By Sarath de Alwis –
In his classic narrative poem ‘Divine Comedy’, Dante Alighieri chronicles his journey from the depths of hell to the splendors of heaven. The medieval poet describes punishments suffered by sinners with piercing precision.
With his guide Virgil, the Poet discovers a group of dead souls outside the entrance to Hell. Hell wouldn’t let them in, and heaven will not accept them.
These are individuals, when alive, remained neutral at a time of great moral decision. Virgil, the guide, explains to Dante that these souls cannot enter either Heaven or Hell because they did not choose one side or another. They tried to evade reality with intellectual ambiguity.
They are therefore worse than the greatest sinners in Hell. They are repugnant to both God and Satan alike. They are condemned to mourn their fate as insignificant beings neither hailed nor cursed in life or death, endlessly hankering below Heaven and precariously perched outside of Hell.
If I do not support Sajith Premadasa however much I disapprove of his politics and allow Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidency, I too would be condemned to that terrible agony of occupying the remorseless vacuity separating hell and heaven! Principled punditry has a special purgatory. I shall not fall into that trap no matter what preposterous adjective Sajith choses to describe his determination to put things right.
It is given that I find both Anura Kumara Dissnayake and Mahesh Senanayake as better beings in terms of an incisive reading of what is rotten in our polity. This presidential election is not about overnight ‘nirvana’. There are factors other than good intentions and renunciatory declarations.
The purpose of this essay is to persuade the two candidates – Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the NPM and Mahesh Senanayake of the NPP that they should not allow their substantial support base to be squandered away under an electoral system that offers no provision for a runoff election.
At this critical point in the election, these two candidates must reconcile with the materiality that they are out of the real race. They can only contribute to either sustain the dysfunctional democracy we have or to replace it with the functional autocracy of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
They must persuade their support base to indicate their second preference for Sajith Premadasa who holds the optimum promise to beat Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
In this presidential election we are fighting what many contemporary political theorists describe as modern fascism.
To understand fascism, we must turn to a Marxist theoretician and a revolutionary who paid the ultimate price for his intellectual integrity and for his accurate reading of the totalitarian mind.
Leon Trotsky defined fascism. Fascism was not a simple system of reprisals, of brutal force, and of police terror.
Fascism is a specific governmental system. It mercilessly uproots all elements of proletarian democracy within the bourgeois society. Mere physical annihilation of the most revolutionary section of the workers would not be enough. It must smash all independent and voluntary organizations. Now you will understand why Gotabaya Rajapaksa hates civil society outfits.
Leon Trotsky explained why Gotabaya is the heartthrob of middle-class matrons who shed their excess fat by jogging on the paved foot paths round independence square.
Trotsky also solved the riddle of why captains of commerce and industry prefer the retired Lieutenant Colonel to bring order to the chaotic world of democratic dissent.
“The bourgeoisie does not like the “plebeian” means of solving its problems…for the shocks and disturbances, although in the interests of bourgeois society, involve dangers for it as well. This is the source of the antagonism between fascism and the traditional parties of the bourgeoisie… The big bourgeoisie dislikes this method, much as a man with a swollen jaw dislikes having his teeth pulled.”
If Gotabaya wins the presidency, those who weakened the anti-fascist constituency would be eternally trapped in the dark vestibule that separates heaven and hell. They would be condemned to listen to howls from hell and repentantly hungering for heavenly hush.
A heavy price to pay for brave, blunt, bona fide, buffoonery!
It is a tight race. It is a tight race because the country is sharply polarized. Presidential candidate Mahesh Senanayake explains why the country is sharply polarized.
At a meeting held for Party representatives of his National Peoples Party on 22nd October in Balangoda the retired General pointed out that immediately after the Easter Sunday carnage there was a virulent anti-Muslim storm.
Now it has subsided. Why? The presidential candidate who represents the disillusioned political center provided the answer himself.
As the Commander of the army who swiftly and surely responded to the national crisis we should pay heed to his sage advice.
The hysteria is no more because those people who orchestrated the mind-blowing mob madness are now engaged in the presidential election campaign.
“If you look at social media until the month of August after the Easter Sunday bombing, until August there were posts of hatred towards Muslims every fifteen minutes every day. Words such as “Thambiya “or “Halal “were used to spread hatred. Suddenly it disappears in August. Now you tell me whether you got anti-Muslim posts today. You are not getting those today. Why not? That is because the person who did it is now contesting the election.”
“Today, I declare that gentleman and the people around him are the ones who created it or else it couldn’t have stopped in August” says candidate Mahesh Senanayake.
The Easter Sunday massacre has served a purpose. It has now successfully divided the country into supporters of a candidate who wants the people to be safe and other candidates who want the people to be unsafe.
One candidate alone possesses the military moustache irretrievably linked to the emotional argument about the safety of the people and the overpowering intimidatory imperative of national security.
A tribe survives on its collective capacity to hate an enemy. This tribalism desensitizes democracy. It dehumanizes our norms.
