Why I blame Sirasa/Maharaja.

Everyone else blames Merv the perv for the recent Dawson Street incident. I blame Sirasa/Maharaja.

Not that I approve Merv’s dirty job. We know him. I wonder whether this Rastapopoulos ever did an honorable thing in his life. Why mince words condemning him when that makes no difference? Why upset the master by complaining about his ‘above the punishment’ favorite? Let him appoint another ‘special inquiry’ and then go to hell. Should I care?

Instead I blame Sirasa/Maharaja. Not that I have scores to settle. On the contrary, I am an ardent fan of Sirasa. When the vandals smashed its ultra modern studio at Depanama, I created the FaceBook group “Sirasa we are with you, whatever happens”. I have friends at all layers at Maharaja, from top to bottom. From very top to very bottom. One former Maharaja driver now drives me home everyday. The short address book in my mobile starts with a Sirasa employee (Asoka) and ends with a Sirasa employee. (Yasarath). Period.

I blame Sirasa/Maharaja because I believe they still can and should learn. I know its long term objective is to be the best broadcaster in South Asia. An ambitious dream. Still I like to see them achieving it. Any distractions, naturally upset me.
Sirasa/MTV/Shakthi’s achievements within a short period of their existence are momentous. Kingsley redefined radio when it was almost dead. Buddhika turned a new page in political debates. Sirasa news team was always the first in delivery, and when they weren’t CID questioned why. Nilendra created the icons of Shihan Mihiranga and the rest of the super stars. Within just four days of tsunami, Sirasa even beat the government by collecting enough relief material to fill twenty trucks. I can go on, but will stop there.

The sad truth is despite all this, Sirasa faces a serious credibility issue. Sadder that it got into this mess by being independent. But let us face the reality. When the society moves with the singular objective of destroying the terrorist menace of three long decades, any slight distraction is taken with fury. Sirasa/Maharaja paid enough I guess, before realising its mistake. Not that I loved to see the only independent channel being another trumpet for the state. But these are small prices to be paid for a serious long term goal.

Sad that Sirasa/Maharaja had to lock horns with Merv too. In retrospective I see all pre planned. Merv, who could not get even 2,000 votes representing one of the biggest electorate, wanted publicity. He might have preferred good publicity, but even bad publicity is never too bad for a politician. Sirasa News team fell for the trap. It was the vehicle Merv used for creating his image. This totally unnecessary tussle did nothing good to Sirasa. In fact it did irreparable damage.

Few months before its Depanama studios were demolished I suggested Sirasa/Maharaja should try an image rebuilding exercise. I gave even a vague guideline. (Frankly, I never thought things were that bad.) I was listened to but no serious action was taken. I don’t say an image rebuilding would have prevented the attack, but at least Sirasa would have received public sympathy. It wasn’t just Sinhalese extremists complained Sirasa burned their own studio to claim insurance.

Now to Akon. I do not know who initiated, but Maharaja Management to was naïve to endorse the event. I am no pop music fan and I don’t know him from Adam. I have never heard him sing. Still I know bringing him to Sri Lanka is plain stupid. Whether we like it or not ours is a predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist, xenophobic society. It is easy to provoke this society. Merv the perv knows that. It just needs a spark to create a bushfire. I am baffled that Sirasa/Maharaja management never thought about the possibility of a backfire. Can they so easily forget the Shahrukh Khan incident?

Mr.Rajamahendran is one of the nicest men I have ever met in my life. He is a professional with several decades of business experience, but never having been part of the Sinhalese Buddhist society he may find it difficult to understand how narrowly and stupidly it sometimes behaves. Post 2003 era is so unpredictable, that things often surprises even me.

Sirasa/Management should have been educated about these pit falls. I am sure Maharaja has enough middle managers capable of doing this. Sadly I do not see that happening.

I still say Sirasa/Maharaja needs a serious image rebuilding exercise. Sirasa/Maharaja needs to win the trust of the majority Sinhalese Buddhists. That will not happen just by employing 99% Sinhalese. The majority should see Sirasa/Maharaja as a friend not foe. This does not mean they have act like extremists. Understanding what masses and offering them few of their choices is more than enough. There is no need to air eulogies six times a day. Adding few carefully planned serious cultural programs would do. They need to win the respect of the viewers to the extent the latter see the value of safeguarding the channel. Otherwise they will not make a voice even Merv brought down the building flat.

I love to see the day Sirasa becomes the best broadcaster in South Asia. Maharaja should focus on this long term business priority instead of fighting with petty politicians on petty issues.

