7 December, 2024

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A Reply To Uvindu: Reconcillation And The Gotabhaya Factor

By Victor Ivan

Victor Ivan

I am often compelled to devote a considerable portion of my writings in responding to criticisms. This I know is not a pleasant task. Yet, a person who represents a specific view cannot restrain from doing so when the view that he upholds is challenged necessitating him to defend it.

Last week, Uvindu Kurukulasuriya who is in self exile had published a long report in his website quoting a discussion that took place between Minister DEW Gunesekara and me at the residence of Willa Wickramasinghe whom both of us knew well. It is true that I had a long discussion with the Minister DEW Gunesekara in which we had an exchange of views on current political issues.  Despite our discussion at the residence of Willa, the issues that Uvindu has reported in his article seem to have been based on imaginary ideas which do not have any relevance whatsoever to the matters that we discussed.

Paucity of reportage

According to what Uvindu has reported he had received the information about our discussion from a friend of Willa. There is nothing wrong in reporting news items based on information received from a third party sources. Yet, if the reporter’s concern was to present the factual political issues that were discussed there, then he should have contacted the all three persons involved in the discussion and got the information verified first, before publishing the news. If he as he claims, had got the news from a friend of Willa Wickramasinghe, it  would not have been  difficult for him  to obtain the telephone contact of the latter and verify the authenticity of what he was going to report. He did speak neither to me nor to DEW Gunesekara. Ultimately, he made big news based on hearsay which he alleged to have heard from a third party who was not a party to the said discussion.  Also he has not got the contents verified from anyone of those who were involved in the discussion.

I was travelling from Bopaththalawa to Galle along the Southern highway through heavy rain and lightening when I received an overseas telephone call. Despite the rain and lightening, I opted to answer the call because   it happened to be a call from overseas. It was from Uvindu. He asked me whether I had a dinner meeting with the Minister DEW Gunesekara. I said “yes” and told him that it would not be possible to discuss any details at the moment due to incessant lightning. With that I cut off the line. Presumably, he would have felt that this was enough for his reporting.

According to his report, he had described that the object of this meeting had been to find out measures to safeguard the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in view of a likely cross over of a group of government MPs to the opposition. It was from the report of Uvindu that I came to know for the first time that the Mahinda Rajapaksa government had face with a crisis as such.

He had also reported that I had criticized the role of G.L.Pieris, the Minister of External Affairs and that of Gotabaya Rajapakse, the Defence Secretary during the course of the discussion. He has also alleged that I had stated that Gotabhaya was the cause of every problem. He had used that as the headline of his article (“Journalists in Politics – Gotabhaya is the cause of every problem- Victor Ivan)

Uvindu undoubtedly has created a dreadful picture of Gotabhaya in his articles which he has written from time to time. According to him Gotabhaya is the most dangerous man in Sri Lanka today and whoever falls on his wrath has no escape. If what he says is true, what is his motive in using the above caption for his article? Was he trying to make me also a victim of his wrath? Or did he expect me to tremble being unable to stand on my legs and flee the country as he himself had done into a safer heaven.

Obviously, there is always something mysterious and disgusting in what Uvindu does.  I feel it is important to leave this matter aside and deal with two vital issues which has direct relevance to the crisis the country has faced today, namely the objective of the discussion I had with the Minister DEW Gunesekara and the Gotabhaya factor which had become a subject of implicit debate.

The Truth?

I have a view of my own about the crisis the country is faced with. This I have expressed adequately and made public. I reckon that it is a view that has been well tested and supported with objective facts. I am of the view that it has not been disproved yet by anyone though it had become a topic of criticisms and debates. The 25th Anniversary of the Ravaya newspaper too was used as a veritable platform to make a symbolic and profound expression of this view. I had a basic program to make it a reality. Both the Board of Directors and the Editorial board of Ravaya had a fair knowledge of it. One important facet of this program is to convince the politicians of the gravity of the crisis and the other was to create a public opinion about it.

I desired to find the approbation of the politicians to this idea. Similarly, I wanted to find out the possibility of convincing them to accept it. As an experiment, I ventured to discuss this idea separately and individually with several politicians whom I selected on my choice. Each meeting that I held with them lasted for a period approximately of two and a half hours or more. The majority of those whom I discussed this issue with belonged to the ruling party while a small number belonged to the opposition. DEW Gunesekara was one of them.