Thanks to the ruling of the district court in California we now know the ‘Factual Background ‘of Lasantha’s murder. We now know how neo fascism dehumanized our society.
On January 8, 2009 as Lasantha drove to work, “he was swarmed by black-clad plainclothes commandos on motorcycles at a busy intersection in an area secured by military checkpoints,” who smashed the windows to Lasantha’s car and attacked him. Plaintiff alleges that mobile telephone tower logs showed that the attackers were “part of, or worked in concert with, the Directorate of Military Intelligence’s Tripoli Platoon.” One of the attackers punched a hole in Lasantha’s skull with a sharp instrument, and Lasantha also suffered a number of lacerations and abrasions on his chest, arms, neck, and face during the attack. The attackers allegedly sped off in the direction of a 1nilita1y checkpoint and entered a “High Security Zone” policed by the Sri Lanka Air Force. Lasantha underwent emergency surgery but died several hours later.
The Candidate we must defeat at all costs promises order, stability and efficiency. It is a powerful manifesto. I know of two people who are ardent supporters of the candidate.
One is a graduate of an ivy league university with an impressive post graduate academic pursuit behind him and a thriving star in commerce.
The other is one of those congenital dullards who dropped out of school when in sixth grade. The first supports Gotabaya because he would be good for business. The latter supports Gotabaya because he speaks with authority and his promises sound true.
He dazzles the literate and muddles the illiterate. He wins both ways.
Let us not underestimate his grip and appeal. He has what it takes to lead the mob and motivate the mass. He is the exceptional leader who appeals to the elite and the oligarchs. He is the heroic savior of the tribe and its theocratic order.
We must draw lessons from our recent history. We have witnessed how well-meaning people spellbound by an idealistic tribal purpose abandon reason to elect narcissistic monsters driven by an imagined magniloquent destiny.
Have we seen such political formulations and currents? Of course, we have.
Now we must address the other presidential candidate comrade Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Karl Marx has foreseen the phenomenon and the dynamics of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The threat of a ‘Gotabaya ‘is ever present in the market driven bourgeois liberal democracy.
It is well demonstrated and documented. Predictable relationship between capitalist wealth, authoritarian institutions, and the capacity of politicians to fool most of the people at least some of the time is part of bourgeoise liberal democracy.
In some instances, as in the case of Ranil Wickremesinghe politicians fool themselves as well. I don’t need to remind comrade Anura Kumara of Ranil’s last ditch attempt to resurrect the 20th amendment!
Marx has adequately written on the delusionary politics of bourgeois democracy. Marx has identified ‘dictatorship’ as a structural and ever present possibility within “bourgeois” democracy, precisely because of the way that he separates out the complex class-relations within the bourgeoisie.
Marx is unmatched as a political prophet in defining mass electoral politics. He called it “hallucinatory politics of delusions” The Hungarian Marxist Philosopher Georg Lukács has explained with disarming clarity our current predicament and comrade Anura’s and the JVP’s current search to remain relevant.
“In the context of democratic politics, it should come as no surprise that for Marx the individual in history is not a hero in the classical mode, such as Caesar or Napoleon, but rather an image, an empty signifier, a cypher who wins elections.”
Comrade Anura Kumara, the JVP and the coalition of civil society and intellectual activists must break out of their hallucinatory world view of white knights entrusted with the sacred mission of rescuing the vestal virgin of our parliamentary democracy.
Field your candidate. That is the only way you can build the broad coalition that can make a credible difference in the next parliament.
That said, please do not waste your votes. Implore your supporters to cast their second preference to the candidate who can beat Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Who is Gotabaya Rajapaksa? He is the chosen successor of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Mafiosi of the Medamulana ménage claims his primary loyalty.
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka / October 27, 2019
POSSIBLY THE BRAVEST AND MOST BRILLIANT POLITICO-JOURNALISTIC INTERVENTION OF THE CURRENT HISTORICAL MOMENT! BRAVO, SARATH!
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ansar / October 27, 2019
Dr. Dayan,
I was one of your strongest critics, when you were going to town in favour of MARA family during the previous Presidential Election. Now it seems you have understood the real sinister intentions of this most corrupt family SL has ever produced and come to your rightful conclusion.
Happy about your change of stance and it might do a world of good in the upcoming Presidential Election. My gut feeling is that you might have had an axe to grind with Ranil, thereby switching your allegiance to MARA. Whatever it may be, they say, all’s well that ends well.
Sorry once again for my previous onslaughts.
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Simon De Silva / October 27, 2019
Dear DJ,
Please break the silence and try to save this nation again from a dragon, whose eleciton would be even worst than any leaders sofar.
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You are dead right saying that there are some doubts about the direct mediation of GOTABAYA in the EASTER sunday bomb blast.
Thank you.
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Kalinga Seneviratne / October 27, 2019
Scores to settle?
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Sajith would have promised UN Permanent Rep position issomething to plan for, because Geneva is much better than gloomy Moscow, isn’t it?
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You certainly know which side your bread would be buttered, doctor!
