By Dayan Jayatilleka –
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
The jury is in on the Presidential election. Here’s how it went down, according to an interesting source which can hardly be described as anti-Tamil, or Sinhala racist. Listen to Mr. Erik Solheim:
“…The election victory was possible due to massive support from all Sri Lankan minorities. Mr. Rajapaksa won 90 out of 160 electoral districts and came out on top in nearly all Sinhala-dominated provinces. Mr. Rajapaksa roughly won the Sinhalese vote by 55 per cent. This was compensated for by Mr. Sirisena winning around 80 per cent of the Tamil vote and an even bigger share of Muslim votes. For this was payback time…” (‘Can The Unknown Angel Deliver?’ Erik Solheim, the Hindu, Jan 15th, 2015)
So Mahinda Rajapaksa indubitably won the majority of the majority of the island’s citizens: 55% of 70%. He lost. The winner failed to win a majority of the majority. He won. To a great many, this structural asymmetry makes the mandate look and feel like a doughnut.
Mr. MA Sumanthiran a liberal and a moderate Tamil nationalist, spells it out still more clearly in the Sunday Leader:
“This election has shown that Maithripala Sirisena’s victory was assured by those people who are numerically in the minority and therefore the weight of their votes equal to the weight of the vote from the majority community.”
This is at the core of the larger argument which he rolls out as follows:
“Basically, the communities that are smaller in number must also have equal access to power. That is the whole issue of majoritarianism. This election has shown that Maithripala Sirisena’s victory was assured by those people who are numerically in the minority and therefore the weight of their votes equal to the weight of the vote from the majority community.
What we expect is that people would be treated equally as equal citizens and that means even as communities, not as individuals, but collectively as different communities also people should have equal access to decision making processes and state powers. And we expect that this particular phenomenon of this election of those communities making the decisive vote would cause difference in approach and the government in power will be conscious that this is not a homogeneous society but consist of different people. As different people, we must build the nation together.” (‘We All Gave to Accommodate Each Other’, MA Sumanthiran, the Sunday Leader, January 11th, 2015)
What Mr. Sumanthiran is saying is very simple. The Tamil struggle is not for equal rights as citizens—something which, by his airy dismissal, he implicitly concedes has already been achieved. It is for something else. It is for the political equality of the majority and the minority/ minorities. How this can possibly be the case in a democracy one fails to understand. It must be said however, that Mr. Sumanthiran is not merely frank, but well within the tradition of Tamil nationalism and its pre-Independence claim of 50:50—rejected by DS Senanayake—namely that the combined minorities should have equal political weight, or a share of state power equal to the majority.
What is startlingly clear is that at this presidential election 2015, the minorities achieved that outcome. They outweighed the political weight of the majority of the majority.
Then there are the domestic geopolitical and geo-strategic dimensions of the electoral outcome as symbolized by the (post) electoral map. It sure reminds me of the crab-claw like Tamil Eelam map publicized by the EROS, the terrorist outfit that bombed Maradana in 1987 causing a large number of civilian casualties. That map was based not on the concept of ethnic Tamil nationhood but on that of the ‘Tamil speaking people’, which embraced the Northern and Eastern Tamils, the Muslims and the hill country Tamils of recent Indian origin.
Little wonder then that Velupillai Prabhakaran’s staunchest ally in Tamil Nadu termed 9th January 2015 as the happiest day of his life: “Today is the happiest day in my life and every Tamil family is celebrating the fall of Mahinda Rajapaksa,” Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko said in Thanjavur on Friday…Mr. Vaiko claimed that Mr. Rajapaksa has been thrown out by Sri Lanka’s voters, with an overwhelming majority in the Tamil-dominated North and East going against him…” (‘It’s the happiest day of My Life’: Vaiko on Sri Lanka Poll Verdict, L. Renganathan, The Hindu, January 9th 2015).