The other parties may have had their criticisms on DEW Gunesekara about his being a leader of the Communist Party and a member of the government. He is one of the experienced and reputed statesmen among the present legislators. The discussion we had was not intended to defend or criticize anybody. It was solely confined to discuss the nature of the crisis and suggest probable   measures that could be adopted in solving it in a manner beneficial and respectful to the country.

The substance of all the discussions held with different people at different times  on this subject can be summed up as follows. The present crisis should be made an opportunity to create a new Sri Lanka. The solution sought should not be restricted to the intra – racial issue only; instead, it should venture to address the both issues namely the intra racial issue and the corrupt political system concurrently. The process adopted should not be confined only to the ruling party. All opposition parties should be involved in it. No one should be excluded and all are made stakeholders in this endeavor including the general public. By this, an attempt must be made to create a new state, a new system of governanance and a Sri Lankan nation with a common national identity.

Although, all politicians are compelled to work under a system which is corrupt, still there is a substantial section of them who desires to see a fundamental change in the system. There is also a large number among them who maintains that a reasonable solution should be found for the intra racial issue. In the circumstance, I am of the view that it would not be difficult to reach a consensus at political level for a program of national reconstruction and also to generate the support of   the people at large as they constitute the group that is bound to reap the benefits of such a program. It is important, at this stage to make a brief review of the conditions that had led to this crisis before we take up the issue of who should take the lead in initiating such a programme.

Background of the crisis

It is during the British period that the feudal socio economic and political structure of Sri Lanka that prevailed over thousands of years began to change thereby converting it into a modern country. The capitalistic base of the socio economic system, the system of national state and democratic system of governanance can be considered as progressive and beneficial inheritances from the British colonial rule.

Ushering a united nation and a democratic society remained inalienable and essential prerequisites in ensuring the progressive march of the national state and the democratic system of governance. But, we as a country have failed in fulfilling any one of these requirements. Consequently, disgruntled militant social groups that refused to accept the authority of the government emerged. They attempted to capture the political power by force or to create a separate state. This eventually resulted in a large scale blood bath in the country weakening the foundation of the state and distorting the system of governance and the relations between the community groups, different castes and religions.

The country was lucky enough to have gained independence without having to shed a single drop of blood. Yet, 30 years or nearly one half of the period after independence, we have lived through appalling violence and bloodshed. This has deprived us of the opportunity for adopting measures to correct the distortions in the social and political system. Even the public at large failed to apprehend the national crisis as they were preoccupied with terrorist atrocities that engulfed the country for a long period.

Consequent to the defeat of the second JVP insurrection and the total defeat of the LTTE, the opportunity has now dawned to go for an overall reorganization of the system itself. Further, the peaceful atmosphere that prevails has resulted in exposing the drawbacks in the system. People can see clearly the distortion and the higgledy piggledy state of the system. At the time of defeating the LTTE , the degeneration and the distortions that had been developing in the social and political system had reached their climax making it impossible to steer the country  forward even by one step without effecting  far reaching fundamental changes. This   situation can be described as being a special phenomenon created by both internal and external factors.

Who should take the lead?

Now we can deal with the question of who should take the lead in such a reorganization programme. I am of the view that the legislators should take the lead in this initiative. It requires the approval of the head of the state and the governing party.  It also requires the approval and the direct participation of the opposition political parties and also the active participation of the people as well. Perhaps, one may raise a pertinent question as to how we could expect a corrupt and dishonest government which lacks a correct vision and a sound policy to play the leading role of a reorganization programme of this nature.

Is there a reasonable answer for this problem?  Almost all the leaders and the governments that emerged under this corrupt political system can be described as corrupt. The only difference is the degree of corruption. There were serious doubts about their honesty and integrity. Obviously, even in the event of a change of the government in the future, how can we expect to have ideal leaders or governments to come to power under this system? This being the reality that prevails in the country, will there be any benefit in waiting for the emergence of clean leaders to initiate changes that the country needs badly.

Of course, it is important to have honest and ideal leaders in initiating a process of socio political transformation. But it does not always happen that way. South Africa is the best and the immediate example that can be cited in this regard. It is true that one section of the community had a leader of the caliber of Mandela to direct them. But among the others who gave leadership in the reconciliation process in South Africa, there were whites whom the blacks perceived as murderers as well as blacks whom the whites perceived as murderers. Also, there was a faction in the South African congress that was skeptical about the approach adopted by Mandela. Their understanding of the transformation was based on the   belief of superimposing the black supremacy over the whites rule. But the approach of Mandela was based not on a process of defeating rival parties but creating a win – win situation for all parties involved in the reconciliation process. Even when they were reaching towards a conciliatory solution there were incidents of abductions and assassinations perpetrated by both parties.

