By R. Fernando –
The current competition between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa seems to lie in winning the goodwill of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa rather than obtaining the greater number of votes for their respective parties. The statement recently by the Former MP Harin Fernando as well as on several occasions in the past, further reiterates this idea. The Ranil Wickremesinghe and Ravi Karunanayake group as well as Sajith Premadasa and Harin Fernando group who are mingling with the president, seem to be in competition to indicate that they are willing to support him.
What kind of genre of politics might this be I wonder? They who made serious allegations against the Gotabaya Rajapaksha party in their presidential election campaign just 7 months ago, including Sajith Premadasa who recently went to court with a petition that Gotabaya Rajapaksa was violating the constitution, are now claiming that they are the only party who could help strengthen the hands of President Rajapaksa and help further his program for the country.
Such being the case, what policies are they talking about? This is typically what they [UNP] did during their rule from 2015-2019. Whilst saying one thing to the general public and their supporters, they practiced underhand agreements with the Rajapakshas, misled and let down both the traditional UNPers who voted for them through generations, plus those who supported the UNP circumstantially only because they wished to defeat the Podujana Peramuna by voting for them. At present the SJB even claim that they are willing to work with the policies upheld by the Rajapaksas even before the upcoming elections, whilst the UNP seem to imply so.
If both parties are willing to uphold the policies of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then, why should one vote for either Ranil Wickremesinghe or Sajith Premadasa, when they might as well vote directly for the Rajapaksas?
What could be the possible reasons for the current reverence of the Rajapaksas by these two political groups?
It could be the fear that the fate that has befallen Rajitha Senaratne and Patali Champika Ranawaka might befall those responsible for The Central Bank bond scam, racket of releasing vehicles from the customs, the fraud of the Central Cultural Fund and other similar schemes.
Else it could be the unprincipled political trend of safeguarding themselves from dire consequences of their own actions, whilst having no qualms of the negative impact the Rajapaksa policies might have on the country and its people at large, by sacrificing the votes given to them as one of the oldest and established parties in the country.
Furthermore, it could also be lack of interest or even more alarming, indifference of the immense destruction and damage the policies of the Rajapaksa family could bring to this country through not following basic procedure and consultation with expertise in those areas.
Whatever the motives might be, what is clearly visible is an unfathomable political poverty, appalling lack of vision and gross deception of the voters, as what other reason could it be?
It has been proven beyond doubt that no support or backing could be given to any of the decisions taken or proposals put forward by the Rajapaksa regime during the past 7 months. It has shown little or no interest in the welfare or benefit of the country and is an administration which has no genuine compassion towards its people. Furthermore it is the rule of a family rather than a political party. It shows no consideration or respect toward the laws of the country and democratic values. It will take steps towards the abolition of independent commissions, and work towards the removal of the 19th Amendment. The resources of the country have and will be sold to their friends and supporters [China, India and America] without any transparency or protocol. They went ahead with their plans to have an election without considering the significant dangers and ominous consequences of the Corona epidemic. We are currently reaping that harvest and experiencing a resurgence of the epidemic due to management and sustainability reasons all of which were focused only on the pending election. They show clear preference towards military power rather than civil power. They use nationalism and racism as their main political strategies within a family power base which has been proven beyond doubt by now. If the UNP and SJP are seen to support the above mentioned policies it is the clear and obvious betrayal of 56 lakhs of their loyal supporters.
The resignation of Mangala Samaraweera could possibly be due to his understanding of the shameful principles and gutless nature of the politics of both Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe. This same distaste must be felt by all UNP members from both groups.
At the presidential election last year, it seemed somewhat impractical to support Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the NPP instead of Sajith Premadasa at that point in time. However had we chosen to follow correct politics instead of mere practicality and voted for the ‘Malimava’ led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, even whilst knowing that Gotabaya Rajapaksa may not be have been defeated, they would have obtained around 15-20 lakhs of votes which would have been a valuable and solid foundation for the upcoming General Election on the 5th of August 2020.
The current situation indicates that the candidate who obtained 56 lakhs of votes now seems more focused on appeasing Rajapaksa, and thus depriving the people of a candidate who may possibly have faced the challenge of the Rajapaksas on the 5th August 2020.
The country desperately needs a principled party, able to challenge the dangerous political policies of the Rajapaksas. A party based on democratic principles, having civilized political
doctrines, who believe in the basic rights of the people and are able to confront the Rajapaksas and their policies upfront and face to face if necessary. At this point the only alternative available is the NPP led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Even though the NPP has all the qualifications necessary for this task, it is still not in a position to defeat the Rajapaksas this time. Not only Anura Kumara, but even the UNP which is divided will not be able to achieve their goal this time.
