Janaka Perera starts campaigning in North Central province

It was certainly low key, but perhaps it is his style. Major General Janaka Perera is already in the job. Yesterday he talked to some of the people in the North Central province, where he will be the next Chief Minister in few months time.

“I don’t take tasks to leave them incomplete. I know what I am doing.” was the message he passed while moving around the Anuradhapura town.

Can fake ‘nationalists’ working with tiger sympathisers block Major General Janaka Perera’s victory?

On the verge of obvious defeat the government has made plans to use a set of their henchmen in the guide of ‘nationalists’ to undermine the role played by Major General Janaka Perera as a top military officer.  Some of these contracted fake ‘nationalists’ have already started working on their agendas, in mass media and Internet.

Simultaneously, the overseas Tiger sympathisers too have started a parallel campaign against Major General Janaka Perera.

These are some of the sentiments expressed by Tiger sympethisers:

In the mid-eighties, Gen. Perera worked in the eastern province helping to create a wedge, breaking up the contiguity of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil Nation, comprising of the North and East of Sri Lanka. The area connecting the North and East was ethnically cleansed of Tamil people. Tamil villages were evacuated at gunpoint, hundreds were murdered and others fled out of fear, to make way for State sponsored Sinhala settlements. As a reward for this ‘heroic’ act a Tamil village (Munkindimalai) was renamed Janakapura (Janaka Town). 

In 1995, he was appointed as Commander for the Welioya Brigade. Large-scale civilian killings took place in Manal Aru (Weli Oya) during this period.

President Kumaratunga’s decision to resume the war against the LTTE in October 1995 propelled Perera back into a position of power. He was appointed commander of the elite 53rd Division of the Sri Lankan army which played a key role in ‘Operation Riviresa’.

Over a thousand Tamil civilians arrested by the security forces disappeared (Amnesty International, the international rights watch dog, estimates at least six hundred while the US State Department states a figure of seven hundred), in the area under Janaka Perera’s command. Despite widespread rumors, these disappearances could not be verified because of the media ban on the war zones.

Interestingly these were the same feelings coming from some of the self proclaimed ‘nationalists’ on Internet including the typical Rajapakse lackeys like Lanka Rising.

Take the following extract by a blog post by Dilrook Kannangara, one such self proclaimed ‘nationalist’.

What changed Janaka Perera from the much loved soldier in the 1990s to a despicable traitor? Although he doesn’t seem to have the faculty to explain it to the nation, it can very well be inferred from the turn of events. Possibly there can be pettier reasons than the foregoing, which, to say the least, are not even worth exploring. It is possible that alleged war crimes petitions against him played a major role in shifting his allegiances. There were many such petitions organised by pro-LTTE groups against him.

One such allegation was ethnic cleansing of Tamils in the East and the North-East of the island paving way for Sinhala settlements that were allegedly not there previously. Mungindimaalai, a Tamil village was thus ethnically cleansed and was renamed Janakapura which has a majority of Sinhalese settlers.

There seems to be also paid writers to comment on the character of Janaka Perera. (No dearth of such people – specially the retired public sector officers who have no work and need some hard cash. They will even insult their mothers if somebody pays them thousand rupees) Here is one such comment:

The capture of Wijeweera was similar. It was an operation planned and conducted by a very capable officer, Colonel H ( Now Maj Gen), and when they were about to set off on the operation, Janaka heard about it and asked the Army Commander General Waidyaratne to permit him to accompany the troops, which he first refused, and later permitted. Janaka merely went along for the ride, but made sure, as the senior officer, to take all the credit. All this can be verified from Gen Waidyaratne’s report, which still exists, unless it was ‘censored’ by Janaka. During the UNP regime he was appointed Military Liaison Officer to the Ministry of Defence, because of his father’s very close political connection with the UNP, and particularly with President Premadasa. During this period when he had access to Ministry records, it is alleged that he falsified many officer’s personal files, cleaned up his own personal file and destroyed records that described his inefficiency.

There are few questions that arises in this backdrop.

How come these self proclaimed ‘nationalists’ share the same platform as the tigers and their sympathisers?  How come their stance on Major General Janaka Perera overnight turned from a well respected ‘War Hero’ to a turncoat traitor?

The more interesting question: Can the joint effort of LTTE and UPFA defeat Major General Janaka Perera in the provincial elections?

At least we have an answer to the last question. It would be a tough fight no doubt, government is going to put their full force, but still they will never be able to prevent his victory in the elections. For that we are certain.
 

Did Mr. Kinsley Rodrigo meet his optometrist recently?

