This is an open request for all those who believe in a united and prosperous Sri Lankan nation. Be you a Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim or any other I am sure you know United National Party (UNP) is the only party that can make that dream happen without prejudice to any community or individual.
I, S. Ajith Padmakantha Perera, stand for the Western Provincial Council Elections 2009. I also plan to stand for the forthcoming General Elections, representing Kalutara District. Now I am the organiser of the Bandaragama electorate, the most populous in Kalutara District.
Professionally I am a lawyer. More information on me can be obtained from the blog I run for the last one year at www.bandaragama.wordpress.com. This was the only site that communicated the news in the aftermath of Sirasa TV vandalism and the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunge in the backdrop of all mass media being indirectly silenced by the government. You may also remember my activism through the Face Book groups ‘Our tribute to Lasantha Wickramatunga’ and ‘Sirasa, whatever happens we are always with you’.
Knowing that you would always give a hand to a professional I humbly request your assistance for my campaign.
I will be grateful if you can make your contributions to the following account:
Account Holder’s name: S. A. P. Perera
Bank: Peoples’ Bank, Panadura Branch
Account Number: 148200141399190
There is no limit. Even a contribution of USD 10 matters. My intention is to have a large number contributing in small chunks rather than expect higher amount.
If you need to contact, please free to call me on my mobile number 0777-668993 (if calling from Sri Lanka) or 94-777-668993 (if from outside).
The extract from a blog post I have done sometime before will give you an overview of my political stance.
Thanking you in advance, I remain.
Yours Truly,
Ajith Padmakantha Perera,
Chief Organiser of UNP, Bandaragama
Candidate in the Western Provincial Council Elections,
No. 1, Kalutara District
Change UNP; Change the nation
A large section seems to think that UNP should blindly support Kurakkan uncle’s war agenda to earn its popularity. I vehemently disagree.
Firstly, why UNP, the only political party with a clear stance on the ethnic issue follow others’ formulae? UNP fervently opposes terrorism of any kind, but simultaneously believes the long term solution to ethnic issue can only be political. ‘Military solution’ is an oxymoron. War victories by the current regime will only be meaningful if supplemented with corrective measures to age old Tamil grievances. Otherwise, terrorism will soon raise its ugly head behind another acronym. Elimination of JVP in 1971 in a genocidal manner did not prevent Sinhala youth taking arms two decades later. Why should that change for Tamil youth? As long as breeding grounds exist, procreate the mosquitoes.
Secondly, the extended intentions of war agenda are dangerous and damaging to the nation in the long run. The war is not just to eliminate LTTE (if so, UNP finds no problem backing it) but also a long list that includes human rights of the Tamils in North and East; Tamil political parties first and the entire opposition later; any dissent voices including those of journalists and eventually the very foundation of democracy. All what Kurakkan uncle wants it to create Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe type dictatorship and continue the legacy of feudal rulers.
Sorry, No. Whatever the name, UNP has no intention of blindly supporting such a feudal dictatorship. We stand for democracy and not feudalism.
The policies of United National Party are crystal clear. They remain largely unchanged from the D. S. Senanayake days and will not change in the foreseeable future. Let me repeat in a nutshell and as I understand.
1. Unity and Equality: United National Party, as its name rightly suggests, is the party of united nationalistic political forces. UNP believes in equality. We do not think one’s ethnicity, race, gender, religion or any other attribute should stand in the way him/her enjoying citizens’ rights and privileges. We believe the country belongs to all Sri Lankans, and not to one ethnic or religious group.
2. Devolution of Power: UNP believes in an undivided (Eksath) Lanka; but not necessarily a system that concentrates power in Colombo. We have seen the flaws of such Colombo-centric governance and introduced Provincial Councils as a solution, which SLFP and JVP initially rejected, but now faithfully follow. We believe in devolving power, not only to Tamils in North but to Sinhalese in Hambanthota as well, instead of accumulating it in the hands of dictators. We believe empowering people not only at regional level but every stratum.
3. Economy: We believe in free markets; liberalization and globalization. We do not espouse unrealistic socialist dreams. We trust the private sector for its abilities. We do not equate suppressing the private sector to nation building. Economy has always thrived under previous UNP governments and there is no doubt it will continue to do so under a future UNP government.
4. Poverty Alleviation: Nobody understands the necessity of poverty alleviation than the UNP. We do not think poverty can be eliminated by redistributing public wealth. UNP had once spearheaded the most effective poverty alleviation program in Sri Lanka, under President Premadasa. What we look for is that. Beat poverty by creating more and more employment opportunities. Let poor stand on their own feet.
5. Employment Generation: UNP strongly believes more and more employment opportunities are the only way towards prosperity. It plans to achieve full employment by developing the private sector and not fattening the already overloaded government structure. To stimulate private sector growth UNP will also give utmost importance to infrastructure building. These may not be the highest priorities in populist agendas but we think in long term and not just the next six years.
I guess all UNP lovers should be proud that in spite of the immense pressure that we still stick to our original principles. We have no intention of changing these policies to enter the populist game.
The relatively poor performance at the recent Provincial Council elections was nothing but a symptom of poor organization. While working in the Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces I have witnessed this firsthand. I visited many areas untouched till then. Given time limitations, even I could not visit so many areas. We surely need more man power. Strong and committed organisaers at ground level was the need of the hour of UNP at the Provincial Council elections. We could have obviously done much better with a stronger organization.
Fortunately we see the remedial measures are already on the way and an improvement of the situation. Western Provincial Council will be the Waterloo for SLFP. UNP is geared to easily win all three districts. We have a solid unbeatable organization in most areas. The challenge is only to repeat that victory at the next Provincial council elections, to be followed by the General Election.
What UNP seriously need are true leaders who can make that victory happen. Fortunately we see many dynamic leaders emerging from the Western Province. This phenomenon needs to be replicated in the other parts of the country. That needs Change; stating from the Change in the way we act.
Barack Obama could make that Change within a period of one year. What made the ‘One woman race’ to end with a first American-African in White House was his sheer determination and organization. I see the same happening in the UNP now.
We are ready to Change the nation. Before that we need to Change UNP.
Let us start with the Western Province.