The powerful leaders that we come across in the world history who emerged through a revolutionary atmosphere like Cromwell of the English revolution, (1599-1658) Robespierre (1758-1794) and Napoleon (1769-1821) of French revolution were endowed with extraordinary talents and prowess. But they lacked the vision and honesty. It was not their vision or honesty but the ability to face challenges, take right decisions at critical moments and their indomitable courage and self confidence that made them great leaders. Both Lenin and Mao Tsetung were two great leaders, talented and astute that emerged from a revolutionary background. Lenin displayed an honest commitment for Political objectives. But in other aspects both Lenin and Mao Tsetung cannot be deemed as ideal leaders. If we are to delay this process till the emergence of exemplary leaders, then nothing could prevent the country from falling into an irretrievable abyss. In the circumstance, we must resolve to make the best use of this opportunity for a transformation irrespective of the weaknesses of the political leaders.

Gotabhaya factor

During the second JVP insurrection, Gotabhaya retired from the military service and settled down in the USA. It was President Mahinda Rajapakse who got him down to coordinate the war against the LTTE. The President found his services essential for the victory of the war. Gotabhaya obliged the request of his brother and returned to Sri Lanka to fulfill his expectations. He sold all the properties that he owned in the USA before returning to Sri Lanka.

He accomplished a unique role at the war against the LTTE. The war plan and the programme of implementation can be presumed to have been conceived by him. It was Gotabhaya who brought General Fonseka, the man who made a critical impact on the defeat of the LTTE, to the forefront. President Mahinda Rajapakse like the previous presidents was not in favor of Fonseka being appointed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS. It was Gotabhaya who persuaded the President to change his mind and appoint Fonseka to the post of the Chief of Defence Staff. Even at that time, Gotabhaya had realized that Fonseka was an essential factor for winning the war. He was able to resolve the disputes and reach a consensus with all the three armed forces and promote mutual understanding among them. In view of the unique role played by Gotabhaya, the President too allowed him to proceed with the war plan free of undue political interferences. Also, a generous policy of providing all resources for the armed forces too was adopted. Due to unfailing performance of duties and responsibilities of all those who gave leadership to the war, it became possible for the armed forces to defeat the LTTE which was initially believed to be incapable of being defeated militarily.

Peace may not dawn by mere victory of a war. It was a war waged not against an external enemy but against an internal adversary. As such the defeated party   constitutes an important part of the population of the country. While a section of the population of the country was over joyed over the victory of the war, there was a section which had an oppressive impact of it. A large number of people were displaced. Their lives were to be rehabilitated. The infrastructure facilities had been destroyed in the areas afflicted with war. They too, were to be restored. The psychological wounds of the Tamil should have been cured long before they have got worse. The lands belonged to Tamil people taken over for high security zones could have been transferred back to the owners. The military atmosphere that prevailed prior to war could have been changed restoring normalcy and civil administration.

Whatever may be the criticisms made in relation to the war, I am sure that it was conducted within the framework of acceptable civilized norms of warfare. This does not imply that there had been no excesses at all. But the volume of such errors was certainly negligible compared to the magnitude and the enormity of the war. There is no evidence pointing to the incidences of taking revenge from the ordinary people.

It is a different matter that optimum conditions had been maintained during the war. Yet, failure to prevent certain unpleasant incidents that took place during the post war period cannot be condoned. Abductions remained the most prominent offence among these incidents. Earlier, two supporters of the frontline political party were abducted in the North.  Sometime later, two leading members of the same party, namely, Kumar and Dimuthu Attygala too, were abducted. In addition to these there were several other incidents of abductions reported. Any political party should have the right to engage in political activities in the North and the East. Not only the ordinary Tamil people in the North and the East, even the old sympathizers of the LTTE who had gone through the rehabilitation process should have the right to choose a political party of their choice and work for it. Restrictions should be imposed only against the attempts of illegal practices that may lead to armed struggles.

Certain operations made against drug dealers and outrageous criminals are not in keeping with the law of the country. It is true that the drug dealers and outrageous criminals have posed a big threat to the social life. It is equally true that the law is not enforced against them effectively. If the law is not enforced against drug dealers and outrageous criminals it is nothing but a reflection of the level of degeneration of the institutions which are responsible for enforcement of law and meting out justice.