If the NPP is strengthened in the upcoming election on the 5th August 2020, it will be able to challenge the Rajapaksas with regard to their principals and policies as well as presenting a strong and substantial voter base in 2025. If the disillusioned and disheartened voter base of the poorly principled UNP can strengthen the NPP, this might be the only alternative or recourse left, is my honest opinion.
Some reasons as to why the NPP is the obvious option becomes clear through the ratings of manthri.lk [a monitoring website which ranks MPs in the SL parliament based on individual performance] the JVP MPs have been within the first five rankings consistently. Furthermore, even if one does not support the NPP per se, it has always been their task to highlight and point out to the country numerous transactions without protocol, nontransparent deals, underhand agreements, decisions which could harm the environment beyond measure which would otherwise have gone unnoticed and been implemented.
I would like to reiterate that, had even a section of those who voted for Sajith Premadasa thought about it and had given Anura Kumara Dissanayake 15-20 lakhs of votes in 2019, that might have been a great political resource at this time, which fact I am requesting you to please think seriously about. Had this taken place at the presidential election in 2019, instead of Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe’s poorly principled politics, where the main candidate was being demoralized and emasculated at every turn by his party leader, we would have been able to create a strong voter base to challenge the Rajapaksa voter base in the upcoming election itself.
We have by now, deprived that opportunity for ourselves. The only recourse is left is to work towards creating a democratic peoples’ power in 2025 within a principled, egalitarian background. Let us begin this process on the 5th August 2020 by voting for the NPP led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake with the sole intention of building up, strengthening and maximizing this process for 2025. This appeal is to all rational UNPers as well as those discerning people who would consider voting for the SJP or UNP if only, to prevent further large scale destruction of the country, to please consider this third option very seriously and free themselves from the intentional or unintentional traps of Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The familiar quotation from Abraham Lincoln seems somewhat apt in the current political scenario. “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
chiv / July 21, 2020
Unfortunately we are in a land like no other and hence “our politicians have fool all the people all the time”. That is why our voters are still discussing on Who is bad but not worse ??? who stole more ??? who is less corrupt ???
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Thiagarajah Venugopal / July 21, 2020
Dear Sir
Can we get some JVP assistance in stopping the Ragging in our Universities please?? yes we have criminals in our education Institutions……..kindly raise this issue at the Parliment for all party discussion please.
Thank you.
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SJ / July 22, 2020
This is like asking a thief to help you to catch a thief.
The JVP used the ragging for recruitment purposes.
Ask any university don.
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Sinhala_Man / July 22, 2020
Dear SJ,
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Because you know the Universities so much better than me, I am loth to contradict you. Emeritus Dental Professor ANI Ekanayake of Peradeniya has been writing lots – always from a right-wing point of view, and occasionally betraying unwitting disdain for the village-type of Undergraduate.
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Let me place it on record that we are generalising too much. The JVP itself tries to put the blame on the FSP (Peratugami). Both rival Politcal Groups, as well as the raggers all belong to those students who have a non-English-speaking background.
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In Sri Lanka, users of English tend to be from financially better-off homes. These people tend(unwittingly) to be snobs. This problem will never be solved until a broad sociological approach is adopted and succeesfully implemented. That is my view, and please don’t take time off more solvable problems than this.
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I’m not underestimating the gravity of the problem, and my opposition to ragging is total.
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Singar A. Velan / July 22, 2020
Ah, but to secure computer systems, they sometimes employ hackers (who might well have been misdemeanors in the past) to hack and expose vulnerability. The ancient Tamil way of pulling out thorns using thorns… (or, for a modern example, like Gota using Karuna to defeat Prabhakaran).
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srikrish / July 21, 2020
Mr Fernando,
A welcome initiative!
If you really want to work towards creating s democratic people’s power in 2025 within a principled egalitarian background, why you expect only those who intend to vote for SJP and UNP?
Why not consider others?
I refer to those who intend to vote for minority political parties from Tamil, Muslim and upcountry Tamil communities and those who intend to abstain or vote for some other minor parties.
Most of these parties are not in the mainstream and mostly disappointed with the two mainstream political parties.
We have to traverse a new path with those who haven’t been tainted with nepotism and corruption nor associated with criminals and sex and drug offenders.
If the SLPP wins a two thirds or near two thirds, the first causality may be the Parliament followed by independent institutions,
Then the only opening may be extra- parliamentary struggles and mass movements mobilized in an all island basis spearheaded by NPP !
Sri.
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eeakdavi / July 21, 2020
A crucial point that follows from the writers points is that even 10 to 20 NPP-JVP parliamentarians will be a powerful force, indeed the ONLY force in enforcing some degree of check and control on the post 5 August government. Otherwise the government will just run amok like an undeclared dictatorship. The UNP and SJB will be coolies and poodles of MR and GR. The danger is quite grave.
