By Dayan Jayatilleka –
The JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) used rude language in Parliament to criticize the No Confidence Motion moved by the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB). He called it “stupid, moronic”.
Curiously he and UNP leader Wickremesinghe seemed to share a similarly negative view of the No Confidence Motion. Ranil thought that the NCM qualifies the Opposition to belong in the Guinness book of records.
AKD’s remarks and their timing weren’t exactly a model of political wisdom and intellect.
Firstly, one would have thought that any attack by the SJB on the government, however amateurish one thought it was, would be a positive thing. After all, in his famous ‘Message to the Tricontinental’ Che Guevara commended “battles won or lost—but fought—against the enemy”.
The leader of a party that led two unsuccessful uprisings should know better than to judge a battle simply by its immediate outcome and its strengthening of the enemy.
Secondly, the timing of AKD’s crude sideswipe was atrocious. A major battle has commenced and is about to move to the next level with the presentation of the KDU bill in Parliament in the first week of August.
That battle is being waged against an enemy that is qualitatively different from any that the JVP has ever faced. Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his closest associates aren’t planters and volunteer army officers like Gen Ranjan Wijeratne or Oxford-educated hawks like Lalith Athulathmudali.
This battle therefore needs a broader front of alliances, partnerships and blocs than ever before in Sri Lanka’s history since 1947. Insulting the country’s largest Opposition party isn’t perhaps the best way to built a broad united action front or to secure covering fire in parliament. Rather, it is “moronic”.
AKD’s sectarianism is not limited to the SJB and its recent no-confidence motion. Given the stakes in the coming confrontation over the KDU bill, AKD should be ready to appear on the same stage as his counterpart Kumar Gunaratnam, leader of the FSP. If the JVP and FSP leaders appear on the same stage and address the crowds, it would give a huge boost to the Movement. However, AKD remains the guy who said on TV that there was never a JVP member, let alone leading personality (who by the way worked hard, clandestinely, to rebuild the party) known as Kumar Gunaratnam. Kumar Gunaratnam’s older brother Ranjithan, who was eliminated by the state, was one of the JVP’s hero martyrs.
Thirdly, AKD’s situation is both absurd and hypocritical. He purports to lecture the SJB on political stupidity. Under AKD’s leadership, the JVP which had 40 seats in 2004 has dropped to 3 in 2020. He is also a leader under whom the JVP’s vote-share dropped to 3%. If the SLPP rolls back the low cut-off point that President Premadasa instituted and restores the original cut-off point that JRJ imposed, AKD’s party would be in dire straits.
Fourthly, AKD is attempting to talk down from a lofty height to a party which has achieved much more than his. Rohana Wijeweera had the ambition—as announced in his two master classes which he took around the country, about the fate of the LSSP and the SLFP- to become the main left party (which it is) and then the main opposition party. Having existed for 55 years it has failed to achieve the latter status.
By stark contrast, Sajith Premadasa’s SJB did so shortly after its formation. In the first general election it faced it obtained more seats and a higher percentage of votes than SWRD Bandaranaike’s SLFP obtained at its first general election in 1952. It achieved the status of the biggest Opposition party in a few months; a status the JVP long aspired to. This was Sajith Premadasa’s achievement, coming on the heels of his ability to score 42% of the vote against Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the 2019 Presidential election. It is amusing when he and his party are given lectures on political unwisdom from someone who reduced his party from 40 seats to 3.
While Sajith has been able to secure the leadership of the Opposition by making his party the largest in the Opposition space, the zenith of AKD’s achievement has been to knock Ranil Wickremesinghe’s dead UNP into fourth place and gain the third spot (and 3% of the vote).
Fifthly, a glance around the world will show that however dramatic the protests and upheavals, the endgame is either electoral-democratic or a military coup perhaps in electoral form.
The Arab Spring and its Egyptian outcome provide one example of the latter. Latin America provides the better example, of the former.