In this backdrop what ought to be done is not to act above the law but to rehabilitate and reorganize the institutional system. Until then the responsibility of dealing with such anti social elements namely conducting investigations and prosecuting them could be assigned to a special police unit and the responsibility of meting out justice to a special judiciary unit. There is no need here to reiterate the decline of the institutional structure of the country. The Defence Secretary is presumed to be aware   of the degree of degeneration of the system. Perhaps, that may be the reason why he seeks to resolve certain problems in the spheres of his jurisdiction through alternate means even if they do not fall in line with the normal procedure .Yet, the right course of action should be to put right the institutional system which is corrupt and not to ignore the law

Undoubtedly, the Defence Secretary has performed a commendable role in resettlement of displaced people and rehabilitation of LTTE suspects and integrating them into the civil society. However, certain unpleasant incidents occurred in some areas of his jurisdiction have led not only to damage the respect  and the good image that he  earned by managing the war   against the LTTE into a successful end ,but has caused to create  an unpleasant  image of the government headed by his brother and the country as well.

After the conclusion of the war, the President removed General Sarath Fonseka who made an enormous contribution to the success of war, from his position. Though, it is not justifiable that he is kept in custody, the decision to remove him from the position that he held at that moment can be considered a good decision. If it was not for that decision, the situation of the country could have been worse. If the Defence Secretary was not happened to be the brother of the President, similar fate would have fallen on him as well. But, it was the President who got down his brother from the USA. He accomplished the task assigned to him at optimum level even risking his life at times.

It appears that the President is compelled to remain silent in the face of whatever he does whether good or bad because of this family bond. The Defense Secretary should be prudent enough to understand this situation. He is intelligent and endowed with special talents. He should either change the tough policy that he adopted at the war and transfer to a mild policy which is appropriate for peace. Or else, he should withdraw from the old role and adopt a new role. Otherwise, nothing may prevent him   loosing the love of the people   and the glory that he deserves.

Latest comments

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    @Victor – what you have written in this contribution shows the long way that you have fallen since Ravaya made a name for itself in the eighties. Let me tell you that the Ravaya anniversary, even though it had all the ‘big names’, did not resonate at all with the people This is because Ravaya – and you – have lost whatever journalistic honesty that it/you possessed.

    You prefer to believe and in fact, say that Mahinda, the President is virtually pure as the driven snow and it is his brother Gota who is at fault. I say, not so. The President has in his hands, the remedy to trun this country around and chooses not to do so, little realising that he is digging his own political destruction. We are not interested in your history lessons or your lectures on ‘what went wrong’. We are only interested in bringing our beloved country back n course from the robbers, the murderers and the thieves who are now looting it.

    Shame on you for your lack of honesty!

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      Well said Chandra. Podi Athula can never be Loku Athula but both Podi and Loku did in 1971 has been not fogotten by people in Sri Lanka. They betrayed honest youths and joind prevailing corrupt political order in SL for Perks and other political and economic advantages.

      Ravaya is financed by the [Edited out] in Sri Lanka via Sarvodaya. They all are one solid single organization aiming at political power to divide Sri Lanka. People must be well aware of these traitors.

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    What I cant understand is that Victor who was an ex JVPer who almost sacrificed his life for his beliefs on structural injustices can now sing a different tune altogether ..or rather can stoop so low as to white wash the existing terror regime with his crap historical analysis. Perhaps this may be due to special privileges he is presently enjoying as a confidante to MR but from his article one can see that he is utterly scared of the Defense secretary himself and trying his best to justify his under ground meetings with politicians he says he met so that poor President would be persuaded to see reality.

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    There is no defense secretary i n Sri Lanka but a secretary to the ministry of Defense.

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      It is true but he behaves himself as if he is the Defense Secretary. This is due to his sibling relationship to the dictator like brother who rules the country since 2005. Gotabaya lost his credibility of fighting terrorism by committing two grave mistakes:

      1. Going out of the way to punish former Army Commander
      2. Seeking assistance from former terrorist KP, the successor of Prabhakaran and allowing KP to enjoy the highest privileges provided by the State. But for Sri Lankans, KP is a wanted criminal.

      Gotabaya has done so many wrong doings but these two mistakes will teach him the most unbearable lesson to him.