Now none of this would really matter in a first world society in which the issue of national identity has been historically resolved for the most part. Not so in the far more unevenly developed ex-colonial societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America, still under hegemonic pressure from the West. Ideally it shouldn’t matter in Sri Lanka either, but here’s the rub. In the North and East which voted against Mahinda Rajapaksa, if a referendum were held tomorrow in which the question was “Is your preference for President Sirisena or a separate Tamil Eelam?” one isn’t sure how the vote would turn out. (Well, to be honest, I am fairly sure how it would turn out.) Therefore, the problem is not that President Sirisena’s victory was decided by the huge majorities in the North and East which is mainly Tamil speaking, or that those were revanchist votes against Mahinda Rajapaksa rather than for Maithripala Sirisena but precisely because those areas have a dualistic, almost schizoid political identity—one does not know whether or not they are committed to the single, indissoluble, indivisible, united, political community.
The map of the election results corresponds uncannily not only to the Tamil Eelam map of the EROS, but more interestingly to the idea presented by the late Prof Samuel P. Huntington in his ‘The Clash of Civilizations and the Re-making of World Order’ He posited the grand thesis that the post-Cold War world would be driven not by ideologies or even national interest but by a clash of various civilizational constellations which he went on to itemize. This much is well-known. What is little known is his allied thesis of civilizational ‘fault lines’ and his contention that conflict takes place along the fault lines of various civilizational zones or systems.
What is least known among local readers is that he made mention of Sri Lanka. He said that the conflict in Sri Lanka was on the ‘fault line’ between the Indic-Hindu civilizational zone or sphere of influence and the Buddhist civilizational zone or sphere of influence.
What the map of the electoral result in Sri Lanka and the areas won by President Sirisena and outgoing President Rajapaksa corresponds to is pretty much the fault lines of the Indic-Hindu civilizational sphere of influence (the North and East, the plantations and in part, Colombo city) and the Buddhist sphere of civilizational influence on the island.
Beginning with Lebanon in 1958 and in the 1970s, manifesting itself in Malaysia in the late ’60s and currently sweeping through the Arab societies with Sunni-Shia minority/majority composition, there is a mountain range of evidence of the polarizations caused by such asymmetries embedded in the power bases of regimes, compounded by such uneven domestic geopolitical patterning and cross-border interfacing, and accentuated by the centrifugal dynamics of weakened central state structures. With the abolition or drastic truncation of the executive presidential system (“look Ma, I shrunk the State”), and the kaleidoscopic process of political re-composition that is already underway, the convergence of these factors on the North-South/external-internal axis of Sri Lanka’s politics may transmute into irreconcilable “antagonistic contradictions” which President Sirisena, an ex-Maoist will surely need all his old knowledge of Maoist philosophy to “correctly handle”.
Just as the removal of the civic rights of Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike did not help the stability of the system or sustained economic growth in the 1980s and indeed shunted the contradictions onto extra-systemic lines, both ethnic and ideological, any vicious act of framing Mahinda Rajapaksa for a ridiculous putsch attempt will not help bridge the deficit in the new administration’s mandate. Notwithstanding the co-optation of the SLFP MPs, the JVP and the JHU as a protective body armor around an essentially UNP government now in unelected occupation of Temple Trees, such a myopic move will only add to the systemic and structural sources of instability.
Chandra / January 17, 2015
Had MR treated Tamils as equal citizens of our country, then you would have expected Tamil votes also to split roughly 50-50. Causality, man, cause and effect!
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ken Robert / January 17, 2015
Chandra
Do you expect Dr Jayathilaka to bring it into the equation?. His whole arguement is flowed. In a democracy minority could wield a positive or negative influence. A vociferous minority could influence the majority and virulent majority could suppress the minority. I will leave it to your judgement to decide minority is doing good or harm.
Dr Jayathilaka is either a member of virulent majority (concept mahavamsa sihala buddhism) or sell one’s soul to earn his living. I suspect the latter explanation fits him well.
Majority community has already lost their initiative to usher their goodwill and personally I do not expect them to understand this concepts in the near future.
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MNZ / January 17, 2015
Dayan, oh Dayan! That was a very short hibernation!
You never learn do you? The readers of CT are not dumb kindergarten kids and are quite aware that you are desperately keeping your bedraggled CV on the front-burner just in case that elusive plum posting falls on your lap.
Besides, you need to vent your spleen with the guerrilla-type victory of Ranil and Chandrika!
Talk of the Devil quoting the Scripture; one would never have imagined DJ quoting Solheim, Vaiko and Sumanthiran in the same breathe to prop him up!