I was astonished to find PAFFREL Executive Director Kinsley Rodrigo’s comments Pillaiyan and his terrorist group was not carrying weapons in their election campaign in the current Eastern Provincial Election campaign. We surely have a very blind man here.

I myself have seen Pillayan’s gunmen at Tirukkovil on last Sunday (May 4) while passing the town. It was too risky taking a photograph but I regret not taking that risk because I could have something to show Mr. Kinsley Rodrigo. This is only one example. Pillayan’s gunmen freely roaming around key locations in the Eastern province has been a common sight during the last week.

You can wake somebody who sleeps, they say, but not anybody who pretends sleeping.

The invariable question is to whom Mr. Kinsley Rodrigo servers for.

TMVP wins biggest outsourcing deal in Sri Lanka (and in Eelam too)

Colombo, May 9, TMVP PLC won the largest ever outsourcing deal ever done in Sri Lanka this week, to scare pooling agents of the rivals, intimidate voters and carry out mass scale rigging at the Eastern province elections, industry sources reveal. The exact size of the deal is not known but the speculation is that could be several millions of USD and certainly bigger than the similar deal won by LTTE to intimidate voters to boycott the Presidential Elections in 2005, which was estimated to be in the range of USD 5 million by late MP Sripathy Suriyarachchi.

Acting Chairman of TMVP (Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal) PLC Mr. Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan expressed his delight over the confidence shown on him by all on his company especially by the President of Sri Lanka himself. He said many other contenders including EDPD headed by legendary Douglas Devananda tried to win this deal, but none of them could beat TMVP PLC, on its strengths. TMVP PLC employs thousands of trained professionals at its camps in the districts of Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee in Eastern province which gives them the ability to carry out this assignment better than anybody else.

Chairman of TMVP PLC (currently residing in London enjoying the hospitality of HM Queen)  Mr. Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan alias Mr. Kokila Dushmantha Gunawardena alias Karuna has send a congratulatory message for his company TMVP PLC for winning this deal. “We are well equipped and geared to win this assignment and I am sure our boys will carry out it to the utmost satisfaction of our clients” Mr. Kokila Ginawardene said.

TMVP PLC will carry out this in a public-private partnership model. The public sector will assist Mr Pillayan carrying out this deal by stopping the international journalists and election observers from east, as happened yesterday. Journalists of Associated Press (AP) were yesterday prevented from entering Batticaloa at the Karavankarni junction at a check point on the claim that they have received orders from the Ministry of Defence to do so.

Nimalka Fernando of Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFÉ) too had been prevented from moving ahead of the Manampitiya check point yesterday.

Elections in East: Who will win?

Ampara, May 5

Election, election and election. Who will win? That is what people ask me these days.  As somebody who had worked at the grass root level, they think I have an answer. 

Firstly, I am not an astrologer. Secondly, we still do not have reliable pool results to trust. Thirdly and most importantly, this election is different from any other lection we have seen since the independence.

As I said before, violence and malpractices are key ingredients in any Sri Lankan election. One party cuts the decorations of another and as a return a village party office is attacked. Perhaps one or two are killed. Once in a while, somebody already dead for six months or who is supposed to be in Dubai exercises his/her vote. That is not mass scale rigging.

The difference, this time, is the level. This is THE FIRST, I repeat THE FIRST time an armed terrorist group fight an election – with full endorsement of the ruling party – as a contestant.

Yes, in 1988 Presidential elections, JVP, then a terrorist group intimidated voters in South. In 2005 Presidential elections LTTE did the same in North. Still both these times, the violators were not a party contesting. So they had no direct interest of the results. Neither they had the full open support of the ruling party. Imagine what would have happened if they had an interest and had the support of the government.

That is why we should take Pillayan seriously. He is not just a terrorist. He is a LICENCED TERRORIST. Licensed to carry guns; intimidate voters; rig polls and even kill.

If not for rigging, it would have been easier to predict the result. The overwhelming support we see at ground level show a clear victory for UNP/SLMC alliance. I do not say because I am biased. This is what anybody sees in East today.

Few days back we saw in ‘Daily Mirror’ how warmly Rauf Hakeem was greeted by the old ladies in Batticaloa. Did anyone ever see anybody hugging Pillayan?

Okay, with my politician’s hat out let me try to do an unbiased prediction. This is based on my own firsthand experience in Ampara district and information I gather from my friends in the other two districts. I take the possibility of rigging into account (it will happen) but we assume the level of rigging might not be adequate to prevent UNP/SLMC victory.