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    Hi Victor- We all respected you for what you have been doing at Ravaya in the past- exposing human right violations or corrupt activities of all governments until the time of MR, your good friend became President. When Chandrika was in power, you have viciously attacked her shortcomings and misuse of power. Lasantha and Aqbal Athas did the same thing. But Chandrika did not harm any of you. She tolerated all the personal attacks on her. What did your friend who portrayed himself to be a Champion of human rights do when he got the power? Can you honestly admit that human rights record of Sri Lanka now is very much worse than that of Chandrika or even Premadasa or JR.? He silenced most of his critics, including his onetime friend Lasantha. You are surviving and prospering only because you are still defending him and careful in criticizing him. If Lasantha changed like you and sacrificed his profession, he would have been living today.

    How can man of your caliber with a great history of speaking against human rights violations, injustice and corruption can stoop in to such low level? You have to be born again to tolerate injustices, human rights violations; nepotism and corruption exist in our country today. Anyone reading your article will get the impression that you are doing your best not to hurt your Masters too much and also your attempts to safeguard them whenever it is possible. You cannot hide it Ivan. You cannot fool all the people all the time

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    To somebody, this [Edited out] is a serious journalist, political analyst. He is a polititician and money colllector. Now whashing the toilet of Raja Yaksas of this damned nation.

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    Victor you said that” It was President Mahinda Rajapakse who got him (Gotabaya) down to coordinate the war against the LTTE.” Is this factually correct?. My understanding was that Gotabaya came to Sri Lanka in order to help his brother win the presidential election. At the time of his appointment as Secretary of Defense, President has not decided to wage a war against LTTE. You yourself has mentioned elsewhere at first President was not seeking for a war. rather he wanted to negotiate with the LTTE. Why this new baila now. Or were you aware that Mahinda Rajapaksha decided to eliminate LTTE even before he was sworn in (in spite of the fact that Prabakaran preventing Tamils to participate in the elections allegedly a scheme made by Basil and Tiran, possibly with Mangala by bribing the LTTE.) – Tell us the real truth.

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      Sorry Premee… You should realise first that when my life depends on my Padha Pooja, logic would fail on me.

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      It’s amazing the thinking and analytical ability of some Sri Lankans. Premee, I do salute you for your courage to expose the contradictory nature of Victor Ivan. Victor means in other words a bunch of contradictions yes from the very inception of his political career. He started with destruction and he will end up with destruction.

      Your words betray your caliber of understanding politics in Sri Lanka. You are well informed and it is true what you say about Gotabaya. He never wanted to come back to SL but his brother MR desperately called Gota and Basil to come to SL and help him in the campaign. Gota was sent to Kurunagala, the home town of his wife Ioma and Basil was assigned to work with the team attached to the Temple Trees.

      After winning the elections both the brothers were planning to return to LA as the relationship with the First Lady was not up to the expected level. Basil was almost expelled from Temple Trees and Gotabaya stayed in SL as Mahinda promised to place him as the Secretary to the MOD. Gotabaya as a former Colonel of Gajaba Regiment was really keen on fighting terrorism but he was discouraged by Mahinda on several occasions. Mahinda was under severe pressure from some non-buddhist religious denominations which helped him at the elections and in return they expected Mahinda to refrain from war. This same group publicly campaigned to discourage the war against the LTTE domestically and internationally.

      There were situations where Gotabaya was deeply affected with his brother’s lethargic attitude towards war but due to the unprecedented support from the Ex-Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka, Gotabaya was strongly determined to continue the fight.

      Mahinda never thought that the war will be finished so soon. That is why he was not available in the island during the last days of the war. A jubilant Rajapakse returned on 17th and kissed the tarmac at the Colombo Airport and celebrated the victory over the LTTE on 18.05.2009 but the Army General Sarath Fonseka who returned to island on 17.05.09 from China had to fight till 19.05.2009. Then only, Sri Lanka was saved from the clutches of terrorists.

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        @ Sathya, yes are correct, MR was out of the country when Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne got a call on his mobile that this supposed VP was in some place. It is not that our forces killed him in battle. This body of supposed VP had a massive gash on the head where the skull was opened with a cut, similar to that dealt by an axe but with no bullet injuries. Now who gave that call other than the party responsible for dumping that body at that spot, where no civilians were frequenting?

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        “Mahinda was under severe pressure from some non-buddhist religious denominations which helped him at the elections and in return they expected Mahinda to refrain from war. This same group publicly campaigned to discourage the war against the LTTE domestically and internationally”

        Which non-buddhist religious denomination is that? and why can’t you name it?
        As far as we knowevery one else, other than rural sinahala buddhists,worked deperately against Mahinda in 2005. A coporate giant Lalith spent a fortune to defeat Mahinda on the behest of his religous order.