It would take the wildest leap of the imagination and the widest deviation from reason, to assume that a candidate who obtained 42% on the deep downswing, and a party that is the main opposition formation, can be outpolled by anyone from a party that cannot get into double digits.
A little modesty is in order therefore, from AKD; not an outburst of misplaced arrogance.
I was there, watching and listening, the last time the JVP, on a high, was dismissive of a Premadasa. It was at Nugegoda in June-July 1989. The event was a well-attended JVP rally by the roadside, which went on into night. President Ranasinghe Premadasa had released over a thousand JVP detainees, declared a unilateral ceasefire, invited the JVP to re-enter the democratic electoral process, offered it three portfolios- and the JVP had spurned it all, returning to violence. By mid-year Premadasa invited all parties to attend a Roundtable. Advised by Anton Balasingham and Gopalaswamy Mahendrarajah (‘Mahattaya’), the LTTE agreed and participated for tactical reasons, to gain time and space.
At the Nugegoda rally, the JVP declared it was not the LTTE and would not bend, and announced that it would fight on till victory. That was June or July 1989. In six months, the party that AKD now leads, had learned a lesson about being “politically stupid, moronic”.
He should not repeat the mistake of talking down to another Premadasa; especially not the only son of the Premadasa that AKD’s predecessors thought themselves superior to.
Ajay / July 21, 2021
Dayan, would you please stop telling what political parties and their leaders should do in order to suit your petty careerist day-dreaming? Its getting on the nerves of many people like me who are already driven mad by the pandemic and the banditry of the Rajapaksa cluster. Dr. Kumar David has at least the interests of the people at heart.
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Dinuk / July 23, 2021
DJ: what a useless comment.
At this time The opposition must unit to challenge the Covid-19 masked MILITARIZATION of Lanka, and take on the Covid-19 Data Hoax and numbers game and Global Surveillance project and free the people from the US citizens Rajapakse military dictatorship under their Covid-19 mask.
All the Corrupt politicians, Rajapaksas, AKD and Sajith love the Covid-19 narrative and vaccine programs — to score brownie points with voters who they pretend to care about! Voters feel important and recognized for once – getting their free vaccines!
USAID is flooding Sri Lanka with PCR and antigen Covid-19 tests that deliver false positives to keep the country in lockdown and crash the economy to asset strip Lanka, by US Hedge Funds like Black Rock and their front companies including Adani and Ambani in public-Private partnership with the corrupt local business mafias of corrupt US backed dictatorship.
In this context, your article is splitting hairs – Sajith we all know is stupid and the Gamanpillar no confidence motion was a huge distraction and waste of time. It seems that now Sajtih is playing the same role that Ranil did with the deals to support the US citizen Rajapaksa brothers and helping them unify their party with useless No Confidence motions?! The opposition must challenge the Covid-19 masked MILITARIZATION of Lanka.
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Dinuk / July 23, 2021
The Health system of Sri Lanka has been captured and MILITARIZED by the biggest Rogue State in the world — fronting the corrupt WHO and Covid-19 Data hoax by setting up a USAID Covid-19 SURVEILLANCE hospital in Iranavila.
So too the Sri Lanka military headed by a clown in uniform now dances to the Covid-19 tune with fake data at the Covid-19 Surveillance (Trace, trace, track) system and is locking down the country based on fake data and epidemiology models promoted by the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evalaution. Now the American Citizens are moving to capture, militarize and deliver the Education Sector too to the American Corporates.
DJ: What do you think the Pegasus Global hacking of phones and CV-19 Surveillance systems have in Common? The erosion of the founding principles of the United Nations – The Right to Self-Determination of Peoples and National Soverignty.
under the CV-19 mask, the digitalization of the Economy and Social communication for surveillance, and militarization of society, national policy making in Health, education, energy, land transport etc. have been captured by external actors promoting Global Governance and US Corporate Capitalism. This is the Covid-19 endgame that must be challenged.
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Harishchandra / July 24, 2021
Dinuk: We need people like you in Parliament, but feel so sorry that the vast majority in this country would understand what you are trying to put across through these two short comments.