All your racially motivated analysis falls on the duck’s anterior.
Please read your ex-friend Tissaranee’s recent take on the vote distribution, and be enlightened.
And as for your facetious call for a referendum : “if a referendum were held tomorrow in which the question was “Is your preference for President Sirisena or a separate Tamil Eelam?” one isn’t sure how the vote would turn out. (Well, to be honest, I am fairly sure how it would turn out)”.
It’s akin to asking a starving man “would you prefer chalk or cheese”?!!
Come, come Mr. Social Scientist grow up, and don’t take us for fools with your pseudo-logic.
You are now treading that dangerous mine-field called Racism, just because you hate the guts of Ranil and Chandrika.
Now, lets ask you a question: Would you prefer a communal blood-bath or a government run by Ranil? (Well, to be honest, I am fairly sure how you would answer!!).
And listen to Defence Counsel DJ defending his Lord and Master : “….any vicious act of framing Mahinda Rajapaksa for a ridiculous putsch attempt will not help bridge the deficit in the new administration’s mandate…”
Hey, DJ can we please let an independent Police and Judiciary decide whether there was an attempted putsch based on facts yet to be revealed?
Not only is your slip showing, but your sycophancy is really sickening!
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Amarasiri / January 17, 2015
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
Courtsey Mahinda Rajapaksa supervised Basil Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa Corruotion and Murders?
Who murdered Lasantha Wickramatunga and other Media people?
Hitler, Mussolini, Corchesscu (Rumania) all faced their fate…
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rajapaksa-henchmen-turn-against-them-after-regime-change/
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Palayang Yako / January 17, 2015
Dayan:
Why don’t you simply [Edited out] and save us all a lot of irritation with your never-ending drivel? Or is this the kind of penance that is expected to pay off when the The Second Coming (of your patrons) comes to pass?
Would strongly urge you to direct your energies to writing a book on how to bore readers to death. After all, aren’t you as qualified as your buddy, Rajiva, to do this?
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Abu Mukarram / January 17, 2015
This is anticle which outwardly Analyzes Sumandirans article while attempting to cause doubts among the general public on Maithree governement. He still does KADEY YAEMA for MR. Thus, what is the difference between the Educated Dayan and the uneducated Wimal.?
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Rifai from Oman / January 17, 2015
Dr DJ
I thought you wouldn’t write again.
Have Dementia?
Any how the New President is selected by whole Srilankan.
According to your theory 45% of Srilankan rejected Mr Mahinda.
Most of the minorities over whelmingly rejected Mr Mahinda.
So ultimately Mr Sirisena is selected as President to WHOLE SRILANKA.
Not only to minorities.
You forgot Nandikadal
You forgot Aluthgama
You forgot Rathupaswella
You forgot corruption
You forgot thuggeryy
You forgot Dictatorship
You forgot etc…
You want another Black July or Aluthgama massacre.
My assumption is you are Robot
You are a Parrot
Please for God sake look the future.
Never do Postmortem which gives only rubbish.
God bless you and My Country
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Sunshine_SL / January 17, 2015
It is believed that COCONUT could heal Demencia and the related ailments – best DJ and anyone of the former bunch to go on eating coconut – but leaving those pluckers clean.
This is the reason why phillipinian Coconut is higly in demand in the US today.
DJ not seeing any perspectives – being unable to face his kind of loosers – that are CBK and Ranil Wickramsinghe- seem to be fallen on to a mode that would only sink him further.
Today srialnkas I see followings are the real loosers:
a) Dr. DAYAN JAYATHILAKA aka SILVA aka RAJAPAKSHE
sorry readers, I have no idea why DJ cant make his mind LET alone today
b) Mahindapala makes every effort to pain it white -repeatedly uttering that the victory claimed by MS and the new front is EXCLUSIVELY through minority votes – there the damage he makes the gaps of divisions even further – good old man not to grasp is at his age – more than pathetic
c) Gommnpila -POLITICAL TEENATER OF RECENT TIMES
This man animated his fans – as even senior politicians coould not. It is all becasue his way of arguments- but argumetns. His theories and counter attacks were similar to that of Wimal weerawansa – who thought to live up his life by attacking personalities. These kind of attacked polarised the rural masses – since they sound cool sinhala terms. People did not think twice but move on supported the same bunch for a long time UNTIL mahadanamutta is marginalised to the very same manner Egyptian Mubarak faced it. Elderly Mubarak faces it even today, Rajaapakshe will have to go through it WHEN THINKING of the size of the ABUSES his adminsitration made
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Dev / January 17, 2015
I thought you were not going to write to the English media? I knew it was too good to be true…..