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      “Or were you aware that Mahinda Rajapaksha decided to eliminate LTTE even before he was sworn in”
      Exactly,That was what meant by “honourable peace” and he had to persue peace talks initially to show the world the futility of talks with the LTTE and also to buy time to prepare the forces for war which was in a pathetic state after Ranil threw the forces in the dust bin.It was Basil who conducted the election campaign not Gotabhaya.

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      Yes Premee you hit the nail right on the head, Mahinda was reluctant & shivering to declare war even after lambasting by JVP & HeLa Urumaya when Lakshman Kadirgammar was assasinated.

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      You are correct Premee. Gota came down because Mahinda did not trust the security provided to him by President Chandrika for the Presidential elections. So Gota was coordinating the security arrangements from temple trees, and at that time nobody even took him seriously..It is only after Mahinda became President and he became the Secretary to the MOD all powers, pomp and glory started coming in.. All because the LTTE installed the Rajapakses in power as I said earlier.

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    This article of Victor Ivan is no different to the Devil preaching the Scriptures. When he speaks of the violence and blood letting this country faced, commenced with his own involvement in ’71. I could not help but laugh when he tries to attribute decency to Gota, to state that when Gota was recalled by MR to take up Sec. Defense that he sold all his property in the US before coming here. What is this array of property Gota owned in the US after going there in ’96, possibly only a modest house and not a mansion? Ofcourse today he possibly must be owning property and funds in bank accounts of saubstantive proportions to last a few generations. The truth is the Zionist led CIA of the US not only cultivated Victor Ivan of the JVP then in ’71 but also Gota after getting him across through the Green Card System and both are indebted to the US for what they are today in return for carrying the brief for them.

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    We are all waiting for Uvindu to respond in an article explaining and exposing Victor Ivan and his woefully inconsistent arguments, defending the State Terrorism of the Rajapakse regime. He is terribly scared and wants to save his life as well as prosper. So he is pathetic in his defense of Gotabaya, and even goes to do another spin that Gotabaya sold all his properties in the USA and returned home. What kind of nonsense is that and where did he receive such information which is personal of nature although properties owned is public knowledge. We all in Los Angeles are aware of how the two Rajapakse brothers struggled in LA, like many of us settling down in a foreign country, running away from state terrorist from July 1983 or scared to remain in the army for family reasons and better opportunity for the wives as montersoori teachers. But Victor Ivan’s spin is absolutely disgraceful. What and where did Gotabaya sell his properties? If true, when did he sell, and settle the mortgage with the banks, as most of the homes have 80-85% of the value in loans, and there is a monthly mortgage need to be paid. With the salary of a government servant, it is impossible to maintain a morthage and other expenses 7 years ago, in America, when his son wa salso a student. So Victor should not try and mislead the readers and there is much more to expose… Will wait until Uvindu responds… Hypocrisy and lies would not work except to financially prosper in Colombo.

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      @Donlad, unfortunately you have to wait a week. Because, Victor’s article will be published this weekend Sunday Leader and Ravaya too. If I give my answer now, they won’t publish my reply next week. Until then all I have to say is, my conversation with Victor was a seven minutes one. I even rang and explained it to Victor this evening.

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        We are waiting. Victor seems to be scared of Gota and trying to put a spin.

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        Hoping a good reply from you. We know Victor loss his credibility sonce Mahinda came to Power ,

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        I had 4 sources including Victor.

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      Donald! are you honest with your emphasis on State Terrorism. Why don’t you admit that yours and your brother Charle’s dream (separate) State in Northern Sri Lanka under LTTE terrorism, which ruled that part of Sri Lanka a few decades as a result of continuous supply of sophisticated modern weapons by your brother Charles killed more Tamils than Sinhalese and altogether the number killed by Pirabhakaran is much higher than the number killed by SL Army in the war?

      Are you trying to say that the LTTE was aiming at a separate state of spiritual nature for Tamils? Is that the reason why some Tamil Catholic Bishops compared your Pirabha, the ruthless blood thirsty killer to innocent Jesus or why some Hindu fanatics found Krishna in this monstrous bloodsucker? We know you could fool the World community but never the Sri Lankan community.

      Who advised the LTTE to take more than 350,000 innocent Tamil people hostage and use them as a human shield?