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Sinhala_Man / July 22, 2020
Dear Kumar,
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I have made six comments here:
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https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/cebs-idiotic-tariff-structure/
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I have said:
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” Yes, you are on the National List of the JVP. Let’s hope that we see you in Parliament – and never mind this mess of an article on electricity tariffs!
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“Nevertheless, I’m voting for the telephone, and am in a position to alert Eran Wickremaratne and Maithri Guneratne (Badulla District), of this warning. It may be that I could find out the contact details of another four or five SJB candidates to alert them to the danger.
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“It is upto others to do the same with any SJB candidates whom they know. There’s no point either telling Ranil’s UNP or voting for them.
“The time to act is now!”
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Some voters say that their blood (the slashing of wrists is popular at election time!) will never be green. To such I say, vote JVP! Samantha Vidyaratne winning in Badulla seems unlikely to me, but votes in any area will contribute a mite towards getting National List guys in.
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People like you will obviously make way for Sunil Handunetti if he doesn’t get selected from Matara.
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Sinhala_Man / July 22, 2020
Please have the courage to start listing the SJB candidates whom we should not vote for.
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1. Patali Champika Ranawaka from Colombo. He’s running down other SJB candidates. I will provide links tomorrow.
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2. Any guy who was once with the SLFP must be suspect. I don’t mean Maithri Guneratne, or Shiral Lakthilake (Colombo)
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3. You could still safely vote for Mangala Samaraweera (or Buddhika Pathirana) from Matara, if determined to vote green. Mangala’s name is still on the ballot. However, a vote for Sunil Handunetti (a crucial guy, who is sometimes taunted with being “National List”) would be more sensible there, even if you’re one of the “kapuwath kola” brigade.
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Don’t be scared especially if you use a pseudonym.
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Panini Edirisinhe (National Identity Card Number 48 3111 444V), voting from Bandarawela (Badulla District).
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Lasantha Pethiyagoda / July 22, 2020
I believe that politicians of the major parties are well aware that all the fools can be fooled all the time. That comes from voting trends that have clearly shown a very shallow and emotional basis for casting their votes, and not any analytically sound or qualified decision. Most such politicians only care about themselves and their power. No one seems to care about the people, although they pretend to do so, especially when elections are near. One party that has not been tested with national responsibility todate is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Although during each insurrection, the government of the time killed around six times the numbers of people the JVP did, other parties have been very successful in painting the JVP as evil, while the real enemy is roundly welcomed each time.
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Raj-UK / July 22, 2020
SL certainly needs a political party with integrity, consisting of educated people.
RW has proved himself consistently as an ineffective leader & SP, instead of carving out a name for himself in more than a decade in politics, as expected from a graduate of a prestigious UK university & an internship at the White House (as claimed), is still riding on his old man’s wave. Premadasa Snr, although was appealing to the masses, was uneducated, crass & his vision (if he had one) was flawed. Certainly not inspirational in my thinking. The only option is AKD & his party but I have no faith in their ideology, having failed to publicly acknowledge & apologise to the destruction & murder of innocent people during their regime of terror in the past. As bluebottle flies are attracted to a heap of dung, yobs & thugs are attracted to politics for the perks & advantages. Will AKD & his crowd, as socialists, will start by trimming the perks & pensions of politicians?
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chiv / July 23, 2020
Lasantha, I believe people need to be naive if not fools , to be fooled. Here is an example. In the US a nursing Practitioner was recently found in an intense discussion (argument) with colleagues, stating her choice for President is only Trump. The reason , the relief/stimulus check she recently received from US treasury was personally signed by Trump (instead of Governor). She believe Trump who has avoided paying due tax from his businesses (a case is being held right now in Southern District of New York) is actually giving his own wealth to help people during this crisis. You may well know a NP is almost equal to MD, who is allowed independently to practice / see patients ,under some supervision. Imagine the rest from the rural areas who never completed school.
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rmsf / July 24, 2020
I totally agree with the writer. The reason for this has been a steady program of tarnishing the image of the JVP in numerous ways over the years, using “fallacies of ad hominem” when all else failed. I guess it is up to the mature voter to bother to check the truth and falsity of these comments instead of which the human inclination is to believe whatever is more sensational and gossip mongering than search for the truth. I have done so and what i found about them was the absolute opposite of how they are portrayed. It is indeed a tragedy beyond comprehension that we are unable to make use of this group of honest, hardworking men with integrity and end up going back to the same old, same old decadents for over 70+ years coming in different packaging and wording. Until the people of this country become a bit less gullible, a bit more politically aware and think about the greater good than personal favours, the scourge will continue.
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