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(NB: I use the term ‘Sirasa’ as it is closer to my heart, but I mean the gamut of brands Maharaja/MBC/MTV/Shakthi.)

Why Tamils should vote for Sarath Fonseka in the Presidential Election

“Given the depth of Tamil feeling – and bitterness – about the treatment of Tamil civilians by the security forces, particularly, though not only, in the endgame of the war, do you really think an army general can represent Tamils as well as Sinhalese and do you think they will trust him?”

The question was from a Face Book friend. Instead of an individual reply, let me take the issue in open. She may not be the only skeptic.

On the face of it, I partially agree with her. Large number of Tamils might be still feeling bitter about General Sarath Fonseka’s role in the war – between rebels and the state to many, but between Sinhalese and Tamils to few.

However, it was not the only war Sarath Fonseka fought. He was a senior officer in 1988/9 too and certainly fought for the interests of the state against the rebels – JVP and Sinhalese. He was a soldier. His duty was not to question why, but to do and die. The decisions to fight, as we know well, were of politicians. Soldiers do not select their opponents. They fight against the enemies of the state; be that Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims. (I am not giving excuses, this is the harsh reality)

Why nobody asks how many Sinhalese killed by Sarath Fonseka’s boys in 1988/9? Because we know the soldiers don’t see them as Sinhalese. Soldiers are not given a choice to sympathise with their cause. Had one of his daughters taken arms against the state, Sarath Fonseka would have fought with her too. He was a soldier.

Operations issues, no doubt were concerns. How did Sri Lanka Army, with Sarath Fonseka as its head treated Tamil civilians? Was it as bad as portrayed by the Diaspora Tamil community?

Let us discuss that, but more important things first.

I see five and only five options available for the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the forthcoming Presidential election.

a) Vote for Sarath Fonseka

b) Vote for Mahinda Rajapaksha

c) Vote for the Tamil candidate

d) Vote for anyone among the rest (eg. left candidates who did raise a voice for Tamil rights)

e) Refrain from voting

Let us see the possible outcome of each; bottoms up.

OPTION 1: REFRAIN FROM VOTING

This was what the ‘Jaffna Tamils’ (A bit inaccurate term to refer Tamils from the Northern province) did in 2005. Even without LTTE influence, most had reasons to boycott elections. With LTTE reluctant to resume peace talks, a vote for Ranil Wickremasinghe did not necessarily bring a new hope; from their perspective.

Now, the environment is different. LTTE is history. We are back to near normalcy. Jaffna Tamils get an opportunity to freely exercise their votes for the first time after 1982. (Just assume Rajapaksa boys do not play any dirty games on January 26) They have all the right to abstain, but why? That will not serve any useful purpose, unless if one prefers anarchy.

OPTION 2: VOTE FOR ANYONE AMONG THE REST

Hardly makes sense. None of them will get enough to be seen as a protest vote. Voting Wickramabahu Karunaratne, Siritunga Jayasuriya or Wije Dias to show gratitude is fine, (These are three rare Sinhalese who fought for Tamil rights throughout their lives.) but after two weeks nobody will remember their votes. (Less than 0.1% anyway)If protest is what you want, make sure that is seen.

OPTION 3: VOTE FOR THE TAMIL CANDIDATE

Why should Tamils vote for a Sinhalese when there is a Tamil candidate?

Let me tell why. Even if the entire Tamil population votes for Sivajilingam he will get not more than 10-15%. (This is highly unlikely; More than 90% Colombo Tamils back UNP. Even without Thonda, sizable percentage of ‘Indian’ or ‘Upcountry’ Tamils too will follow suit.) So what? It will not make him the President. Doing so will surely show the Tamils’ strength but for what? Isn’t this the time to think as Sri Lankans? Isn’t this the time to vote on larger political issues rather than on ethnicity?

By the way, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest ‘Tamil’ party has not endorsed the candidacy of their former colleague. Instead they have decided to support Sarath Fonseka. Nobody calls that a perfect choice; just the best among the available.

In the Presidential Election of 1982, the only one so far to have a serious Tamil candidate, G.G. Ponnambalam Jnr. (Kumar) got only 40% (87,263 votes) from Jaffna district while the SLFP candidate Hector Kobbekaduwa was not too behind. (35% and 77,300 votes) Why Jaffna Tamils voted Kobbekaduwa, whom they have hardly heard about? It could have been partially a protest vote, but more importantly a reflection Jaffna Tamils did well under the control regime of Sirima Bandaranaike. They vote on issues, not on people or ethnicity.