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Harishchandra / July 24, 2021
Dinuk: Please add “not” before understand, in my reply to your comment.
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leelagemalli / July 23, 2021
When would they open their eyes ?
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Actually, people regardless of them being UNPrs, SJBers, SLPFers or others, they should support JVRrs today.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h4Sksp2494
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If MAKANDURE MADHUSH had been alive, he would have brought his illegal collection of wealth to the country, if current ballige puthas would pass the current bill in the parliament. Today, I have no doubt, even “shooting at any dissidents on broad day light” as a bill/pact could easily be passed in today s context.
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wE KNOW it very well, as to why balllige putahs brought the kind of pacts…. they have illegal bank deposits in Dubai, Ukraine, seychelles and several other countries. This is brutal. … all these men should be IMPRISONED for the sake of the civilized folks…
:
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eeakdavi / July 21, 2021
Please provide a link (video or script) to the speech.
Kumar
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old codger / July 22, 2021
Here it is: “He told Parliament that the no confidence motion was a political decision and called it a media show. He said that the move had only united the groups within the Government, which had started to criticise the Government for several of its decisions. “
You can see why Dr.DJ didn’t dare quote it. It would have exposed Sajith’s amateurishness.
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old codger / July 23, 2021
Here’s the video:
https://youtu.be/nr6lyhi290A
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Sinhala_Man / July 25, 2021
Yes, old codger, what you have provided led to a Youtube that is almost 7 minutes, in Sinhala, of course.
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I’d not been following this petrol price increase at all carefully. An insignificant detail in the sense that all prices are bound to go up owing to the rupee falling in value with so much money printing.
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That speech illustrates for me what a pain politics is; AKD is quite adroit in saying what is necessary, but this is why politics is not everybody’s cup of tea.
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I wonder whether Kumar David has seen this; let me email the link to him just in case. That’s the advantage in having said, “to hell with the risks inherent in revealing one’s identity.”
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Of course, I understand your not doing it. I’m such small fry!
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What a lot of questions about DJ does NV ask below!
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old codger / July 25, 2021
SM,
Strangely enough, I believe that the price of petrol should be even higher, to discourage car usage.
Do you know that the price of petrol in India is LKR 244? But a cup of milk tea is about 20 LKR, bus and tuktuk fares are the same as here. Bakery items are less than here. Why does a cup of tea cost 60 rupees here? Is there 40 rupees worth of sugar in a cup of tea? Who is making unconscionable profits here?
If the Indians can do it, why can’t we?
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Native Vedda / July 23, 2021
old codger
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Please tell us when did Dayan actually stop supporting Eelam separatist struggle?
When did he first become a racist war monger?
Why did he become a war crime denier?
In return what did he benefit?
Why does he drop names, apart from impressing his partner?
When will he establish himself as an honest intellectual?
In order to establish himself as an honest person and an intellectual what should he do or stop doing?
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I am sorry to bother you?
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S. C. Pasqual / July 23, 2021
Prof.
DJ made a tactically wrong decision to support only SP instead of opposition and finding it increasingly difficult to defend that decision.
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SJ / July 25, 2021
SCP
DJ knows that he gets nowhere by taking up causes.
It is personalities that he follows.
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soma / July 27, 2021
SJ
His “political science” theories do not apply to a small sample like Sri Lanka framented in 10,000 ways.
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Soma
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Bernard / July 21, 2021
While I have enjoyed listening to AKD’s speeches I must admit I am flummoxed with the manner in which he responded to the NCM in parliament. He could have done better. He stays paradoxically on the edge of the ring, one foot in and one foot out. Importantly he needs to tell the people how and when the JVP hopes to bring about change. How they hope to walk the talk. Why under AKD’s leadership, the JVP which had 40 seats in 2004 dropped to 3 in 2020. It seems that the Govt knows that they need not worry too much about what he says (or what Ranil says) because they shoot blank bullets in sync with a shady script. Now that’s a worrisome factor.