Let me start with Ampara. It elects 14 members, or 40% of the total in Eastern province.

As of today, UNP/SLMC will win Ampara district. Muslim and Sinhala votes will be predominantly for us, while we are not too sure about Tamil votes and what influence Pillayan have no them. I would say we get 8 seats, Pillayan 5 seats and JVP 1.

Then Trinco, which has 10 seats. There too the situation is favorable for us. A conservative prediction will be 5 seats for UNP/SLMC, 4 for Pillayan and 1 for JVP.

The only unpredictable district is Batti. Any rational thinking individual will see a clear UNP/SMC win because even in 2005 Nov we got nearly 80% of votes in the district. The difference is the level of rigging. Pillayan’s gunmen can easily intimidate the voters in areas outside town. This is their stronghold. So they can to some extent influence the outcome. But even without Batti we have a 4 seat lead.  Even the worst case scenario in 11 seat Batti is not adequate to set off that. On the other hand I would not be surprised if we win Batti with a huge margin. That is what maths say.

I remain optimistic. Rauf is like a magnet. How he attracts people are unbelievable. A first class orator, in both Tamil and Sinhala, he knows how to talk to the people. I have seen the enthusiasm. Difficult to think people will let him down.

It will not be easy fight by any means. Pillayan’s terrorist forces fully backed by the Kurrakkan boy will try their best to rig the pools. But believe me, DEMOCRACY is going to win on May tenth.

Before Pillayan kills me…

Arugam Bay, May 03

As I wrote earlier, election campaigning is fun, but nothing can be compared to what we are doing in the Eastern province now.  This is far too dangerous than anybody in Colombo can ever think of. Though not so obvious in first looks the ominous smell of Pillayan is everywhere. It is a reality that anybody who dares to campaign in the East should live with.

I keep asking questions from myself what Pillayan could do. How strong is Pillayan’s terrorist network? How many armed cadre he has? (I saw it in papers he has about 700 gunmen but it can be more) Where are they positioned? Finally how far they would go to stop a rival winning the elections? (which is obvious by now) Will they just stop at rigging the polls with the kind assistance of the current government leaders (who will be happy to provide that support) or perhaps failing that go further and try a mass genocide?

These are some simple questions to which we have no answers.

The fact that disturbed us most is that Pillayan is no ordinary terrorist. HE IS A LICENSED TERRORIST, if I were to coin a term. In any society, no citizen is allowed to bear guns without the approval of the state. But Pillayan and his terrorist goondas bear guns, though they are not part of the security forces. The government not just shows a blind eye, but happily endorses this terrorist bearing guns and using them in the territory the government claims to be ‘LIBERATED’ as well.

The weak excuses provided by senior government ministers justifying Pillayan’s terrorist group bearing and perhaps using arms is amusing. According to them, it is for their safety from LTTE. My foot! If LTTE is still so strong in Eastern province why call it ‘LIBERATED’? No, the only reason why government happily keeps Pillayan armed is for rigging. They know they have no chances of winning without mass scale rigging.

The possibility of butchery by Pillayan cannot be ignored. He has guns and he has men trained to use them. Nobody would give evidence against him. Government’s least resistance path too will be covering up such a killing (easy to blame LTTE) than finding the real culprits. So why he should not?

The only consolation is I work in a Sinhala dominated area where Pillayan does not work directly but comes only through other political parties. JHU Akmeemana Dayaratne thero used few Pillayan’s terrorists in their campaign, but it did not look too dangerous. They just sat in the front seat of government vehicles.  Anyway JHU has stopped campaigning now. They might have given up after seeing it a dead end for them.

My only hope is the polls will be peaceful and there would be no election violence. Still it is difficult to think Kurrakan boy will let us win so easily. He knows what defeat means. That is why we should be ready for any obstacle.

Still I am optimistic that DEMOCRAY will win over Pillayan’s (government sponsored) terrorism on May 10.

Exactly what Mahinda mama does in the East…

I am bit tired after hefty campaigning at Lahugala, but this carton by Camillus to Rivira was too good to miss.

This is exactly what Mahinda mama is doing at the Eastern Province right now – trying to rob the votes of the poor people by showing them castles in the air.

Unfortunately for Mahinda mama the voters are more intelligent now. It won’t be that easy for him to rob their votes.

Poor Mahinda maama. Paw neda?

නැණස පෑදේවා! පිල්ලිය දුරින් දුරු වේවා!

The choice in Eastern province is not between a Muslim Chief Minister and a Tamil one. It is also not between Rauf Hakeem and Pillayan. It is between DEMOCRACY and TERRORISM.