That is what we need. Tamils should think themselves more as Sri Lankans and vote on principles rather than ethnicity. Who will address their day to day problems? (We have come a long way since the ‘Sinhalese’ governments could ignore their pressing issues like they did in 1970s.) In terms of economy and rights Sarath Fonseka certainly offers a better package to Tamils than anyone else in the list.

OPTION 4: VOTE FOR MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA

This sounds more like a joke. Why should a Tamil vote for Rajapaksa? Or, for that matter why should anyone vote for this opportunistic would be dictator whose only interest is himself and family? Do we want a Zimbabwe here? Can any self respecting individual endorse the re-election of this Idi Amin who shamelessly violated the human rights? Have we forgotten white vans? Have we forgotten Karuna hijacking Colombo Tamils for ‘kappam’?

Rajapaksa is also the candidate of the extreme Sinhalese – the Jathika Hela Urumaya types, who think the land belongs only to Sinhalese Buddhists and everyone else (including Sinhalese Catholics) live as second class citizens. He doesn’t even represent the moderate Sinhalese. Why should anyone expect him to represent Tamils?

Sarath Fonseka, on the other hand is the only candidate that represent the minorities. See the people who stand with him. We still have a long way to go to win an acceptable political solution to ethnic issue and Tamil grievances, but that will happen only if Sarath Fonseka comes into power. Otherwise the road will be closed forever.

OPTION 5: VOTE FOR SARATH FONSEKA

I already gave TEN reasons why anybody should vote for Sarath Fonseka. I reproduce five below in summary format. The full list is at http://bandaragama.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/2564.

1. HE IS CLEVER: Sarath Fonseka started at the lowest ranks of the army and rose to the very top. Then he ended a 30 year long ‘unending’ war. Need I say more?

2. HE IS HONEST: Having led the army when it did procurements of unprecedented levels, Sarath Fonseka could have made fortunes for seven more generations, even with 1% cuts. He did not. All he owned at retirement were a 15 perch land at Bokundara, Piliyandala with a house – that cost LKR 1.2 million for construction, a Mercedes Benz, and LKR 641,000 in bank. His wife has bank balances of LKR 23,307 and USD 2,952 and jewelry worth a little more than LKR 1.6 million.

3. HE INTENTIONS ARE NOT TO SERVE HIS FAMILY: Let us not kid ourselves. Why Rajapaksa wants power? To make his family grew further – bigger and more powerful. Perhaps he wants to make his family the richest in South Asia. Aren’t we tired of this kind of petty politics? Isn’t this the time to give a chance for somebody who thinks about the country before himself?

4. HE REPRESENTS A NATION, NOT A SINGLE RACE: Can Rajapaksa ever say he represents Tamils, or in that case even Muslims? Rajapaksa’s JHU supported Peoples’ Alliance represents only the extreme Sinhala Buddhists – not even moderate Sinhalese. On the contrary, Sarath Fonseka’s United National Front, true to its name, represents all ethnic communities at the top level. He will be the only leader capable of uniting this divided land.

5. HE IS ABOVE POLITICS: Unlike Rajapaksa, who is still very much within the political game (and thus not approved by nearly half of the country) Sarath Fonseka is above politics. He is not a candidate of this part or that party. He will unite the entire nation under a single flag.

Finally, the bitterness Tamils having with Sri Lanka Army. Whatever they are irrespective whether they are true or not, I frankly think this is the time to bury the hatchet and forget differences. We all should think as a nation. True, Sarath Fonseka, just like Rajapaksa, primarily represent Sinhalese. Yet, given his team I firmly believe he will do more for Tamils interests than Rajapaksa. What matters is future and not past. Sorry for being blunt.

SARATH FONSEKA IS THE FUTURE OF SRI LANKA NATION. I AM SURE YOU ALL WILL AGREE.

BREAKING NEWS: Thugs attack a peaceful demonstration at Bandaragama

A tensed situation developed in Bandaragama this afternoon after an armed group attacked a peaceful demonstration organised by the JVP over the arrest of the Venerable Dambara Amila thero on fake complaints,

The clash occurred when the JVP staged a protest against the arrest of the monk while Peoples’ Alliance supporters had attacked them. Daily Mirror quoted police spokesman SSP I.M Karunaratne confirming the incident, but he has not named the party that attacked.

According to eye witnesses, the attack was led by the Peoples’ Alliance Provincial Council supporters Tudor Dayaratne, Nimal Chandraratne and Chairmal of the Bandaragama Pradesheeya Sabha Manoj Sanjaya Hettige.

The injured were admitted to the Panadura base hospital.

Please note there is a difference in the version by the Police reproduced in the Daily Mirror online and the reality.

