Cabinet Spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne fired broadsides at President Maithripala Sirisena’s Coordinating Secretary Shiral Lakthilaka during the media conference on cabinet decisions today.
Lakithilaka and the President
A journalist had sought the minister’s response to a statement that Lakthilaka had made to the effect that an ‘interim government’ would be formed immediately after the forthcoming local government elections, to which Senaratne had fired back, ‘who is Shiral?’
When he was informed that Lakthilaka was the Coordinating Secretary to President Sirisena, Senaratne had angrily asked ‘Can a coordinating secretary get such things done?’
Lakthilaka is said to be among President Sirisena’s closest confidantes to the point that he was one of the emissaries sent by Sirisena to arrange a meeting with Gotabaya Rajapaksa as mentioned in MP Malith Jayatilleka’s book (The January 8th that I saw) in April 2015.
K.Pillai / January 17, 2018
Rajitha crossed over because he wanted to have a shot at the Presidency. He still thinks he is President material!
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Trevor Srinivasan / January 17, 2018
K.Pillai
Good if he could be Presidential material. He is not a racist unlike sillysena or Rajafucksa. He will handsomely all minority votes 99percent sure to win.
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Heen Banda / January 18, 2018
uh I see now, angry with Rajapaksa for destroying your hero Praba? However we respect the gratitude you have for your thieving, murders Hero. Unfortunately Sinhalaya dont have that gratitude for Rajapaksa. Hence you’re still one up.
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Mudson Amerasinghe / January 18, 2018
Kunubanda
hero’s out of that many is Rajitha, Chandrika, Ranil, Mangala and many more who can think positively.
Playing to the gallery is unacceptable. VP is long gone so no point digging old shit.
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Sam / January 23, 2018
What about Gen. Fonseka? He finally got Raja treatment in Jail for 2 years.
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sach / January 19, 2018
we know anyone BAD for Sri Lanka will get minority racist votes
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Upali Wickramasinghe / January 21, 2018
Sach – the racist that you always were /was / and always will be.Since the Defense web site is no longer available to you, you are using the CT website to spread your venom.
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Jim softy / January 18, 2018
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Ravijiyj / January 17, 2018
Shirlal is a discard of UNP. No mention of him Dinesh Weerskkody’s Book. The November Revolution. Hd hung to the Prefident because Hd had no where to go.,
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Sinhala_Man / January 17, 2018
Shiral Lakthilaka did not have a good relationship with Ranil Wickremasinghe because he did not approve of the latter’s dictatorship within the Party.
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As far as I am aware, Lakthilaka is quite consistent in the stands he takes. I think that he’ an honest man.
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I think that My3 is also consistently for peace; unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to realise that an attitude so healthy is totally at variance with the a priori claim that soldiers are War Heroes who never did any wrong.
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Well, any little mistake made by a man as much in the public eye as the President of the Country immediately gets highlighted. It’s all right My3 making some mistakes, but ones as fundamental as that.
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What do I think? I will not sit on the fence. I think that allegations of War Crimes ought to be investigated, but I feel that even if serious crimes are proved, it would not be feasible to punish the perpetrators. However, I feel that acknowledgement should be made to the relatives of victims so as to assuage their grief.
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This article is one that has thrust Shiral Lakthilaka in to the lime light. To the best of my knowledge, Shiral L. is one of those principled politicians whom we yearn for.
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Sarrij / January 18, 2018
S_M.
An interim new government surely is the answer. Most of the present governing lot should be “retired” for good without any pension; they have acquired enough stolen wealth. Period.
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Gobba / January 18, 2018
I wonder if you would have the same feelings , if the victims were your own family and relatives ??????????? Would it be then ” feasible” NOT to punish the perpetrators ?
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Percy / January 20, 2018
Sinhala man
I was intrigued by your posts here and. Can’t help but feel that you are a Tamil gentleman( I use the word advisedly) living in the Bandarawela area. Your mind set judging from your various postings seem also to suggest that you are basically a UNP supporter. Nothing wrong with that either. We live in a democratic society, and each to his own view of the world, and to each his own destiny. I write this merely to test out my own sense of judgment and I do not expect you to publicly confirm or deny anything I have said unless of course you have a desire to do so. Iam a Sinhalese with no party affiliations but with a strong belief in distributive justice.
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Upali Wickramasinghe / January 21, 2018
Whether Siral is good or not is not the question. MY3 had screwed up everything that he touches.We expected to see a seasoned politician not what he had turned out to be.His errors have caused major problems to this country and it’s economy, it is as bad as what JRJ did 40 years ago, which no body seems to be capable of correcting. RP, CBK,MR and now MS + RW.