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lankan / October 27, 2019
A man who does not have pass in A/L or any degree, how could he lead this nation in this modern world? why Sinhalese are dump to support this kind of crook,
He looted public money? he has killed many journalists, he has insulted many officers and still he managed to fool public? what a joke? what if he wins, Sri Lanka will become a land of hell.
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Old codger / October 27, 2019
Lankan,
A degree doesn’t qualify a person to lead the country. But being a murderer definitely disqualifies him.
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Old Veteran / October 28, 2019
Old Codger/ Lankan
Totally Agree.
What we need is a leader who puts country before self and works for the benefit of all Sri Lankans in a democratic manner with no blood on their hands.
Some of the so called Educated, Intellectuals, Captains of Commerce and Colombo elite are clamouring for NGR. True he was instrumental in bringing the war to an end and revelled in it and still does. An opportunity to reconcile was lost, instead racism was encouraged and let loose.
Is it because he beautified Colombo ? It was a noteworthy transformation that lifted Colombo’s image but should this singular hallmark of efficiency justify the call to vote for him.
Apart from this was there anything else noteworthy ?. Yes – the use of the Army to ruthlessly shoot unarmed strikers and protestors and prisoners at Katunayake, Rathupaswala and Welikada. Should we forget his brutal efficiency in instilling fear and operating a white van culture suppressing and eliminating dissenting voices.
How can one forget the days when we were afraid to voice one’s opinion even among friends fearing severe repercussions. Cant they distinguish what is Right and Best for the country.
Why this blind loyalty in the face of incriminating evidence ? Cant they see that NGR is still surrounded by hordes of “hangers on” whose reputations have been tarnished with allegations of crimes and corruption openly canvassing for him , permitted by an inept President and Prime Minister who failed to clean up the mess and deliver good governance to the people.
We need a strong leader to govern the country firmly and fairly but not a potential dictator. Do they truly believe the leopard will ever change its spots?
Don’t be fooled. Think Again, vote wisely to preserve Democracy.
Likewise Anura Dissanayake and General Senanayake must work towards this goal.
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soma / October 27, 2019
He contributed to save our lives.
Majority is grateful to him. I am infinitely grateful to him for the sake of my children. The fact that he has no A/L must have helped him in his operations. Mig deal is nothing compared to Central Bank theft. He has come to save the country again from federalism. God bless him. All my friends and relatives are going to vote for him.
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Soma
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Old codger / October 27, 2019
Soma,
Would you care to explain exactly how much public money was lost in this “bond scam” , since nobody else seems to know. Compare if possible with the loss (on public record) from SriLankan airlines.
No quotes from Sirasa, please.
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Hela / October 28, 2019
There was no Mig deal involving Gotabhaya. Listen to Ravi Vidyalankara interview. Gota was not a suspect. But The yahapalana exco wanted Gota to be made a suspect……
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D. P. / October 27, 2019
Lankan,
…….but, I doubt whether JVP can be persuaded to change their mind b’cos they are working on their own logic: GoRa’s win is OK b’cos the resulting Hell would be beneficial for their usual sacrificial struggle against ruthless rulers while enabling, at the same time, to fend off the threat of losing cadres to FSP. However, Mahesh S is a possibility.
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Mohd / October 27, 2019
“A man who does not have pass in A/L or any degree” – Degrees & A/L’s don’t make leaders. Only ability Gota has is that he can be tough but not a charismatic leader who is a good communicator. Gota himself mistakenly thinks he is a good leader just being tough alone forgetting that he was allowed to be tough in the first place because of his brother being the president. Anyway, Gota has to do something about his communication skills and stage fear.
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Babalathappu / October 27, 2019
I dont think that you need to have a degree to become a good leader.
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But my issue is, GOTABAYA is inhuman going by his previous handlings.
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All is today well set in favour o fhim, but we know it pretty well how he handleed the defence alone in the post war period.
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See, white vans alone took the lives of dozens.
Some left the country not being able to see it right in media any more.
Federika Janz, successor EDITOR to Sunday leader news paper, had no other choice than leaving the country for USA just for escape her life.
Gotabaya as then defence secretary loudly added to the media ” than anyone would kill her on the way” because what she has been penning can be hurtful to the nation.
That is how Rajapakshes Gotabaya threatened the editors and media jouranlists.
Saddest ground reality today, is, even if MEDIA community is known all the terror activities of Gotabaya led groups, today them to support misleading the nation, only for vote gain tactics.
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Sinhala_Man / October 27, 2019
Sarath, may I request that instead of this sentence,
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“Implore your supporters to cast their second preference to the candidate who can beat Gotabaya Rajapaksa.”
You say this:
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“Implore your supporters to cast their second or third preference to the candidate who can beat Gotabaya Rajapaksa.”
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It must clearly be confirmed by all writers, (Professor Kumar David also commits the same “mistake” on the subject) that there is that “third Preference – and millions of people must be told that, how?