      You know who did it and why. The Norwegian and its allies deliberately wanted to stage this tragic drama by misleading the Oppressor as well as the Oppressed in order to disgrace a people’s Army that did the biggest sacrifice in the history to liberate the members of another community (they were Sri Lankans than Tamils). Can it happen in a Tamil State, if this human shield was consisting of Sinhalese?

      The history or the time will allow only one despicable person to enter the scene of violence at a given time and in a given location elsewhere to cheat people deceitfully or to oppress them but not to repeat it again and again. You and your brother Charles fooled the international Tamil community but now the time is over and the truth is coming out. Now you can fool yourself all the time. We don’t care

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        @Sathya. You are talking absolute rubbish. Charles was never had any connections with the LTTE. The Rajapakse’s and Chandrika had him arrested under false charges from October to December 2005 and investigated him fully. I too was in Colombo in August 2005, when LK was assassinated by unknown gunmen. No one accused me at that time. During the Presidential elections the Rajapakses made a secret deal with the LTTE via Tiran Alles, R brothers, and Emilkanthan, and the botcott was complete. So it was the LTTE that installed the Rajapakses in power, than the Sinhalese elected them.(Of course a big blunder by them which has come back to haunt the Tamils).

        If anyone wants to complain that Charles or I supplied arms to the LTTE they can follow the GOSL from 1983 and make such complaints to the USG and Aussies. That file is huge and virtually closed after 30 years, but I am certain they will open it up and find room for you or Malinda to file a complaint. So please stop lying.

        As for my dreams, that is my business and not yours. I can dream anything I want. My brother nor me have not promised the Tamils any separate state. Nor did the LTTE. They fought for it and lost due to the overwhelming force supplied by several governments, intelligence, and violating all international laws and chemical/illegal weapons being used. There was no way they could fight those combined forces.

        The 350,000-400,000 Tamils willingly went with the LTTE. That is why nobody among the Tamils are complaining that Tamils were taken hostage, and LTTE is very, very popular among the Tamils. Except some quislings, and I doubt you are even a Tamil. Why not reveal your identity and location than be a coward? What are you hiding from? A dead Prabhakaran will beat any Rajapakse in any election in the North or East. Damn right. Yes the living lion will lose to a dead tiger. And that too very, very badly. They will lose to the TNA very badly. Who are they fooling? Even the Muslims and half the Singhalese won’t vote for them.

        KP is in captivity in Colombo. Karuna and Pillaiayan is with GOSL. KP knows all the transactions and you stupid buggers are barking at the wrong tree that we supplied arms to the LTTE. It is absolutely moronic. Being in the US for the past 30 years and my brother in Singapore and Australia for 40 years cannot be dealing with arms..So go and make your false claims and see what happens. That goes to all the state terrorist and GOSL as well. They are the war criminals and criminals, and not us. They are under international investigations and not us.

        I fight them and oppose them legally in the United States, and United Nations, and do not do it surreptitiously.But openly as founder of Tamils For Justice, as permitted by US law, and international law. Who is running and hiding like “scared rabbits”?

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          What I would like you to explain is why did VP go for bribe from Rajapakse brothers when you guys were pumping enough money in to the LTTE bank account And why you think The Rajapakses were naive enough to believe that VP will keep his word after taking the money.Or could it be something else other than money? like a promise to give Eealm if VP helped MR become president,then again was VP naive enough to believe MR to keep his promise?
          Regarding supplying arms,one doesn’t have to do it personally just paying the bill would be enough don’t you think?

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          The truth is that VP nor the LTTE could have survived on it’s own, without the backing from the US and India. It is the US and India that drew the game plan to obtain devolution from MR being elected. VP or the LTTE could not defy these two powers witout which they were a spent force. That is why they helped MR at the behest of the US and India to become President in 2005. It is for the backing of the US and India that RW could not take the matter up at a International forum of MR’s election. Even the EU adviced RW not to upset. The rest what happened is history.

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    you are not any more credible person and stop this nature of article.

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    We had a good respect for Ravaya and did our best to safeguard you in late 80’s early 90s. Now you are a looser. More interested in Whiskey than politics.

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    The part of Victor’s article about the need to change the fundamental culture of politics in the country is correct. It is not new however, since many
    have been saying this from long before Victor saw the light – still it is
    correct. The part debating with Uvindu – well let us wait for Uvindu’s reply before drawing conclusions.

    The alarming section is his discourse on the Rajapakses. His implied comparison of the Rajapakses with Mandela, Cromwell, Robespiere and Napoleon is evidence of a man deranged and divorced from reality. What he is implying is that the Rajapakses can do for this country what these historical figures did for theirs!