:-)
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manisekaran / January 17, 2015
DJ,
Clash of civilization and fault lines have not just started in earth post world wars, it has been ever since human started settling alongside the riverbeds, there had been clashes and fault lines even in pre-historic times. coming to the core discussion of your article of instabilty, what you want man by stating this?
“President Sirisena, an ex-Maoist will surely need all his old knowledge of Maoist philosophy to “correctly handle” are you implying implicitly to sirisena to adopt his tacit and tactics of Rowdypatcha?
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sach / January 18, 2015
Dont try too hard if understanding is difficult to you.
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manisekaran / January 18, 2015
Racist sach, your inability to contain racist gas within you is showing everywhere and exploding. Your praise to pseudo intellectual is no surprise, and just because he quotes from others does not make him great. Difficult to understand his article? My foot!
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Leelawathie / January 17, 2015
This morning on the same platform, we get to read DJs and what Kelaniya Mervin has to say about Rajapakshe brothers. So, both you men supported Rajapakshe to get reelected – there you DJ,you still go on voicing the powerful side of MR. DJ s MR intoxication is akin to that of a rural man who would even sacrifice the life for saving the nation.
What s if not even 10% of his previous good side is remained in the person to this day ? Had he had a heart towards the nation, would he have ever gone up with high price hikes made on daily essentials. Some known to me, are retired teachers – retired public servants they cry being unable to face th elife TODAY s srilanka. If the current regime could fulfil their promises as made on their manifesto – peple will go an asking why MR terms failed to do so.
People have to get it finally – Mahinda Rajapakshe they knew in 2005 has become most virulent person by 2015. His stupdity should be so high so that he would not even sense the levels of social destruction, his admistration caused to the naton. Today, as JVP makes it very clear – HERO has become to ZERO.
Real heros of the nation are ALL FORCES AND almost everyone that worked die hard against LTTE terror. Dambare Amila thera make sis very clear how weakened MR had been at the time, forces were forced to eleminate terror millitarily. –
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Double standards / January 17, 2015
my theory is tamils are still emerging from 30yr war that is why their vote is so biased – in another 5 years probably it will split into 40-50 lines. Also they probably hate rajapakse due to end of war casualties which was actually due to Praba but tamil perception is different. My thinking is if there were two leaders contesting that is not coloured by 2009 war probably tamil vote will split on more normal lines. So don’t panic DJ let democracy reign.
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Ansar / January 17, 2015
I did not bother reading the full article because of the scant regard this Doctor has for the civility of the society. This man is hell bent on keeping his Fraudulent Master MARA in power who came to the helm with EMBEZZLING TSNUAMI MONEY AND CONTINUED TO PLUNDER THE NATION TILL JANUARY 8TH NOT TO MENTION THE COUP HE PLOTTED ON THE FATEFUL NIGHT,SO THAT HE COULD CONTINUE TO PLUNDER AND LIVE HIS RAJATHUMA LIFE FOR EVER. BUT LUCKILY FOR THE NATION WE ARE SAVED REGARDLESS OF OUR RELIGION,CASTE OR CREED.
Now I do not have an iota of doubt that, this man who still owes his allegiance to MARA is in the inner circles of MARA and possibly a recipient of his ill gotten wealth, in some form or the other.
I invite this learned idiot to visit the temple trees and see for himself the callous wastage of public money by this MONSTROUS RAJATHUMA who has plundered the nation and lived an extravagant life when the poor masses were struggling to have three square meals and a roof above their head.
ARE YOU A HUMAN OR SOMETHING ELSE, TO STILL SING HOSANNAS TO THIS SADIST MONSTER ?
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rew / January 17, 2015
Rajapakse lost- end of story
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Afzal / January 17, 2015
Dr. Dayan still bitter about the defeat of his political master is unable to concede that there is good in this outcome.