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My experience is that all too many have not heard of “Preferences” at all, and then they imagine that there must be a significant difference between them. There isn’t, of course, but confusion could be less if we are consistent in stating the factual position. They could give either “second” or “third” – it makes no difference – counting will take place only if nobody gets 50%. And if that happens all ballots for the losing 33 candidates (this time, since there are 35) will be looked at. Giving “First Preference” is significantly different – it will always get counted.
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It is so easy and so common for the mischievous to mislead – and they do it.
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Today I was at one of those “kiosk meeting houses” a hundred yards from my village home when a UNP group came distributing leaflets. All this was good-humoured. I told them that I don’t vote for photographs, but only after studying, but why that “X” – don’t we have “manapes”. “No”, they said flatly. But what happens if nobody gets 50%, I asked. “Yes”, then they count “manapes” I was told. But not “X” I insisted.
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“Can all “manapes” be given to one candidate?” somebody asked the UNP group. “Don’t know” they said.
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I interjected, “No, and if you vote “X” for one and 2, 3 for others, its an invalid vote”
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Sinhala_Man / October 27, 2019
Sorry, tired, , cancelling bold
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Sanath / October 28, 2019
You cannot give second and third preference to the same candidate!
Just look at the ballot paper. You can give only one number or a cross against one candidate.
Are you trying to invalidate the second preference?
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Haraka de Silva / October 27, 2019
Here de Silva wastes four paragraphs demonstrating his knowledge of Dante to establish that he is a Principled Pandit. Did it help to clarify anything?
What are the principles that he is espousing? Marxism. The opium of the intellectuals with little experience of practical things?
The principles of Marxism teaches us that “The End justifies the means”. This was practiced by Lenin and his small bunch of Bolsheviks who captured power during the confusion after World war I and then continued to massacre the educated elites of the day, and the Tzar’s family. Then they turned one each other and Lenin, and Trotsky in turn was done to death and Stalin emerged, like Prabhakaran, to supervise over many decades of Gulag.
In Sri Lanka, he “Principled Pundits like Keunaman and Shanmugathasan, coming from the Colombo upper classes, and their descendants like Harak de Silva pretend to be the saviours of the depressed classes, and continue to talk in terms of a dead and macabre Marxist ideology that has produced Gulags in every land where it raised its head, make the poor poorer, while the rich become identical with corrupt party officials.
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Bonny / October 27, 2019
If Gota wins this election we are the losers, real long time losers.Please don’t blame me – I did not vote him to power..
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Chris / October 27, 2019
Oh candidate who can beat Gota? That is Mahinda. But he can’t. UNP campaign is falling apart. Very poor planning.
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Hamlet / October 27, 2019
Gota is Mahinda!
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mike / October 27, 2019
Chris – Gota is Mahinda and Chris is Siva (etc)!
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Sanskritist / October 27, 2019
A Sanskrit sloka says that half-filled pots make bigger noises than full pots.
Sarath de Silva is the man who wrote an article titled in French “Premadasa, Pere et fils” with a show of pedantry, and began the article with a faulty English sentence, murdering the Queen with an elementary grammar mistake.
Here he writes about Principles Pundits, and here again he forsakes good English and murders the Queen repeatedly. He makes a pretense of knowledge of Italian literature, and ends the essay trying to use an Italian word, in a sentence where the subject and the verb do not agree in number!
noun, plural, ma·fi·o·si [mah-fee-oh-see].
The Principled Pundit’s sentence is:
The Mafiosi of the Medamulana ménage claims his primary loyalty.
Sarath de Silva even includes accents on the letter é in menage, although the English adaptation of such words does NOT allow for the inclusion of such accents. Such usage constitutes poor style and mere show of pedantry, especially for a writer who fails to use a plural verb with a plural subject.
Words carrying foreign accents should be in italics if the foreign form is to be used in English.
Alas, English journalism in Sri Lanka has lost its earlier capacity to uphold good grammar and good style as elements of second nature.
Poorly educated Pundits make more show of their knowledge and in the process reveal their shallowness, or their limited world view. Here it is the now thoroughly discredited and immoral Marxist ramblings.
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Old codger / October 27, 2019
Sanskritist,
Before your righteous indignation leads you to demonstrate that your English knowledge is so much better than the author’s, don’t you think you should get his name right? Sarath De Silva my arse.
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Sanskritist / October 28, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.
For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
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nimal fernando / October 28, 2019
“my arse.”
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Now, now, OC!
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:)))
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Old codger / October 29, 2019
Nimal
I do get carried away sometimes.
Guys who throw stones from glass houses do that to me.
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Mallaiyuran / October 27, 2019
Lankawe was/is a land of hell for Tamils from 1948. Now others too fear that it is becoming one for them. The delay in understanding the truth is because Tamils are ahead of all other communities in Lankawe. If you look at it, Neither Deva nor Karuna have attractions like Hezbollah or HLDM or Mervyn…..Tamils’ understanding is undeniably superior is the reason for that.
Still late is many times better than never!
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K.A. Sumanasekera / October 28, 2019
Mally. What are you on about Mally.