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Nathan / July 21, 2021
I thought long and hard before coming in. I agree with Dayan Jayatilleka.
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Enemy of your enemy is good enough of a fair fair weather friend!
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Native Vedda / July 23, 2021
Nathan
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I am surprised you agree with Dayan.
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“Enemy of your enemy is good enough of a fair fair weather friend!”
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Of course we found out in the past 40 years.
Look at how the psychopath Thiruvengadam Vellupillai Prabaharan made deals with enemies enemies.
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Finally in 2009 Thamil Stupid people (Our leader Prabaharan Mob) discovered who the real enemy was. However it will take another 30 years for them to publicly accept their stupidity.
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Nathan / July 23, 2021
Native Vedda,
Prabhakaran died for killing Rajiv Gandhi.
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SJ / July 25, 2021
What a truly hilarious explanation!
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Simon / July 21, 2021
This writer, whom I call, after observing and studying his dramatization in the public, a “Political Crook” and an “Opportunist” is no more stranger when he says: ” AKD’s remarks and their timing weren’t a model of political wisdom and intellect”. These are the so-called (self-styled) “Intellects” that the public must be careful of because all this while, these are the “Crooks” and “Opportunists” who misled the innocent people and brought an equal “Gang” into power. Still, they continue in the “Game” and despise any political Leader or Party that tells the PEOPLE the “TRUTH” even at the risk of losing their political goals. We all knew that the “No Confidence” motion brought by “Sajith” and SJB was an “Irresponsible” political misadventure and an”Untimely” move, solely “Trusting” on the public utterances made by the “Pohottuwa” camp planted “Agents”. How, “Idiotic” and display of “Political Immaturity” to bring a “No Confidence” on a Minister, who openly said: “I am not alone in increasing the fuel price, but it was the President and Cabinet”. Then any “Student” at even “O” level or lessor would know that “NC” must be against the entire Government.
What led “Sajith” and SJB to bring the “NC”? It was nothing but the “Public” announcement of “Pohottuwa” Secretary’s condemnation of the performance of Minister Gammanpila and seeking the Minister’s removal.
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Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam / July 21, 2021
Dayan, firstly without blaming others, blame Sajith for this debacle. He has no leadership quality at all and his organisational capabilities are questionable. He should have led demonstrations against the government, and instead he is hiding and letting others to carry on the fight. Secondly stop praising his father who is the person who introduced the culture of political assassination which Rajapakse brothers perfected.You cannot deny that he has amassed wealth which he cannot explain, which Sajith enjoys at present.
On this no confidence motion for raising petrol price, please put the record straight. Petroleum corporation was in debt to the tune of 1.3 billion US dollars to Bank of Ceylon and People bank, which if not paid would make the banks to collapse. So there was a need to raise the revenue of Petroleum corporation to pay off this debt and save the two state banks. On the advice of his economic advisors, it was Mahinda Rajapakse who as minister of finance made a proposal to the cabinet to raise petrol price which the cabinet slavishly approved. Thus the real culprit is Mahinda and not Gammanpila who as minister had to execute the cabinet decision. So correctly no confidence motion should have been against Mahinda and not Gammanpila. By not targeting Mahinda, Sajih has proved that he is afraid to take the bull by its horn.
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Simon / July 21, 2021
Please watch the link below to understand what this “NC” motion is all about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bov22ZOtqdm
Presented by Bharath Tennakoone.
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eeakdavi / July 22, 2021
I tried. Video unavailable
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leelagemalli / July 23, 2021
Simon
Video is no longer available.
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😉😉😉😉
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Simon / July 23, 2021
eekadevi & LLM: Yes it has been removed. I am trying to search for it. I Will let you know if successful. The person who presented and named is a young Lawyer. A very educative and presented for the common man’s understanding of “VC”. Thanks for letting me know of the unavailability of the video clip.
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Simon / July 23, 2021
eekdevi & LLM: Try this: Go to InfoLanka News Room and scroll down to “Video”. You will find YouTube (the last on the left column) Click YouTube Lanka. Then type the name: Prbahath Thennakoone. Watch the video presented on 19 July 2021.I got it just minutes before writing this. Thanks.