MS is said to be from a agricultural family.He with his advisers had destroyed the agricultural economy in just three years so much so that the country had to imports 250,000 Tons of rice. that rice should have been available in Paddy marketing Board warehouses that Mrs B left.Unfortunately, JRJ who was jealous of Dudley S and Mrs B sold the warehouses to his catchers.
Where is the rice – Wasa Visa nethi rice- that was promised by Athureliye Ratana and the Civil Engineer at SEMA at Rs 60.00 per kg.Wasa Visa nethi Haal is selling at Rs 220.00 – 225.00 per kg. Is Ratana now a multi millionaire?
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Vipula / January 17, 2018
These idiots around president is ruining the country and fame of the president.I wonder why the president doesnt realize these opportunitists.
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Sinhala_Man / January 18, 2018
Dear Vipula,
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Thanks for the English lesson. That is a new word for me:
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“opportunitists”
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Could you please tell me where to use it? I was using “opportunists”, with, I think, the same meaning. Your usage is more impressive – the more syllables, the better!
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ravin / January 17, 2018
he is the spy for mahajara in the most unpopular news brand
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Sinhala_Man / January 17, 2018
Who is Shiral Lakthilaka?
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He is a pretty decent guy – I once voted for him. This is how it happened:
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Most of the time I vote in the Badulla District, but a few years ago (let’s say six or seven years ago), I was registered as a voter in the Colombo District. I didn’t know whom to vote for – the Rajapaksas were in power.
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I happened to meet Ravi Samaraweera, a long time politician from Welimada. He is generally considered to be a gentle peace-loving guy, unlike his uncle, Percy, and his cousin, Upali. I told him my predicament. He told me that Wijedasa Rajapakshe was “a perfect gentleman” , so the former Justice Minister got one of my votes. Yes, I make mistakes, like any human being. I am ashamed to say it, but I actually voted for the guy. I regret it.
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On my own, I decided that one woman had to get my vote. I do that, sometimes; or I vote for a Tamil or a Muslim. Mind, two of my votes do go to Sinhalese men. What a racist and sexist I am, to analyse my voting pattern in this way! I don’t think that the Rosy Senanayake vote was a terrible mistake, but it looks as though she, too, had something to do with the Bond Scam.
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No Tamil, but I asked a one-time boss who would be a Sinhalese politician who was committed to bringing about Peace. He named Shiral Lakthilaka as a man who was demanding peace talks (I’m not sure, but this may have been before the War was finally ended with the death of the monster Prabhakaran). I think that even with the War over, we still need people who will talk Peace. Actually, going by many of the comments that I see, it seems to me that the Sinhalese and the Tamils are very much at war with one another.
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So, I voted for Lakthilaka; and having done so, I have been following his activities since then. No, I don’t regret voting for him.
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As far as I’m concerned, My3 has a number of good people on his personal staff, and Sira himself is not a bad guy.
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radhi / January 18, 2018
MY3 Must come out with Maharaja Scam.
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shankar / January 19, 2018
A new interim government might be a good thing for the country,but i don’t know about the mechanics of how to attain it.people have voted in a government for 5 years so how can we change it before that?It is rather confusing for me because i’am not a constitutional expert on parliamentary democracy but i can see that people have voted in a government already,unless this is one of sirisena’s threats to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections same as what chandrika did to ranil.If so go for it sira because just like chandrika won at that time and showed that it was a good decision,This time too we might get a parliament that better reflects the people’s feelings and needs.
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Percy / January 20, 2018
What new interim govt? These buggers have to be carried out kicking and screaming. Why would they want to give up this super gravy train with rackets galore,money made hand over fist, and the people who elected them getting screwed inside out. That s the state of government in Sri Lanka today.!
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Upali Wickramasinghe / January 21, 2018
Percy, a mouthful. One mistake – this had been so since 1977.In 1977 this country produced the man whom US President Trump emulate – be jealous of your predecessors, in this case Dudley S and Mrs S.Bandaranayake.
So destroy everything that they stood for – decent things- and what they did- even if they were for the benefit of the country.
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Native Vedda / January 21, 2018
Upali Wickramasinghe
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The destruction actually started in 1948 gradually increased and peaked in 1956 and then again from 1970 on wards it got momentum which has brought us to this day.
There is no such decent/sacred things any more.
Those who are in power and their hangers on have impunity over all indecent actions and heinous crimes.
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Tell us what has happened to DIGs Vass Gunawardhana, Lalith Jayasinghe, Anura Senanayake, ……………..
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Upali Wickramasinghe / January 21, 2018
Native: They are alive and kicking!
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Sam / January 23, 2018
Its time all the oldies be sent for retirement and bring in a new your breed of politicians of all parties and bring up a new Sri Lanka than follow the path of these same crooks and be the same or worse.
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