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Vibhushana / January 17, 2015
Churches were segregated, school and temple entry were forbidden for large social underclass.
This is not a scene from “Mississippi Burning” – a movie based on American civil rights movement starring Gene Hackman. This a realty show of Jaffna starring present day TNA members.
They bark “equal rights”. Although it takes the Sinhala governor Neville Jayaweera to force these TNA fellows to end Apathied from Jaffna in 1969.
The non–Vellalas, were all those castes who fell outside the Vellala fold, and according to Simon Casie Chitty CCS, numbered over 150 and included even the fisher caste. They owned little or no land and had no basis for economic or social power. For thousands of years, first when they lived in India before they migrated into Jaffna, and later, throughout their sojourn in the Jaffna Peninsula, the non-Vellalas had been subjected to an existence of anonymity and degradation, and had been deprived of access to any means whereby to improve the quality of their lives. One of the most outrageous deprivations they suffered was the denial of access to temples, which was another way of saying that they did not exist even in God’s mind. They were non-persons!
– Neville Jayaweera
Yet agina, TNA fellas bark “human rights” – you know it isn’t inauthentic. Again they bark “racism” – you just know its unreal.
The term “Majoritism” is a hack, a term to con the ignorant. A “Tamil Nationalist” is by definition narrow minded. The reason these racists cannot get political power in Sinhala majority Ceylon is because they are inherently self centered. Instead of reforming themselves they try to bend democracy to fit their agenda. Mountain wont come to Mohamad, yet they insist it must.
These ITAK fellows aren’t the only minority reps. There are numerous other minority parties that do not have this problem.
So why is our so called “liberals” constantly forget to corner these TNA animals and expose their nakedness at every given opportunity? The reason this problem keeps dragging on is because the real culprit is not exposed for everyone to see.
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Burning Issue / January 17, 2015
Imbecile,
Comment on the article if you can otherwise keep your racist mouth shut! You are a disgrace to the Sinhala Buddist Community. Like DR DJ you cannot stomach that your racist sponsor MR lost. I suggest you go and bury your head in sand!
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Prem Vaidyaratne / January 17, 2015
Rajapakse’s shocking behaviour is surfacing. Wait till the story is told.Dayan will feel like Tissa Attanayake!
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Pinappu / January 17, 2015
be that as it may – people did not reject SLFPers but the abusive politics carried out by Mahinda Rajapakshe. I believe, people can change – for some reasons MR became beyond all bearing. He did not touch the nation as media painted it – had he had a heart towards young ones, why should he have allowed all criminals to grab state funds – yesterday, Sajin vaas to pay 170million by his pocket – how come any citizen of this country to suck that much of funds, if they were not traditional business men. All these men and women should be investigated for all what they grabed by all illegal means.
This is valid to you too DJ, if you have done so.
This is valid to Mervin too if he has done so.
This is valid to Toy pistol holder Eraj Fernando
This is valid to Duminda de Silva regardless of all distribution he lately made painting a picture fooling the nation…
So, you DJ thought that abusive power would stay permanently, but today, HERO has beome ZERO within overnights – depicting that people s power succeeds everything against injustice. Be it from Jaffna or Southern areas VOTING power is equal – even if you guys are on a mode of explaining it to be otherway around to live your political dreams further spliting the nation that were hit by those ethinic separations for the last 4 decades. We the srilankens are equal, we need to prove it by our practise rather than cornering it to the POPULISTIC SLOGANs.
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Uthungan / January 17, 2015
This is the very guy who once upon a time referred to Sumanthiran as a wiz kid in a derogotary context,now changing tune and lauding him for saying that the ‘minority vote is equal in weight age to the majority’ and waxing eloquence that a resolvement of the question of national identity wouldn’t matter now, as there is a dualistic almost schizoid political identity visible based on the voting pattern during the recent elections.
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Dick / January 17, 2015
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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padmakumara / January 17, 2015
Aiyo. I thought he was going to stop writing. :( It was too good to be true. He can’t help himself this man. Loves the sound of his own voice too much.
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Ben Hurling / January 17, 2015
Dear Dayan,
Do not let ethics of political analysis succumb to your personal bias for defeated corrupt dictator.