Violence has been common in ever election in Sri Lanka, but the level of violence used in Eastern province provincial council is unprecedented.

This is the first time in Sri Lanka history an armed group fights and election battle.

This is the first time one party visits house to house with guns in their hands and threaten voters. Even in 1989 Provincial council elections, which JVP (then and armed group) boycotted this level of violence was not seen.

Poll rigging will be unprecedented. What happened in North Central (Wayamba) provincial council elections in 1998 will be nothing compared what will happen in East in the next week.

The good news however is, even with that Pillayan the shortie terrorist will not be able to prevent the victory of DEMOCRACY in East.

 

Pillayan - the ‘white’ terrorist

There can never be anything called ‘white terrorism’ or ‘good terrorism’. No matter how noble the cause is and irrespective of the colour of the man who bears the gun, terrorism is evil, ruthless and merciless. Nowhere in the civilized world people justify terrorism - whatever the reason.

Image: Does this look like an election campaign?

Now tell that to PA, JHU and the Weerawansa faction of JVP that not only embrace the terrorism, but fight till their last drop of blood for the ‘right’ of a terrorist to bear arms completely illegally.

PILLAYAN IS A TERRORIST. No doubt about it. He has no legal provisions to bear guns. He has no legal provisions to kill or threaten innocent people. He is a criminal. In a more civilized country such a criminal would be behind the bars. In our country that type of criminals contest elections, ironically with the blessings of political parties that publicly claim their sole intention is a build a ‘Dharma Rajya’.

If there are free and fair elections in the East there is no doubt that UNP and SLMC alliance would win with a massive margin. This is not something tolerated by the fragile minds of the current government. They know what a blow it can be to already weak regime. So they have no option that hanging to the lion cloth of Pillayan to win the election, by the means of gun.

Image: No matter how hard PA and JHU leaders try to convince themselves, Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman alias Kokila Dushmantha Gunawardene, the leader of Pillayan group is a terrorist and not a director of wildlife departments as was claimed by him.

What is more pathetic is hardly anybody seems to understand the danger of bringing a terrorist leader like Pillayan into power. It would be the loss for the nation. Are we this stupid to offer the entire Eastern province to this atrocious terrorist in a plate?

The election on May 10th will not be a fight between UNP and PA. It is neither a fight between Tamils and Muslims or Hakeem and Pillayan. It is more a fight between Democracy and terrorism.

And it would be the duty of all right minded people to ensure the victory of democracy. What we need least is another terrorist grabbing the Eastern province of the country.

JHU accuses “MUSLIM TERRORISTS” in Eastern province robbing Sinhalese Buddhist heritage

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), an extremist political party in South, also a key affiliate of the present government, is accusing “MUSLIM EXTREMISTS” in East taking over the lands belonging to Sinhalese Buddhists also hinting the possibility of “MUSLIM TERRORISM” in the Eastern province.

JHU spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe charges Muslims for initiating ‘Otu’ (Arabic) terrorism in areas such as Potuvil, Panama, Akkarapattu, Samanturai, Kinniya, Mutur and Kalmunai.

Mr. Warnasinghe has made these comments when an online news site queried him. 

 Image: JHU leader Ven. Ellawala Medhananda is a vociferous advocate of the ‘Sinhalese Buddhist’ heritage in Eastern province currently destroyed by the Muslims, as claimed by JHU. Once he also requested all Muslims in eastern province to move to Arab where they really belong, according to him, leaving the land for Sinhalese Buddhists

Muslim terrorism will end up in another armed struggle, this time by Muslim youths, for a separate state, the JHU spokesman warned. The east will come under the grip of al-Qaeda terrorism if this situation continues, he said.

Eastern Muslim youths had, at one-time, been very close to Tamil Tiger terrorism, Mr. Warnasinghe said.

JHU earlier accused Eastern province Muslims physically attacking Sinhalese villages through pro-JHU web site www.sinhala.net.

Image: Minister Chamipika ‘Chandi Putha’ Ranawaka of JHU chased off poor Muslim families from their agricultural lands around the Dheegavapi temple.
 
JHU was also instrumental in chasing off a large number of poor Muslim villagers living around the ‘Dheegavapi’ temple, claiming archeological value of the land early this year.

It is surprising how unashamed People Alliance have to be to beg for the Muslim votes in Eastern province while one of its key partners insulting the Eastern province Muslims by making such serious accusations against them.

Image: These poor innocent people were among the farmer displaced by the acts initiated by JHU, which did not have any concern even for the children.