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Harishchandra / July 22, 2021
Joining crooks for whatever reason good or bad only destroys whatever credibility one has. 3% of the vote in a country which is 136 on the world’s IQ ratings is about ok. Maybe they would join hands with honest parties if the need arises. The no confidence motion only helped to dissolve the dissent which was growing against these crooks.
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GATAM / July 22, 2021
Dayan is living in the distant past. FSP supported Rajapaksa at the 2015 presidential election!
SJB can do better by removing MPs who always vote for the government at crucial parliamentary votes.
Can SJB do that?
JVP should never join with FSP. If they do, that will be the end of both. First UNP and SJB should unite!!
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Humble / July 22, 2021
All staged drama
I guarantee the rajapaksas, ranil, sajith, akd etc are meeting in masonic lodges
on the island and participating in various satanic rituals together.
While the public think they are all ‘rivals’ and ‘enemies’
It also goes without saying all elections are rigged and voting means absolutely nothing.
These masons fabricate the numbers after tossing all the real votes into the trash can.
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chiv / July 22, 2021
DJ, In Lanka poltics nothing is plain and simple. Just see the recent NCM against Goman.1) Goman announced fuel price hike which he said was decided by double paksas 2) to reiterate who the boss is SLPP used it against Goman 3) as for king David a fire is lit and confirmed by AA 4) SJB jumped in by bringing a NCM anticipating internal squabbles 5)RW as a fixer, who just came in post retirement tried piggy backing 5) as expected NCM failed by 2/3 . 6) AKD calls SP a stupid 7 ) Dilum says SJB was in pact with double paksa, uniting their party 7 ) looks like Rajapaksas number one priority now is to break SJB / sole opposition 8 ) SP now left with no optiion other than street protests, to save face. 9 ) you call this as Arab spring 10 ) public is more concerned with their day to day survival 11 ) 2 days of parliament sessions and tax payers money was put in use and the games continues 12) DAN SEPADA
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nimal fernando / July 22, 2021
For once, I agree with the gist/thrust of what Dayan is saying ……. although not with every point/fact
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For example …… “Under AKD’s leadership, the JVP which had 40 seats in 2004 has dropped to 3 in 2020.” …….. That’s because the JVP was contesting on their own not with the alliance they formed with the SLFP-group under CBK. Dayan knows this but still try to distort the truth to take a cheap shot at AKD.
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It doesn’t matter if the SJB won or lost the NCM …….. what matters is how it’s marketed to the public. It should be market as a great victory ….. you can pull in points as you go along ……. such as it exposes the hypocrisy of Basil and the gang who asked Gammanpilla to resign by still voted for him ………… there are many ways to project the NCM is positive light and that’s what matters to the public out there.
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Good ol’ Donald still pretends he won the election ……… and millions still believe it! …….. without going into Donald’s excesses …… media/PR should be still used effectively by the “collective opposition.”
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I watched a video of Kumar Gunaratnam ……. yes, he comes off as a very effective “sincere convince-er” ……… needs to get him under the tent ……..
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nimal fernando / July 22, 2021
The need of the hour is not party/camp/group/ideological politics/brawls …….. but to save the country from the unprecedented danger it’s in right now …..
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Then, we can all have the best Lankan free-for-all we are so accustomed to …….
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Eratne / July 22, 2021
JVP is engaged in a ‘Kill and getting killed” – Maraagena Marena battle with the other opposition parties. Their thinking is “We are the greatest, if we cannot get power, let Rajapakses have it”.
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SarathP / July 22, 2021
Agree. AKD attack on the no confidence motion was moronic.
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I wonder how much the JVP has learned over the years. They still send congratulatory messages to the barbaric North Korean regime, and recently congratulated the murderous Chinese Communist Party on its 100th anniversary.
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I wonder!
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SJ / July 22, 2021
SP
Are we living in our version of the Joseph McCarthy era?