True, Rajapassa won the majority within the majority.
He did that by using churning out utter racism through state media 24/7, abuse of state resources, power, vote rigging, intimidation, corruption & violence.
Just yesterday, Dr. Harsha De Silva published new evidence of vote rigging left behind at Temple Trees by Rajapassa cronies.
Had the election been free and fair, the dictator would have lost by a landslide even among the majority.
Cheers!
PS: Having said the above Erik Solheim’s comments are not helpful. His task in Sri Lanka is now over. He should now mind his own business and frankly shut up. His so called “expert” comments only serve to build more support for former dictator’s greed for lost power. Any idiot can realize that. Except of course Erik Solheim.
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Sun / January 17, 2015
Ben@,
MS claimed a victory irrespective all high levels of abuses he faced within the limited time given to him. MR had been campaigning for the election even before his regime set a date for the election. So considering all these, every right thinking healthy men and women would feel – had MR been given little more time to campaign, he could surely have gotten more votes. Now as it is becoming clear – 5.7 million of voters would not have voted for MR – had they been aware of the gravity of problems that MR s regime went through. The magnitudes of the abuses that previous regime made is becoming clear hour to hour. After 29th people will get more about the previous regime – how bankrupt it has been by the times handover is done.
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Sun / January 17, 2015
APologies:
had MS been given little more time to campaign, he could surely have gotten more votes
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Rabok / January 17, 2015
I sincerely wish – this government will act to safeguard majority interest and give an appropriate place to the interest of minorities – some rabid guys like mangal’s action of complaining about a coup for toppling MS from power will certainly derail this gov. – because they should remember still MR enjoys 55% of majority support – any decision by this Gov. should remember this fact very clearly – any decision by this gov. to harm the sensitivities of majority will be going against them and may incite another 1983
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Burning Issue / January 17, 2015
Rabin,
I sincerely hope that this administration will act to safeguard Sri Lanka and its subjects equally. The law of the land should be equal to all and should be treated equally. What do you have against it? Why should the majority get preferential treatment?
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Seelawathi / January 17, 2015
What if all records will prove that it was a coup ?
We can NOT go against prima facie evidence ?
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Paba / January 17, 2015
In reality, this 55% of the majority will evaporate soon when the mega corruption, lawlessness under MR presidency and the true facts about north & east are fully exposed.
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Paba / January 17, 2015
DJ highlights the fact:
“So Mahinda Rajapaksa indubitably won the majority of the majority of the island’s citizens: 55% of 70%. He lost. The winner failed to win a majority of the majority. He won.”
Based on this facts he wants people to believe:
“To a great many, this structural asymmetry makes the mandate look and feel like a doughnut.”
What most of the election analysts have missed is the uneven ground the election was held. Government bombarded the majority with misinformation, which created “minority phobia”, using state TV (which has almost island-wide reach) and using public spaces like stadiums to hold grand election rallies and transporting people using CTB buses. MR presented himself as the only savior. Opposition could not reach the masses to counter this propaganda. Also, the opposition could not inform the rural masses of the gigantic proportion of corruption and waste. Not getting the majority of the majority is a temporary phenomenon. MS can quickly win the hearts and minds of the majority of the majority if he acts prudently. Now MS has the means to disseminate real facts about national security issues and build confidence in the majority. Also, impartial exposure of the corruption and waste can be done. I believe, vast majority of the majority are law abiding citizens. They will NOT say OK to MR’s governments waste and corruption even though he is the war-winning president.
DJ also says:
“any vicious act of framing Mahinda Rajapaksa for a ridiculous putsch attempt will not help bridge the deficit in the new administration’s mandate.”
I also agree that MR & Co. should not be “framed”. Corruption and waste should be inquired and legal action should be taken against perpetrators . Inquires must be transparent so that they cannot be interpreted as “framing”. [MR appointed enemies of SF into inquiry boards of allegations against SF which amounts to “framing”]
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Navin / January 17, 2015
Dear Donkey Jayatilleke,
You are reputed to be a “political scientist”. In reality you are a neurotic, fallen from grace, pseudo patriot, who is detested by 99% of Sri Lankans for your hypocrisy and untruthfulness, and intellectual dishonesty. The word intellectual is a mis-nomer in your case. You are nursing a rubbished ego, no one wanting to even acknowledge your so called expertise, your opinions recommendations having been consigned to the garbage for the last 12 months.
