Presidential Election | A Clear Mandate from People with a Strong Message.

The common candidate of the opposition Mr. Maithreepala Sirisena has secured a resounding victory in the presidential election held yesterday (8th). Apart from winning traditional UNP strongholds the president elect has managed to edge out his opponent by huge margins within the majority of the urban electorates in the south plus the north and the east. The large scale efforts by the government to woo the Sinhalese rural voters by means of propaganda designed to spread fears of another Ealam war in the event the opposition wins seems to have resonated well within these voters. Government media upon which the rural population place a higher credibility, kept harping on the importance of the executive presidency in ending the war and maintaining the country's status quo as a unitary state. In spite of the grave violations of the election laws related to the use of state media and state resources by the government MS backed by the newly formed alliance managed to secure victory by a reasonable margin.

Some of the ultra-nationalists have already started uttering racist sentiments, pointing out that given the amount of support MS has got from the minority voters, the majority Sinhalese will be sidelined and he will have to act according to the whims of separatist forces. However considering the fact that the joint opposition's decision to keep the provincial councils under the purview of the President and the fact that the main architects of the War victory (JHU, Gen. Fonseka) are key partners of the joint opposition, we can assume that such developments are highly unlikely. On the other hand government has only themselves to blame for failing to secure the support of the Muslims who had to face a series of attacks by BBS backed by the government in a bid to get cheap political mileage among their rural Sinhala Buddhist vote base. As far as the Tamil voters are concerned the government failed to address their issues related to resettlement and reconciliation, they were ignored simply because of the sense of complacency that was created within the government ranks that they can win any election by reinforcing the rural Sinhala vote base by spreading racial disharmony and mistrust.

One remarkable factor which helped the joint opposition victory was the widespread use of social media to undermine the government propaganda that was channeled through state media. Credit should go to Janatha Vmukthi Peramuna (JVP) led by Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake for keeping the masses informed through social media with his simple but sharp rhetoric. Mr. Dissanayake's efforts gave fresh impetus to the somewhat lukewarm efforts from the main opposition UNP (barring a handful of active individuals) which eventually found its way back on track during the latter half of the presidential campaign. It is a very positive sign for the democracy of this country that the people power prevailed over the might of state media propaganda.

What is even more remarkable is the fact that this phenomenon of emerging people power sends out a strong message along with their mandate to the opposition; that is the consequences that even someone like Mahinda Rajapakse who created himself a cult-like image after war victory will have to face if they go off track. One would think that Ranil, Chandrika and Maithreepala being astute and seasoned politicians would take this message seriously and start working towards the promises given to the people from day one, instead of learning the lesson the hard way.

Common Candidate Unveiled: Whither future of this country?

Soon after the proclamation of the presidential election the joint opposition has unveiled the long-awaited common candidate, Former UPFA Minister and Chairman of the SLFP Maithripala Sirirsena was declared as the opposition 'common candidate' yesterday evening at a press conference held at New Town Hall, UNP has pledged their unanimous support to the former minister at the presidential election to be held on the 8th of January 2015 . It has to be said that it is quite an audacious decision on the part of Mr. Sirisena considering the plight of his predecessor General Sarath Fonseka who contested the presidential election as the common candidate in 2010. The latter who was the principal architect of the 2009 war victory was court marshaled and sent to prison, his civic rights remain withdrawn to this date.

It appears to be a prudent move by the UNP to field minister Sirisena for the presidency as he is the type of personality who could easily win the Sinhalese rural vote base (which the UNP have been continuing to distance itself from), this will be a crucial factor which will determine the outcome of this election. This arrangement also becomes handy with regard to winning the support of all parties of the joint opposition as JVP and JHU may have certain ideological issues in backing a candidate from the UNP. The Abolition of executive presidency and reinstating the independent commissions being the main agenda behind Mr. Sirisena's campaign one would expect the JVP would pledge their support to the common candidate in due course, however there may be some resistance by the JVP for the proposition of UNP leader becoming the Prime Minister in the event MS secures victory.

As far as the SLFP voter base is concerned one cannot expect MS to trigger a major shake up since it would be seen as an effort to make UNP leader the executive PM in the eyes of the typical SLFP voter. Lot will depend on how far the joint opposition is successful in luring UPFA defectors in to the coalition, president will no doubt try to take counter measures to make sure no more MPs cross over. Where UNP voter base is concerned it is critical that they are kept reinforced as they might become apathetic to this proposition evoking bad memories of what happened to the UNF government in 2004.