    Then, while admitting the horrible things that are happening (abductions, assassinations, drug dealing, human rights violations), Victor always describes these in a way that conceals or minimises the involvement of the siblings in all these crimes.

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    Sri Lanka needed a dictator at one point. We got him, finished the war and now we are changing and moving the country back to its development path. Mahinda or Goatabaya if they acted like dictators, thank god for finding them and appointing them for the big seats.

    We are still in a time of change. We have to control some elements, outside pressure and unhealthy political pressure which kill our development. We need Mahinda and Gotabaya for at least for another 10 years in power to take this country like at least half of Singapore. Ranil is not capable. He is not capable of handling even a small parliament group and we have no trust on him achieving this much at a very sort period.

    Without strict policies SRI LANKA cannot achieve those developments at such a short time.

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    Uvindu, I think he’s scared ,but I hope your source is reliable..He and Rajpal Abenayake are the most vocal at editors’ meetings with the president. I feel president has something that he can hold over victor….that’s why he’s not being as critical as he was of chandrika.

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    Why did you wake up. You should have continued your sleep at Tempaltrees, And had some luxary food you never tasted befor. You are a shame for the Media and the Country.

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    See the comments. If u can be proud of those comments be proud of it but for many people in this country your are not a journalist anymore. sorry but the truth is that. We are not living forever and you have still time to die as a patriot son of mother Srilanka. Turn around and go ahead we need leaders like Victor Ivan’s in past.

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    Sri Lankan people suffered 30 years from the brutal violence. IF you say it is the Tamils who engaged in it, then Sinhala people have no right to enjoy the victory after 30 years of suffering ?

    DO you think that is humanly possible or as humans or in that sense any human would stay without enjoying the victory ?

    Something very wrong with this analysis and the dsicussion

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    I can’t understand why you guys are having discussions with terrorists on this thread.

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    @A Reliable Source – Yes, we all know that Victor and that racist beggar (or bugger?) Rajpal are the prime tail wagging tame journalists of Mahindas.

    Rajpal was kicked out from the Voetlights dinner (at which I was present and enjoyed waching the show, can you believe that this bugger was so shameless that he did not even buy a ticket and gatecrashed the dinner! So much for the ‘honour’ of journalists!)and after that assault, when no lawyer agreed to appear for him, he had to go behind the SLFP lawyers for help and after that, abandoned even whatever pretensions he had to being ‘independent’. His Geneva ‘performance’ when he was rude to anti-government panelists made people ask who this short, desperate and uncouth character is!The Lakbima is now the government’s mouthpiece, even worse than the Observor.

    The pity is that Mahinda has to rely on scum like this. Somewhere, the ‘Weeraketiya lion’ has lost his way and is now poltiically on the path to certain doom.

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    ONCE AS I SAID VICTOR IVAN HAS GOT A 180 DEGREE TURN,
    DEAR COMRADE 71 DEAD COMRADES ARE LOOKING AT YOUR DEEDS.
    AND YOU HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE IN WHITEWASHING.

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    Victor Ivan, the spin-doctor, is making a despicable effort to mislead the people of Sri Lanka by saying that the only way to democratize Sri Lanka’s corrupt institutions is to change the present rulers’ mindset.

    This is a smokescreen to hide the reality. The truth is: Sri Lanka’s political & economic set-up is relentlessly degenerating into unprecedented levels. Therefore, all reasonable people should reject the ‘Ivan-formula’ with the contempt it deserves.

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    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy
    http://colombotelegraph.com/comments-policy/

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    If Victor Ivan’s career proves anything it proves – conclusively – that even a supposedly “brave” man and journalist has his price. What exactly that price has been will come out in due course. In the meantime, he can lead the belly-crawling sycophants such as that piece of s..t, Rajpal Abeynayake, who’ll do anything for money!

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    Good one Anti B.S. Belly crawling sycophant indeed.

    Truth is that when that media skunk Rajpal was freewheeling in Gva paid by the government to do their dirty tricks for them all in vain by the way, he had put a gag order on the Lakbima that no journalist should write anything on the Gva happenings without passing it bye him. And guess what of course – anything even remotely critical of the govt in that whole sorry episode was red penned out by him.

    This is an Editor and a briefless lawyer who stood up in court only once or twice to be ridiculed by the judges and who is not fit to be a garbage collector! He must have passed his Attorneys just like Namal!

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