So you dished out all your usual garbage today. What you are saying is that the Tamils and other minorities overruled the wishes of the majority of the Sinhala people. For you, right up to when the election results were declared it was not going to happen. But it happened. Your ego burned, not because Rajapaksa lost, but because your ego took a major hit. Your grief is palpable.
So what do you do Donkey Jayatilleka? You manufacture an excuse for your failure (the failure of the infallible political scientist) to have given a reasonable forecast of the election outcome. You have sought to exonerate yourself from blame saying that the minorities trumped the majority – something that cannot happen in a democracy. And like the Kekilla Rajjuruwa’s judgement you went one step further and almost said take away the voting rights of the minorities because as it stands, the system is not conducive for a healthy democracy.
Have I diagnosed the state of your addled mind correctly, Booruwa?
And liar, what happened to your declaration not to write anymore to English medium publications?
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Sun / January 17, 2015
Navin,
we can understand your angers.
But why do we need to attack him becoming clear the man is BECOMING not normal.
Now as you clearly articulated above – making every effort to clear his face.
Long before the election – DJ s artciles were not accepted by many on CT forum. His thoughts and minds are not far from those of Kelaniya MERVIN who once tied the innocient public servants to tree posts- just to draw the attention of the many that stood as if they are scared still. This UNAHAPULUWA has not even discussed that low level of power abuses of some men under the lead of MR. Where people were really in need of the support of DJ or any senior critiques – there DJ behaved himself as if he was blind and deaf. This man will become a nitwit ni the days to come since TV publicity will not be given to him in the current regime.
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Burning Issue / January 17, 2015
Navin,
Yes you have diagnosed DR DJ’s condition brilliantly. In fact you have written a gem thank you.
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wimal / January 17, 2015
Not all the fancy language in the world hides the fact that what the esteemed political scientist is saying mirrors exactly the argument made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa that Maithripala Sirisena won the election with votes from “Eelam or wherever”.
A new low even for this pseudo intellectual. Suggest he read Tisaranee Gunesekera, ten times Dayan’s superior in political analysis and much less filled with hubris to boot. https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/racist-tom-toms-and-electoral-statistics/
Here is Dayan’s Master’s voice, that he echoes so well with pseudo academic argument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD-3zRYW0vM
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siripala / January 17, 2015
Yako Dayan, you noob. The UNP in “unelected occupation” of Temple Trees – whose party machinery and grassroots base do you think Maithripala Sirisena rode to victory on? Or in your opinion ought Sirisena become President and hold on to the old 107 member cabinet of your boss Mahinda?
You are one pathetic political analyst. So drunk on your hatred of Ranil and CBK you refuse to see beyond your nose.
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L. Perera / January 17, 2015
Dyan, You destroy your credibility. I don’t think anybody will listen to you. Good bless you!
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dcn / January 17, 2015
DJ is really suffering from dementia as commented earlier today by one of the readers.
Has he forgotten all crimes committed by the earlier regime which includes shootin innocent public in Katunayake FTZ, Rathpuswella etc in addition to various looting of public funds which are being unearthed everyday. It is a disgrace for person who calls himself a political pundit and pretends not to understand these crimes against our innocent society.
He lis really one of the MR’s cronies. He is trying to analyse the results in a communal manner.
All the people who voted in this election are SriLankans and not foreigners. All Srilankans ha
ve equal rights to vote for any one of their choice. Again, it is a disgrace for a so called educated person to bring in dissension amongst our community on racial basis.
How can he say 50 : 50? Was the elections conducted in a free and fair manner. The state tv, radio, and print media was misused in such a manner, I do not think people like Saddaham Hussein or
Gaddaffi would do. Use of the state services was another anti democratic act. In some other web it
was reported about the numerous trips made by the President, his wife, sons and other cronies
using the Airforce helicopters. Officially, I believe the President is entitled to the use of these
helicopters for official duties and I believe this facility does not extend to election work of his own
candidature. There are the other cronies who also used – did they pay for???????
The numerous lunches, buriyani feed, or dansalas given in the Temple Trees using offical functions
whilst being a candidate – Does DJ justify these according to his political expertise.