If a president Sirisena in 2015 honors his election pledge to abolish executive presidency, reinstate the independent commissions, introduce reforms to the electoral system it would no doubt be a crucial turning point in Sri Lanka's political history, at a time when there exists a virtual dictatorship with unlimited powers vested in the hands of the executive where rule of law has flown out the window.


  

Uva Provincial Council Elections: Will the Opposition Make History?

Voting in the Uva provincial council commenced today with a healthy voter turnout. The high voter turnout can be attributed to the increased enthusiasm aroused by the opposition in the Badulla and Moneragala districts leading up to the elections and the growing unpopularity of the Government who have been riding the wave of the war victory of 2009. The widespread apathy in the electorate which caused high number of 'no shows' in the previous elections could translate to more votes for the opposition.

From the main opposition UNP's perspective, it all will depend on how strongly the oppositions' pitch resonates with the Sinhala Buddhist vote. Looking at the ethnic composition, Badulla district with a higher minority votes has to be won convincingly by the UNP (without the help of Upcountry Tamil Parties) to have a realistic chance of coming out victorious. It will be interesting to see how Moneragala district will vote with a significant percentage of Sinhala Buddhist voters. the JVP and the Democratic party too are expected to boost their vote base looking at their respective campaigns in the lead up to the election.

It is high time all these opposition parties come on board the 'common opposition platform' that never really materialized largely owing to JVP's sidestepping. If they do manage to work together it will no doubt will be a formidable force and it will be in best interest of the general public. Having said that the main opposition party the UNP has to get their act together going forward, if this is to become a reality, not only they will have to take the initiative but also they will have to make sure they maintain their intra-party unity which has been their holy grail of late. If the opposition manages to edge out the government in this election it will no doubt gather momentum, a good example would be the People's Alliance victory in the 1994 Southern Provincial Election (against a hugely unpopular UNP government once deemed unassailable) which was the prelude to landslide victories in the General Election and the presidential Election that followed.

Government's Apathy Towards Bodu Bala Sena's Antics

In the light of the looming threat of sanctions against Sri Lanka, implications could be quite detrimental if government continues to turn a blind eye towards the blatant acts of persecutions on both racial and religious grounds carried out by a group of corrupt monks who call themselves 'Bodu Bala Sena'. The defense secretary of the country was seen attending as chief guest at several ceremonies held by this group, hence hinting the public of the government's overt support towards such acts of racial and religious persecutions as an obvious attempt to garner support of the sinhala buddhist sections, with the understanding that harping on the 'War Victory of 2009' alone will not assure them of continued support of the ultra-nationalists.

What this government fail to understand is that these dirty tactics will have much more detrimental impact on an international front when it comes to countering a resolution against SL at the UNHRC like they did in March 2014. It is no secret that if not for the support of the 'Muslim Nations' led by Pakistan, Sri Lanka would have been facing a much severe repercussions. Therefore by supporting (overtly or covertly) these organisations who spread racism, the government of SL is going to make itself hugely unpopular among these Muslim nations who came to our rescue in the need of the hour.

Ethnic reconciliation should be the order of the day, employing cheap tactics of this nature to garner votes locally will have a knock-on effect on the country at large on an international front. From a religious point of view the damage this group of unscrupulous monks has done to Buddhism and the country's image as a Buddhist nation is monumental. The sooner we put an end to Bodu Bala Sena's antics the better for the country's racial harmony and its Human Rights record.

Implications of the 'Weliveriya Incident'

The Human Rights record of Sri Lanka was marred by another ugly incident last Thursday when residents of the Weliweriya town in the Gampaha District who protested demanding clean drinking water were fired live bullets by Army personnel killing three. The villagers thronged the streets of Weliveriya in protest against a factory in Rathupaswala (thought to have strong links with the government) that discharged chemical waste that contaminated the ground water in and around the area.

The government mouthpieces that keep harping on the military victory of 2009, glorifying commander-in-chief the president who gave the political leadership and the Defense Secretary who gave the military leadership as the main architects of it have gone mute. But we don't see the political and military leadership taking responsibility for the lives that were lost due to excessive use of force to suppress a group of unarmed civilians. 