ලැජ්ජයි මහරජෝ! සංවේදී නායකයාගේ සන්නද්ධ මැරයෝ බණ්ඩාරගමදී නිරායුධ විරෝධතාවයකට පහර දෙති!

නියත පරාජය හමුවේ වියරු වැටී ඇති රාජපක්ෂ හෙන්චයියන්ගේ මැරවර ක්‍රියා මේ වන විට අතිශය පහත් මට්ටමකට පැමිණ ඇති අතර, එහි තවත් පරිච්ඡෙදයක් අද බණ්ඩාරගමදී නිරාවරණය විය.

දේශපාලන වාසි ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා දඹර අමිල හිමියන් බොරු චෝදනා මත රහස් පොලිසිය විසින් අත් අඩංගුවට ගැනීම හේතු කොට ගෙන ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ විසින් සංවිධානය කරන ලද සාමකාමී විරෝධතා ව්‍යාපාරයකට අද උදෑසන ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂ මැරවර කල්ලියක් විසින් පහර දෙන ලදී. මේ මැරවර කල්ලියට නායකත්වය සපයන ලද්දේ බස්නාහිර පළාත් සභා මන්ත්‍රීන් වන ටියුඩර් දයාරත්න, නිමල් චන්ද්‍රරත්න හා බණ්ඩාරගම ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා සභාපති මනෝජ් සංජය හෙට්ටිගේ විසිනි.

මේ සිද්ධිය මෙසේ සිදුවෙද්දී පොලිස් නිලධරයන් කිසිම පියවරක් නොගෙන බලා සිටි අතර අහසට වෙඩි තබා පිරිස විසුරුවා හැරීමට තැත්කළ එක් පොලිස් නිලධරයකු ඉහළ නිලධරයකු විසින් වළක්වා ඇත.

සිද්ධියෙන් බරපතළ තුවාල ලද ජවිපෙ ආධාරකරුවන් පිරිසක් මේ වන විට පානදුර මූලික රෝහලට ඇතුළත් කර සිටිති.

සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකා ඉදිරියේ රාජපක්ෂ නම් හිස් මිනිසා

සරත් ෆොන්සේකා සේනාධිනායකයානන්ගේ දේශපාලන ආගමනය හා සමස්ත විරුද්ධ පක්ෂය ඔහු එක හඬින් පිළිගැනීම ලංකා දේශපාලනය නව මානයකට අවතීර්ණ කොට ඇත. මෙතෙක් අපට හුරුපුරුදු වූ ප්‍රධාන පක්ෂ දෙක බලය උදෙසා එකිනෙකා ඇණකොටා ගැනීමේ සම්ප්‍රදාය වෙනුවට විරුද්ධ පක්ෂය, තමන්ට පුද්ගලිකව වාසියක් නොවන එක පොදු අරමුණක් උදෙසා ඒකරාශී වීම හොඳ ලක්ෂණයකි. වඩා හොඳ ලංකාවක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමේ අපේක්ෂාව වෙනුවෙන් පෙරමුණ ගෙන ඇති සරත් ෆොන්සේකා සේනාධිනායකයානන් එක දේශපාලන පක්ෂයක් නියෝජනය නොකිරීම තුළින්ම ඔහුගේ දැක්මේ ඇති පුළුල් භාවය පෙන්නුම් කෙරේ. මෙසේ සමස්ත විපක්ෂය දූෂිත, අකාර්යක්ෂ්ම හා දුර්දාන්ත රජයක් පෙරළීම වෙනුවෙන් එක ධජයක් යටතේ ඒකරාශී වීම මේ උත්සාහයේ ජනතා අපේක්ෂාවන් මල් ඵල ගැන්වීමේ හැකියාව පෙන්නුම් කරයි.

මේ ප්‍රවණතාවය හොඳ වන පමණටම එය මෙතෙක් රට වනසමින් සිටි දූෂිත ඒකාධිපති පාලනය අන්ත අසීරු තත්වයකට පත් කොට තිබේ. “ජෙනරාල් ෆොන්සේකා අපෙ මහරජාගෙ ඔළුවට ගහලා” යි සංස්කරණය කරණ ලද ජනප්‍රිය ගීතයකින් කියැවෙන්නේ මේ යථාර්ථයයි.