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Sripavan, Wineswaran, Abraham, Sambandan, Thiruchelvam, Kadiragaman, Sivajilingam are not small change in Lankawe.
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Hakeem, Bathudeen.Rahuman,Hashim , Ibrahims and their clansmen have been and still are movers and shakers of our inhabitants since 1948 .
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Even today The great majority who have suffered the worst during the last 4 years can not get a Government which is more friendly to them because of the Power of the Tamil and Muslim Leaders..
Thai is their Power in the Political front.
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In the Economic front you work out the net worth of an average member of the Muslim and Tamil Communities and compare it with the average net worth of a majority ethnic race and you will figure out who is in Hell and who is in Heaven.
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Jay Chambers / October 27, 2019
I am not a Lankan, but I have visited Lanka over 20 times and spent many, many wonderful vacations there. What Lanka needs is a firm, bold, courageous man, who can take the risk of collateral damages that your reputation invariably experiences when doing the right thing for the country. Lanka seems to have one man, whose father died a tragic death, but was a man with no scruples when retaining his position as President. But the son does not have the sparkle of his father’s energy, nor his drive. Then Lanka has another man who, most importantly, has exposure to American efficiencies and way of doing things. He also has the reputation as a strong, brave leader who can make things work. This should not be a difficult decision for Lankans. One “journalist” who died under tragic circumstances whose murder has not been solved cannot be used to besmirch someone who cannot be proven to have done the murder.
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Lankan / October 27, 2019
Jay Chambers,
List of some of the allegations:
1. Murder, assault and torture of journalists/dissidents
2. Financial frauds (eg MiG aircraft deal, monument for father, Avante Garde case)
3. Murder of Thajudeen (Rajapakse family)
4. Killing of civilians during final stages of war
5. Shooting of demonstrators at Rathupaswala
6. Killing of inmates at Welikada prison
7. Supporting organisations involved in racist attacks on Muslims
8. Protecting political associates who have committed various criminal acts (Rajapakse family)
So what dunderheaded logic are you employing in referring to Gotabaya Rajapakse as a ‘strong, brave leader who can make things work’?
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S. C. Pasqual / October 27, 2019
My Dear Lankan….
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Do you know the meaning of the word “”allegations””. Any fool can make a story and say its a big allegation,
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All these alligators had enough time to prove if GR has done something wrong.
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GR is a innocent man who is getting crucified just because he wants to serve his country.
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Lankan / October 28, 2019
S. C. Pasqual,
And how may I ask are you concluding his innocence?
Are you a Sherlock Holmes, or a clairvoyant perhaps?
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Jay Chambers / October 28, 2019
Mr. Lankan,
(1) Your country has seen tens of thousands of murders, assaults, and torture. There is perhaps not a single Lankan politician of some stature who does not have such allegations against him or her. That is part of your culture. It is a long time before Lanka gets better, and not before you crush the Moslem Jihadi fanatics aligned to ISIS and looking for Kaffir blood.
(2) Financial fraud- never expect these things to change. Again, this is part of the culture in the Indian sub continent. No ethics, no shame.
(3) Killings – never expect a “democracy” that was born from the British Raj to be able to avoid killings that are not explained. Same applies to the entire Indian Subcontinent.
(4) Racism – awareness of the danger of Moslem demographic growth and potential of Lanka being turned into an Islamic Republic is very important. Moslems are provoking attacks to engage the Kaffirs and die fighting to create martyrs and reach Allah. They should be dealt with the utmost caution but also with annihilating firepower when necessary. Do not let them raise their ugly ISIS head one more time in Lanka
(the rest of allegations) these are all debatable. But in a poor country with whimsical people still believing in all kinds of fallacies, you should be glad a strong man is likely to lead the country if he wins in November. As I said, there may be collateral damages, but you should work with the man to get something better than what you have now. The other man is a dumbass, his translated utterings sound hollow and childish.
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Bodin / October 28, 2019
But these indictements were made in 2014-2015 election. Does it take 5 years to prove EVEN ONE of these? A person is innocent until proven guilty is the principle of justice that many commentators as well as this writer with a Spanish or Portuguese name do not seem to understand.
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K.A. Sumanasekera / October 28, 2019
Jay-
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You seem to be a nice guy who likes Lankawe and wants Lankans to be happy and prosperous..
Appreciate your kindness.
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As a frequent visitor you must seriously think of investing in a an Apartment in Colombo.
Two Bedroom Apt in Singapore in a High Riser is averaging 1.2 Million Singapre Dollars .
No Sea Views or even Coconut Trees. And it is 1400 Lakhs in Ruppiah.
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In lankawe you can get one in a Colombo Post Code for LKR 300 Lakhs with a bit of a view of the Indian Ocean as well.
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And I am sure If that Candidate comes your Investment will double in 5 years..
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Jay Chambers / October 28, 2019
Mr. Sumanasekera, thank you for your advice.
Regardless of who wins, Lanka’s trajectory is upwards. Frankly I would like Lanka to first solve the problems of unemployment and rural development and do something to stop the maniacal Moslem attempts to overwhelm the innocent Kaffirs by making more and more babies. I hope your future leader focuses on these matter first.