This can obviously have serious international implications on the country at a time when its Human Rights record is under scrutiny. In the eyes of the international community this can be particularly disadvantageous since the pro LTTE elements can leverage this incident to carry their message forward labeling the Sri Lankan Army as an army of genocide. It makes the Diaspora's accusations that much more plausible when the international community see how the military is using their force against the people of the south. With the Commonwealth Conference and the sessions with the Human Rights Council around the corner, our External Affairs minister does not seem to be helping our course either in reportedly playing it down saying incidents of this nature are part and parcel of life.

Apparently the message that the government is trying to get across to the people is that they are prepared to suppress any uprising against it using full force of the military. It appears that recent developments related to racial disharmony like the emergence of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) are propaganda campaigns by elements connected to the government to shift the focus away from an imminent uprising against the government. But sooner the people of the south are disillusioned with these elements distracting them we can be sure that a major uprising akin to the 'Arab Spring' is not too far away.

US Backed Resolution Against Sri Lanka

Yesterday the UN Human Rights council adopted the US backed resolution seeking Sri Lanka to investigate alleged war crimes against civilians. It is blatantly obvious that this is another concerted effort by the Tamil diaspora backed by the western powers to seek vengeance from Sri Lanka. It is ironical how US is selectively targeting Sri Lanka over the alleged human rights violations pertaining to an internal crisis, whilst condoning their persistent violations of human rights carried out in the Middle East and Afghanistan. This particular resolution is going to be a very unhealthy precedent where the UN Human Rights Council has adopted the resolution acting solely on political considerations.

That being said it has to be said that the SL government’s approach to this issue has being lamentably undiplomatic. The government has missed a trick by not giving emphasis to addressing the issue with the US when they were given the opportunity to negotiate, rather than the futile effort of trying to lobby the member states to defeat the resolution. Knowing so well how the UNHRC has historically acted according to the whims of the US, they should have realized that only Russia and China have the audacity to go against such a resolution. Had they taken a more diplomatic approach by being involved with the US before the resolution was taken up, they could have been able to control the damage caused considerably. The country’s minster of external affairs is set to meet the US secretary of state in the coming months, and the US is in a better position to browbeat Sri Lanka to act according to their orders.

The government has got carried away with the efforts to garner support locally, where the members of the government indulged in singing anti US slogans further distancing themselves from a possible negotiation with the relevant parties, while some cabinet ministers going as far as calling on the people to boycott US products. The sooner the government puts an end to these type antics the better for the cause of Sri Lanka. It is crucial that government focus on fighting ‘the battle’ on the right front and take a cohesive stance with regard to the issue.

Phantom of Muammar Gaddafi Haunting Sri Lanka

Yesterday (20^th October 2011) saw the end of a 4 decade long despotic rule of Muammar Gadaffi who ruled Libya with an Iron fist. So called revolutions which are instigated by western imperialists are threatening to spread out of Arab world once the ‘Big Fish’ have been dealt with.

Meanwhile Sri Lankan government has been quite successful in branding itself as a pariah state akin to Gadaffi’s Libya, undermining democratic institutions and rule of law, stifling dissent and freedom of speech, weakening the opposition, and with its widespread corruption, cronyism and nepotism. This will further exacerbate the situation for Sri Lanka, giving mileage to the course of the LTTE remnants backed by the west, making it possible for them to make a more plausible justification of the war crimes allegations.

The war against the LTTE was not a war against the Tamil minority, it was a humanitarian operation carried out with the able military leadership of General Sarath Fonseka the country’s only four-star general (who is now in jail for challenging the incumbent president in the presidential election 2010). There is a huge difference in US led NATO operations from the humanitarian operation in Sri Lanka where the objective was to liberate innocent Tamil civilians from the clutches of the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world.

Sri Lanka has been regularly consorting with well known tyrants, the president posing for pictures with his arms around despots like Muammar Gaddaffi and Thein Sein to name but a few. The government is deliberately distancing themselves from the west at a time when a more diplomatic approach would be the need of the hour. The anti-western stance that has been maintained so far has resulted in more missed opportunities, aligning themselves more closely with the undesirables, drifting away from the historic non-aligned foreign policy. Exclusively dealing with china in their development efforts of late may have bloated the politicians’ purse but it’s ultimately the masses that will have to carry the burden for the massive the wastage and corruption.

The recent shootings that resulted in the death of a presidential advisor in a intra-party feud in the run up to the local government elections is testament to the state thuggery  that is prevalent in the country. It was only after the demise of their fellow politician that the government politicians uttered a word against such crooks whose actions were continued to be condoned.

The longer this system continues harder it will be for Sri Lanka to avoid falling prey the enemies who are lurking out there to crush this paradise island.