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“The times they are a-changin” (Bob Dylan)
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nimal fernando / July 23, 2021
Time to go back to Dada, SJ! ……….. to destroy the hoaxes of reason. :))
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SJ / July 23, 2021
Sorry to have hurt your feelings of fondness for McCarthy.
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nimal fernando / July 25, 2021
Who the hell is McCarthy?
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Roy Cohan created both McCarthy and Trump! What an achievement! …….. that was a tower of a man!!
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Too bad, ye could’ve been Roy Cohn to the Rajapakses! ……….. it’s never too late SJ! :))
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkA4JaxdVM8 That’s bringing joy to the world, SJ! ………… Could Mao hit any of those high notes? ……. Yeah, what did Mao ever do? …….. except sow death, destruction and misery ! :))
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To hell with Mao ……… Chinese gals are nice though!! :))
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old codger / July 22, 2021
“He should not repeat the mistake of talking down to another Premadasa; especially not the only son of the Premadasa that AKD’s predecessors thought themselves superior to”
What a peculiar statement from Dr.DJ, at the end of a litany of butt-hurt fulminations against AKD ! Is this a threat? Will this Premadasa, like his father, use “Oxford educated hawks and planters” to put the JVP on tyre pyres? There is no LTTE for Preme jr to give a container load of AK47s to. Could well imagine Sajith boring the JVP to death with one of his vapid speeches, all big words and no point.
Still, Dr.DJ coyly refrains from telling us what exactly AKD said that roused such fury. Here it is: “He
told Parliament that the no confidence motion was a political decision and called it a media show. He said that the move had only united the groups within the Government, which had started to criticise the Government for several of its decisions. “
Isn’t that the truth? Instead of allowing the Pohottuwa factions to engage in cat-fights, the SJB introduces a NCM which it has not a chance in hell of winning. AKD is perfectly right. Sajith is an immature political nincompoop.
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srikrish / July 22, 2021
I f we want to understand human or party behavior first try to understand why they behave in a certain way and not in any other way.
Look at the issue from their angle. You put you, yourself in their shoes.
Empathy is the word. This is an attempt to understand JVP, not to be judgmental.
When they entered the democratic path after failure of their armed adventures JVP wanted to build up as the alternative to both SJB/UNP and SLPP/SLFP.
They started to form coalitions with one of their class enemies .
Thus the coalition with Chandrika and then Mahinda was the starting point. Under Mahinda, they belong to the racist wing of UPFA along with JHU.,
But Mahinda disappointed them and harvested entire Sinhala Buddhist vote bank by outflanking both JVP and JHU in racism and defeated LTTE without sharing fruits of victory with their erstwhile companions.
…Continued…
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srikrish / July 22, 2021
Second Part
Thus, Rajapakses were the sole beneficiary of the notable victory over LTTE.
Disappointed, another swing, this time to the bandwagon of UNP led coalition to defeat Mahinda in the historic 2015 elections.
However, the continuous association with UNP during 2015-2019 tarnished their socialist image, manifested in their poor performance in 2019/20, and instead,rtedioculed as the lapdogs of UNP/SJB.
Now they want to reposition themselves as the third alternative and their behavior in the recent no confidence debate could be attributed to this desire.
JVP was in a dilemma, whether to support the no confidence motion or not in order to be treated as a third alternative.
They have still not learnt lessons and hence the dilemma and AKD’S speech
All of us, especially the left among us should have learnt lessons by now that parliamentary democracy always crystallize in a two party system whether in USA, UK or any other country including Sri Lanka.
Dr Colvin R de Silva in 1982 Presidential election and Prof Kumar David in 2019 Presidential election failed to understand this simple historical evolution of two party system in the liberal democracy.
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S. C. Pasqual / July 22, 2021
Article looks like a threat to me……..
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SJ / July 22, 2021
“In the first general election it faced it obtained more seats and a higher percentage of votes than SWRD Bandaranaike’s SLFP obtained at its first general election in 1952. It achieved the status of the biggest Opposition party in a few months; a status the JVP long aspired to.”