The urban development and transformation of the metropolis into a modern place with high risers that can rival the other Asian countries is a good thing. Attracting rich foreigner to invest is also a great thing. But Lanka should not forget that, in its heart, its rural, agricultural country with a lot of innocent Kaffir people living in poverty. Everything you do must make their lives a little bit better and avoid the Moslem population and ISIS apocalypse that can engulf the country by 2030.
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K.A. Sumanasekera / October 29, 2019
Jay,
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I must agree that Srilanka is an agriculture based Economy .which made the Rich class richer and kept the Dalits poor.
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If not for Mrs Bandaranayaka. Srilanka today would have been owned by a few wealthy families who controlled all our main agri exports Tea , Rubber and Coconuts.
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Increase in the Muslim population is not only confined to Lankawe.
Don’t forget the Ottomans ruled nearly all of Europe not long ago.
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I am all for what you have suggested to give a fair go to for the Dalits.
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We have to thank the Buddhist Clergy and their strong commitment and participation in Politics to save the Dalits falling to the same economic and social level as Kaffirs..
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Douglas / October 27, 2019
These “Pandits” from all the “Movements” (NPP; NPM & host of others) committed the “Greatest Sin” of dividing into different camps persuaded by their own “EGO”. To mention names: Nagananda, Pallewatta, Mahesh Senanayake and few others, I hold all of them “RESPONSIBLE” and “ACCOUNTABLE’ for the “CRIME” of “DENTING” and “MISDIRECTING” the “PUBLIC OPINION” that emerged with the “CRY” : SEND ALL THE 225 OF THE PARLIAMENT HOME. If all those named and their respective “Out Fits”, discarded their “EGO” i.e “I am or he is the person to do it” and formed into one camp agreed on a Common Programme workable for :5: years, this question of defeating “Demons” and “Old Guards” would never have arisen. What have all these”|PROGRESSIVES” done? If that expected (by the People) CHANGE does not happen, these “Camps” and those “Nominees” are responsible and accountable.
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Edward J / October 28, 2019
What have all these progressives done?
They all attempt to analyze Sri lankan politics using a template written by a 19th Century Jewish German thinker to describe the Christian industrialized society of Europe. The predicted revolution and dictatorship of the proletariat never came although much blood was shed and many communist dictatorships came into being. The evolution of history quite contrary to Historical materialism, viz., the failure to produced revolutions in the countries that Marx predicted revolutions, the decline of Imperialism, rise of the welfare state, collapse of the soviet union, re-emergence of Capitalism in China and neo-nationalism etc,. etc., have all gone counter to the nonsense of the Marx who constructed a social theory borrowing from the Judeo-Christan idea of conflict between god and evil re-translated to a conflict between the worker and the capitalist.
But unfortunately, our Lankan “intellectuals” continue to borrow this out dated Euro-centric political philosophy and apply it to a society where there is no working class, no industrialized society, no large agricultural holdings by capital. Instead of quoting statistics and field data, they quote from books of failed European political activists.
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Sri Lankan / October 27, 2019
Gotabaya never was sent to the Royal Military Academy , Sandhurst as he had nob minimum qualifications .Gammanpila the asshole is bragging on Derana that Gota has a number post graduate degrees.Derana should declare that it is Fake News Propaganda machinery like Hitler’s.Hitler also had a vision to be a Dictator and Gota’s vision is the same.Gota will be the 21 Century Hitler!!! God save the Motherland Sri Lanka!!!!!
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S. C. Pasqual / October 27, 2019
Mr. Sri Lankan……….
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Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa – RWP, RSP.
Academic, Education & work experience.
1. Ananda College, Colombo 10. – Primary and Secondary Education.
2. Military College of Signals, Rawalpindi – Signal Young Officers Course.
3. School of Infantry and Tactics, Queta – Infantry Company Commanders Course.
4. Attended the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Assam.
5. Defense Services Staff College in Wellington – Command and Staff Course.
6. University of Madras – Masters in Defense Studies.
7. United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning – Advanced Infantry Officers Course.
8. University of Colombo – Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology.
9. University of Colombo – Awarded an Honors Doctor of Letters.
As a reward of gallantry and excellence in combat awarded…
Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP)
Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP)
From three Presidents.
J.R. Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa and D.B. Wijetunga.
1. Coordinating Officer of the Matale District.
2. Coordinating Officer for the Weli Oya area.
3. Commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Gajaba Regiment.
4. Deputy Commandant of the Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy
5. Marketing Manager of IT firm – Informatics.
6. Systems Administrator at Loyola Law School, California.
7. Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense.
8. Oversaw the military involvement in demining, reconstruction and resettlement in the North and East, and in the rehabilitation and reintegration to society of 12,000 former LTTE cadres.
9. Capacity building within state agencies and departments under the Ministry of Defense such as the Department of Immigration & Emigration, the Registration of Persons Department, and the Coast Guard.
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The learned / October 27, 2019
This person never seems to learn!