The opposing candidate Maithree was not even allowed suitable place/grounds for his election meetings. Was this a level playing field.
DJ must realise with all these impediments (there are several others as well) President Maithree still came a clear winner as President of Srilanka. If by chance, the elections were conducted under a neutral Caretaker President/government, the victory margin would have been huge, say even high as 60/65 or more.
DJ only a few days ago indicated he would not be writing in the English media – how did he forget this so fast ? Is it Dementia growing so fast or want to please his master ?
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Ranjan B / January 17, 2015
Is the Sri lankan ballot paper marked according to the race..how does this racist pig kow what percentage of sinhalese voted for MR or MS..Its time for such racist intellectual frauds to come clean..u r a pathetic political analysts who has got soo many of your analysis wrong if you had an iota of dignity you would do what Gotabhaya and basil are doing..shut up and get out..
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Ajith / January 17, 2015
This bloody rascist is trying to create another bloodshed in this country. That is why he is quoting some of the statements from TN, Eric Solheim as LTTE and separatives victory. He is now in the process of feeding to the extremist Sinhalese to bring back Mahinda through racism.
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Rarityminds / January 17, 2015
Just divisions, not blood shed. Now time has come to wake up the nation. People are not fools but no doubt they are emotional. It is the autistic nature of DJ make him like what he is today- even if many rejects him, he dares to move on with his writing. There you and me cant do anything beyond what his parents BASICALLY failed. If this camelian creature had inherited let alone 10% of his father (most respected journalist all times – late Mervin Silva), he would not have been sitting wiith LOW LIVES as has been the case with him even to this moment.
Even Kelaniya MERVIN has come forward to reveal what he knew/knows about the previous rascals.
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rajapaksa-henchmen-turn-against-them-after-regime-change/
But self pride and typcial nature of DJ seems to be not allowing to see it back and do the right thing at right time. It is because his personal vendetta against Ranil Wicramasinghe/CBK. Latter two personalities saw it right at the right time that is why they fearlessly came forward to nominate Maithreepala as the most capable of all to come out of the disaster. Actually both personalities fulfiled it ESCAPING the nation from an another HOUSNI MOBARAK.
If RW is that a loser as DJ on and on utters – how could he sacrifice his party – being that generous being in a criticl turning point of the UNP politics. Those are the real Mahathma features. I have no doubt RW will make it. Guys like Gamini on this forum made very clear – knowing the greater potential of RW long ago. Srilal was among the few who made it clear nothing would be possible toward the change without the mediation of CBK. For me commentators on this forum in general more intelligent and politically senior than DJ’s political progonitics.
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fair is fair / January 17, 2015
Thank you Dayan, for your article.
It seems you cannot win. When you state your own opinion, you are racist, as they say. When you state the opinion of TNA politicos, you are racist, as they say. If you point out voting statistics you are racist. If you refer to a map, incidentally that the Hindu publishes without comment at the bottom of the article you have mentioned, you are racist.
I don’t think that you are allowed an equal and opposite opinion, although free speech and democracy should allow it.
Let’s talk about what happened: the voting pattern and the rhetoric before and after the election on the Tamil websites is this: Tamils are not happy. Neither candidate is showing signs of meeting the needs of Tamils.
Maybe you have some ideas on how we could resolve an issue that has spanned over 50 years and is very much in the forefront today?
The Muslim vote was understandably due to certain well known events and actions that have taken place under the excuse of religion. This can be addressed swiftly.
I make a challenge to you, Dr. Jayan, could you suggest an solution that will be acceptable to all parties, and in a reasonable time frame?
There, I have given you the reason for another article (in English).
When the comments towards your eureka solution are all positive I know you have succeeded.
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Jango / January 17, 2015
Oh no, not you again already?! I thought you promised (just yesterday) not to write to the English press again. But then we should by now know only too well how quick you are to change your stripes depending on what you think lies ahead.
Oh well…
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Ameresekere / January 17, 2015
What is this going on and on. Since independence the UNP has won the minority vote. Elections are usually decided by how the Sinhalese votes splits. This is not new to this election. So enough of this racial baiting by someone who waged war on behalf of the EPRLF
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