What kind of comparison is this ?
SWRDB broke away with a weak majority of the ruling party which was mostly spolidly behind the leader.
SP took advantage of a somewhat isolated RW to form his faction after all bids to seize the UNP failed. He wasted his time and energy in fighting RWW when his target should have been GR.
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DJ is picking skew lines in 3-D space to make parallels out of them.
With all its flaws the JVP has always had an ideology. The SJB has yet to find one.
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SJ / July 22, 2021
correction
SWRDB broke away with a weak minority of the ruling party which was mostly solidly behind its leader, DSS.
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davidthegood / July 22, 2021
Dr. DJ recommends a broad united action front. Too many confrontations specially the forthcoming KDU bill introducing a Chinese UGC it is claimed. Military training is so different from academic uni traing to fulfill different purposes that an achcharu will not make sense, though the leaders are pushing it through. Hence the advice from DJ to AKD. Can politicians start a fresh venture without competition. The answer lies there.
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Lasantha Pethiyagoda / July 22, 2021
There are forces that covertly support the major parties who want the JVP to remain as a minor party in parliament, harking back to their uprisings and brutality. All revolutions are bloody and unpleasant for the people; however, their present ideology maybe the one thing that is absent from a solution to Sri Lanka remaining as an almost failed state with no credibility and almost bankrupt. To me, both SLPP/SLFP and SJB/UNP have very similar and shared interests that are diametrically opposed to public welfare. Therefore, the framework that keeps these parties in power should be dismantled, hopefully within a peaceful revolution.
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eeakdavi / July 22, 2021
Can anyone provide a link (video or script – Sinhala text OK) to Anura’s offending speech?
I like to decide for myself; so will most CT readers I am sure. Thanks.
The NPP/JVP seems to reluctant to issue a rejoinder to DJ.
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old codger / July 23, 2021
Prof. KD,
Here is a link:. https://youtu.be/nr6lyhi290A
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Good Sense / July 23, 2021
I get the impression that while the opposition wants to oppose, if not defeat the government hook or by crook, the leaders of respective opposition parties want to be the “boss” of the that opposition. What matters in this game of politics is what is the public rating of each of these parties? The acid test is that if a snap poll is conducted today how would each of these parties’ fare? The need of the country is not merely the personality in the lead, but a stable national policy approved by the people which all governments must carry through. An election manifesto is nowhere near a national policy for prosperity but can be termed as a document that reflects party values and possibly a bunch of “politician’s promises”. Policies must be drawn after extensive consultation amongst stakeholders and having received the broad consensus must be sealed through a referendum with legal status. If not, what is the earthly use of this constitutional provision in this country that the sovereignty is vested in the people and is inalienable? The disgust towards politicians are growing thus creating a potential to threaten democracy and its framework.
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UpulUpul / July 23, 2021
When time-servers like Jayatilleke write, we should always look for the invisible audience! The likes of him exists in every country. They are there to serve any master, who calls on them.Right, wrong has never been a concern. For us, who need the entertainment and enlightenment, these should be “passing the time” reading.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake has his audience beyond the Diyawanna. Sajith Premadasa thinks he is destined to be President and it does not matter how many time he stumbles. Ranil W thinks he is a blessing Mother Lanka cannot do without.
And, the Rajapakses are not saddled with any of these egotistical limitations. Power for the sake of power and, the personal enjoyment and enrichment that accompanies it, is all they collectively care about.
So while we debate the pros and cons of a future for Sri Lanka, those who are really running Sri Lanka are stealing her wealth, hour by hour!
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Paul / July 23, 2021
Humble what is all this talk of Masons and political power? Are you saying our Baas Unnahe is running the country?
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old codger / July 23, 2021
Paul,
I wish your Baas was running the country. He might do a better job than the present clowns.
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Harishchandra / July 24, 2021
Dinuk: Please add “not” before understand, in my reply to your comment.
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