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What on earth are you trying to say? Quoting Western pundits ‘ad nauseam’ does not help you communicate a message.
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Get down to the facts and tell what you want to say, without being slave to other peoples’ utterances.
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Oh, God!
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Gamini / October 27, 2019
In 2015, there was a powerful and popular Leader seeking re-election after engineering the 18th amendment which apparently permitted him to seek Office again – some say the SC verdict in this regard was written at Temple Trees – such was the environment during that time (most of the legislation introduced during that period, one way or another, were for the benefit of that one family. In one budget MR effectively reduced the duty payable on imported racing cars – for whose benefit one would ask?). In 2015 , most anti Rajapaksa forces (including JVP) joined forces to defeat the common enemy and save the country from anarchy, destruction and drifting towards a dictatorship and autocracy. MR was shown the door but in his inimitable style, chose to return to the House as a MP, I guess, with the intention to capture power again and ruling the Nation.
The equation and circumstances are different in 2019. MR is no longer in the fray consequent to the 19th amendment (a distinct achievement of this Government). But he has put forward a ‘proxy’ for him! The anti Rajapaksa forces are divided. There are 35 candidates in the fray. The UNF candidate is a strong, young, educated, efficient, popular and a credible candidate. The same cannot be said of his main opponent (NGR). But that does not matter to those who revere the MR brand and other interested groups who can ‘en bloc’ be described as non desirables / extremists in our society.
Realistically, only SP or NGR will be the winner. If NGR is elected it will spell disaster for the country. So there needs to be a strategy to ensure that does not eventuate. The voting majority are Sinhala speaking Buddhists in the villages. They need to be reached and convinced of the dangers of a NGR Presidency.
Voters, please use your franchise wisely (and also do your bit to educate others).
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Hela / October 27, 2019
Bugger has chosen hell!!……….and he wants us to follow him too!!
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P.Rajeswaran / October 27, 2019
After reading the article by Sarath de Alwis, I thought it is fitting to give the following two quotes in this context.
” The world is a dangerous place, not because of thosewho do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”. – Albert Einstein –
” We have to regret not for the bad deeds of the wicked people, but for the appaling silence of the good people” – Martin Luther King Jr –
A well articulated article pragmatically reasoned out with sober assessment aptly suited to the current situation in the country. The implicit meaning in the message, I believe will surely open the eyes of the voting populace who have been up to this time tossed between the devil and the deep sea and are now yearning for a peaceful, corruption free and a prosperous country, Sri Lanka, to be proudly called our nation.
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ansar / October 27, 2019
Dr. Dayan,
I was one of your strongest critics, when you were going to town in favour of MARA family during the previous Presidential Election. Now it seems you have understood the real sinister intentions of this most corrupt family SL has ever produced and come to your rightful conclusion.
Happy about your change of stance and it might do a world of good in the upcoming Presidential Election. My gut feeling is that you might have had an axe to grind with Ranil, thereby switching your allegiance to MARA. Whatever it may be, they say, all’s well that ends well.
Sorry once again for my previous onslaughts.
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K.A. Sumanasekera / October 27, 2019
Gee Whiz..
Dr David has covered a lot of ground here, from Leon to Nandasena interspersed with a bit JVP Kumara. Military Mahesh and even dear late Lasantha..
It is intriguing how Dr Kumar missed Keselwatta Kid , the odds on fav to win the Election even according to Dr Ranil’s Camp.
And His formidable running mate and future dual Ministry ( Defence and Justice ) Holder Field Marshall Ponseka who was the last UNP party Candidate in fact assured the inhabitants that he is going to Secure the Nation and also give Justice to every one .
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I know Nandasena got a head up with his promises to Start a Estate University in UduPussellawa, instead of UNP Candiadate Keselwatta Kid’s promise to give all our Estate Labor Bros and Sisters LKR 1500 a day.
When I did the Math, that is LKR 45,000 a month for Thonda, Ganshan and the other Dude’s supporters.
My niece who is about to complete her MSc in Food Chemistry only gets LKR 40,000 a month.
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If our Estate bros do the same Math , they will hug Keselwatta Kid with both hands. for sure.
So this theory about the Colombo Middle Class who do power walks in Torrington Gardens giving Nandaseana a hand is a waste of time, I guess.
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How many votes are in the Middle Class after deducting the supporters of UNP Senasinghe, Ravi Karunanayaka, Dr Ranil Wickremasinghe, Dr Rajitha Senanaratana .and of course Mr Malik Samarawickrema.
Not many I suppose ‘
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Dr Kumar seems to be very fond of this Military Candidate who not soon after the Suicide attacks said one of Dr Ranil’s Cabinet Ministers called him on the Cell and asked about a Terror Suspect’s whereabouts ?.
Wonder whose camp that Minister is?
It can’t obviously be the Military Candidate’s Camp.
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BTW, Wonder which Candidate represent Hell and which one is close to Heaven?..-
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kebab / October 27, 2019
Why does an intellectually limited drill sergeant type like Gota look good ?
