President Mahinda Rajapaksa seeks an unprecedented third term in office as his popularity dwindles. Al Jazeera English – Jane Dutton speaks to Harsha de Silva, member of parliament and economic spokesman for the opposition United National Party Lawmaker; Suren Surendiran, spokesman and director of Strategic Initiative for the Global Tamil Forum; and Rajiva Wijesinha, member of parliament and adviser to president Rajapaksa on reconciliation.
Native Vedda / November 21, 2014
Dev
Listen to Rajiva, pathetic.
You know he never gets to the point.
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Barry / November 22, 2014
Being the Devil’s advocate is no easy job.
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Burning Issue / November 21, 2014
I do agree with Professor Rajeva that Suren Sureendran’s preposterous timing of wanting to send MR to the International Criminal Court can pervert the elections. Suren appears completely devoid of guile and timing!
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Backlash / November 25, 2014
Responding to the comments of Burning Issue, permit me to say even long before this interview the Rajapakse regime conspired to win the Sinhala hearts and minds in falsely claiming foreign sources are out to get them and send them to The Hague. The culprits according to them – the Tamil Diaspora, the dead Tigers, NGOs, British Govt, the UNO, Tamil Nadu and its leaders and, and…. The plot is hatched by those Lobbying Agencies in London and the USA hired at incredibly high (inflated?) rates.
Please leave Suren Surendiran out of this. He is small fry. The Rajapakses are going to boil in their own oil. There is no need for outside support here.
Backlash
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Oma Yang / November 21, 2014
Dr. Rajeva, try not to cover the crimes of your master, just like you state that the war crimes a disregarded by the people of SL as being absurd, please don’t consider most Sri Lankan’s to be stupid. We might turn a blind eye due to various reasons, but certainly not stupid.
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Silva / November 23, 2014
Professor Rajeva is right, Suren Sureendran is a stupid idiot. This is not the time to talk about war crimes, this is the time to get rid of the Rajapakshes. It is Suren Sureendran’s boss/leader V. Prabakaran who took money from the Rajapakshe and brought him to power by depriving the people of the North from voting. Now Suren Sureendran talking about war crimes and sending Rajapakshe to International Criminal Court will only help Rajapakshe win the election again. This stupid fool should think before uttering rubbish which may turn in favor of Rajapakshe.
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Senthil / November 21, 2014
Suren is very cool and within thh point in disscussion and he never got worked up like Gotha or the earlied uk embasy people. Suren , good english flow and with a smiling face – very cool, well done. We need more srilankans to be trained to appear on TV/public. Apart from the facts, an immage building about srilankans on public.Poor Rajiva have to bluff to save his murderus master – very difficult job which he should not have taken – Very difficult to come to a TV debate with only lies. He struggled during the debate – no one can doubt about his talent but wrong assainment.
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justice / November 21, 2014
Harsha’s claim of “no terrorism now” is incorrect.
Now we have State Terrorism sanctoned by the PTA and enforceded by Gotabaya whereby any citizen can be arrested without any reason being conveyed to him/her – even a child – and held in solitary confinement in secret places of detention.
This the main reason why many people will vote against Mahinda Rajapakse.
Rajiva’s claim of MR being ‘shielded’ from the truth of the reality in sri Lankan citizens’ is absurd.
MR has tasted unlimited power and simply will not ‘let go’.
His family and sycophants wont let him – as their future too is at stake.
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truth / November 22, 2014
State terrorism was there all the time since 1956!! State Terrorism incubated the LTTE!! If the successive governments have given some attention to the pleas of the desperate Tamils, we would not have come to this pathetic state!!
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punchinilame / November 21, 2014
Foremost, thankyou MR for giving us a chance to make a decision 2 yrs.
ahead, whether you should continue for – 8 yrs. – or not with the
formidable support of 10 (ten) Judges. The document is kept away from the very public requested to Vote for good reason(s).
MR MUST win as required by China to implement the 99 Year lease of
Goverance to the Family, which the rats cross-overing has been within
the MR & cabal minds as MR has to overcome UN to save his life in
the future. If Mugabe could achieve 99% by hook or crook, why not
Mahinda??
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Senthil / November 22, 2014
Even Mr Silva is very good on the TV. But eventhough he is a media person, he was trying to deny the facts Suren pointed out. At the last days so many wounded and hiding civilians were shot & burried alive by the army – if Silva is unaware of those facts, it will come out with photographic evidance at the final UN investigation in the future.Sure the diaspora will not rest until justification is given to those closal amount of dead tamils – sameway singhalese can seak justification from MR &co for their killed very young untrained army who were not given compensation but blamed of deserting from the army.
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sach / November 23, 2014
ICRC and even indian doctors along with SLn doctors were at the front lines treating the wounded civilians. SL tax payers spent a large amount of money to cure the wounds of affected civilians. They never reported such shooting at civilians and buried them alive story.
where did you pick it up? any sources? did you invent it?
It is well recorded even in ICRC reports with witnesses that LTTE shot at fleeing civilians. There are video records LTTE guarding people with guns.
Suren just repeated the LTTE propaganda which rajiva did not respond finely.
Rajiva is a gentlemanly person, not suited to countering cunning LTTE propaganda…
At the same time i wonder why Al jazeera inviting this certain suren to talk about election in SL. That is like inviting Ayman al-Zawahiri of Alqaeda to talk about next american presidential election in US.
If i were Rajiva, i would have pointed it out.
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Double standards / November 22, 2014
who is that joker suren ? and why is he in the panel talking “koheda yanne, malle pol” question: where are u going ? answer :bag has coconuts”
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / November 22, 2014
The cream of the We Thamizh diaspora. Maybe he thought he was at the fish market :D
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