I have ever heard!!!

No decency

It is heartening to note that some Buddhist Priests and members of the Maha Sangha have told MR categorically that they don’t condone the ugly incident in Parliament and that it cannot be accepted!!!  Well done!!!  Ven. Ittepane Dharmalankara Thera, Mahanayake of the Kotte Parshwaya of the Kalyani Dharmasree Maha Sangha Sabha told MR “We are a people who have such a great history, as such we cannot condone what happened in Parliament recently and added that the incident created a situation where we cannot go to another country and identify ourselves as Sri Lankans!!!”  Even then, MR has not had the decency to accept that what they did was wrong, despite the Venerable Mahanayake saying that “the respect that had been earned by the Bhikkus in the past has been diminished!!!” BUDDHISM AND ITS VENERABLE CUSTODIANS ARE NOT SACRED, THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE MEAN NOTHING, ARROGANCE, GREED AND AMBITION ARE ALL ENCOMPASSING!!! THEY ARE IGNORANT OF WHAT THEODORE ROOSEVELT SAID “THE MOST PRACTICAL KIND OF POLITICS, IS THE POLITICS OF DECENCY” – THEODORE ROOSEVELT  

THE VOICE