Because on the other side is a fraudulent failure called Ranil who has been doing politics for 40 years now and still wants to continue .
Yes Gota is coming as a continuation of a corrupt family rule . But how and why ? Have the people any choice ?
People simply hate this man Ranil. So they will vote for Gota . Premadasa has to carry the Ranil burden ,so he will fail.
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S. C. Pasqual / October 27, 2019
Its nice to know that “”Leon Trotsky”” and “”Karl Marx”” has advised AKD to vote for UNP.
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He has forgotten to ask “”V. I. Lenin”” and “”Starlin””
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Fool.
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Easy-E / October 27, 2019
Dudes! Should we also work on a plan B? Like how to resist if this maniac comes to power? Drop a comment below if you’ve thought about this.
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jehan / October 28, 2019
gota hora>> no no
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Good Sense / October 28, 2019
Yes! Most of the commentators and the author visualize the ill effects of the election of a particular candidate. But the other, to whom a vote is solicited in order to defeat the target is no better. Both are autocrats in their own style. I came to know of a guy who was in close range with both of them. He too confirms my views. He too believes that the value for human life and dignity will erode after the elections whoever of the main contenders win. Both the main contenders are the sides of the same coin.
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Godwin / October 28, 2019
National People’s Power (NPP) Presidential Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayaka says that fellow presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa’s stage is full of extremists. Therefore, one can never defeat terrorism by voting for the National Democratic Front (NDF) candidate, stated Dissanayaka. He mentioned this addressing a public meeting held in Eravur, Batticaloa.
So, a Marxist (although really a Rahu Aliya) is now saying that Sajith is no better than Gota as far as autocratic tendencies are concerned. But we know that Sajith is inefficient while Gota is efficient, as seen by what Sajith has achieved as a minister and as seen by his doings.
So is the analysis of Mr. Sarath de Alwis based on marxist philosophy wrong? Or is it that Anura K D does not know his Marxism? Or is it that this Marxism is just another chant of the Koota Andi.
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Kalinga Seneviratne / October 28, 2019
Dr Dj is famous for two things. His loyalty to R. Premadasa for saving his life by allowing him to get back after his fleeing the country following support for Vartharaja Perumal’s declaration of independence (1991), and his shameless political ‘fence jumping’ for personal advantage.
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He seems to be now loudly supporting Sajith Premadasa, not because he has any solutions for Sri Lanka’s ills, but because he can go back to Geneva to aggrandise himself, enjoying the perks, through his patronage.
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But he is only dreaming. Another Premadasa leading this country is ‘as certain as the sun rise from the Galleface’, as Rajitha Senaratne said at the Colombo UNP rally.
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So we could be safe!
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kali / October 28, 2019
Sarath:
Sarath:
*** I hope you have read my comment to your previous article about the candle lit vigils. But with all due respect from a Tamil prospective I ask you not to choose the “Devil” ( Sajith) to the deep blue sea ( Gotha) and I give you my reasons.
1) If I do not support Sajith Premadasa however much I disapprove of his politics and allow Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidency, I too would be condemned to that terrible agony of occupying the remorseless vacuity separating hell and heaven! Principled punditry has a special purgatory. I shall not fall into that trap no matter what preposterous adjective Sajith choses to describe his determination to put things right.
*** First gut instincts always turn out to be correct. In one of your previous Article you doubted Sajiths Vision and ability to chart a course to take Sri Lanka to greater hights.and it has proved to be correct. But he is electioneering and has uttered the following words. I will protect Shavendra wth my life despite the UN accusing him of War Crimes . It is obvious that he doesnt subscribe to UN values just like Gotha.
2) It is given that I find both Anura Kumara Dissnayake and Mahesh Senanayake as better beings in terms of an incisive reading of what is rotten in our polity. This presidential election is not about overnight ‘nirvana’. There are factors other than good intentions and renunciatory declarations.
*** The Presidential election is all about numbers game and numbers do not add up for the two that you have mentioned.
What I am going to do is to appeal to the Tamil electorate to abstain from voting as our choice would have been Sajith. But what he has said about Shavendra is an insult and a Slap in the face for us the Victims in this power politics.
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kali / October 28, 2019
Part 2
Gotha if elected will serve our interest much better although in the short term he will be a danger to Civil Liberty for the Minorities . The UN has taken action against Shavendra and US State Department has fired the first Salvo and Gothas Presidency will be an Icing on the Cake. for UN supported by all the Civilised Nations to take action and it is a Dooms Day Scenario for Sri Lanka
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Rajan Hoole / October 28, 2019
Thank you Sarath. Spine chilling reading. Thank you also for the quotation from Mahesh Senanayake. He seems a decent man. I certainly will not vote for Gota, but remain unconvinced about the value of voting for Sajith. As you have pointed out one wishes that the JVP would be more strategic in its approach so that we would not be left prostrate before the devil.
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Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam / October 29, 2019
How can Mahesh Senanayake be a decent man, when at the PSC inquiry, he went back on his statement to the press about Rishard Bathurdeen.
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