ෆොන්සේකා සේනාධිනායකයානන් සමඟ කරට කර සටනකට එළඹීමේදී රාජපක්ෂ මුහුණදෙන ගැටළු ඔහු ස්වාර්ථය හා සිය පවුල වෙනුවෙන් ධනෝපායන මාර්ග විවර කරමින් දූෂිත පාලනයක් ගෙන ගිය බව රටවැසියා හොඳින් දැන සිටීමට සීමා නොවේ. එසේම රටේ ආර්ථිකය නැංවීමේ ඔහු දක්වා ඇති අකාර්යක්ෂ්මතාවය හා නොහැකියාවටද එය සීමා නොවේ. ඔහු මුහුණ දෙන තත්වය ඊට වඩා සංකීර්ණද, ඔහුට හා ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂයේ මහින්ද පිළට අවාසි සහගතද වේ.

මෙය පැහැදිළි කිරීමට රාජපක්ෂ යනු කවරෙක්දැයි විමසා බලමු. රාජපක්ෂ යනු ඉතා සරල, කිසිම දේශපාලන දැක්මක් නැති, වඩා පැසුණු දේශපාලකයන් හා සංසන්දනය කිරීමේදී ‘මෝඩ’ යන විශේෂණ පදයෙන් හඳුන්වන්නටද බැරි නැති දේශපාලන චරිතයකි. වෙනත් වචන වලින් පැහැදිළි කරන්නේ නම් කෝපිකඩේ අබිලිංට සමාන කළ හැකි පුද්ගලයෙකි. හිස් කළයකට තට්ටු කිරීමේදී නැඟෙන බොල් හඬම රාජපක්ෂ නම් දේශපාලන චරිතය විශ්ලේෂණය කිරීමේදී ඇසෙයි. ගමක මලපොතේ අකුරු නූගත් චණ්ඩියකුටද බලයක් ඇතිසේම රාජපක්ෂද යම් බලයක් තිබේ. චොප්පෙ අයියා සේම රාජපක්ෂද තම වැයික්කිය තුළ බලය පතුරවා ගැනීමට සමත් වී ඇත. ඔහු සිතා සිටිනවා ඇත්තේ තමන්ගේ ඔළුවට ඉහළින් කාක්කෙකු වත් නොපියඹනවා ඇත කියාය. ගස් නැති කැලෑවට ඇට්ටර ගසත් ගසක්ය කියන්න්නාක් මෙන් සීමිත කාලයක් තුළ මේ බලය ස්ථාපිත කර ගැනීමට ඔහුට හැකිව ඇත. එහෙත් චොප්පෙ අයියලා බඳු චණ්ඩීන්ගේ බලයටද සීමා තිබේ. හැමදාම ඔළුව නමා සිටින දුර්වලයන් මෙන් නොව හොඳ, හිතේ හයිය ඇති පොලිස්කාරයකු ගමට ආදා මේ චණ්ඩියන්ට වන්නේ නඟුට කකුල් දෙක අස්සේ රුවාගෙන සැඟවීමටය.

සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකා විසින් නිරූපනය කරනු ලබන්නේ මේ අළුතින් ගමට එන කොන්ද පණ ඇති පොලිස් කාරයාගේ චරිතයයි. අහිංසක ගම්මුන්ට කොයිතරම් චණ්ඩිපාට් දැමුවද හරිහමන් නිලධරයකු හමුවේ ගමේ චණ්ඩියා පූස් පැටියකු සේ අහිංසකය. බල රහිතය. රාජපක්ෂටද අද සිදුව ඇත්තේ මෙයයි. තමන්ට යම් පෞරුෂයක් ඇතැයි ඔහු කල්පනා කරයි. එහෙත් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා සේනාධිනායකයානන් ඉදිරියේ සිට ගැනීමට වත් මේ පෞරුෂය අප්‍රමාණවත්ය. රුපුනොද බිඳ රණබිම ජයගත් සරත් ෆොන්සේකා වැනි යුග පුරුෂයකු ඉදිරියේ රාජපක්ෂ සමාන වන්නේ ලජ්ජාවෙන් මුළු ගැන්වෙන සුකොමළ ගැහැනියකටය. සේනාධිනායක ෆොන්සේකා ගලිවරයන් ඉදිරියේ රාජපක්ෂ ලිලිපුට්ටෙකි. සේනධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකාගේ දැවන්ත ප්‍රතිරූපය ඉදිරියේ රාජපක්ෂ කුරුමිට්ටෙකි.

සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකා මේ ප්‍රතිරූපය ගොඩ නඟාගෙන ඇත්තේ, සරම උස්සාගෙන බොරුවට පාරේ ගිරිය කඩාගෙන කෑගැසීමෙන් නොවේ. යුද හමුදාවේ හැම නිලධරයකුම යම්කිසි විනය ක්‍රියාවලියකින් පාලනය වේ. එසේම මෝඩ දේශපාලකයින් මෙන් නොව ඔව්හු විධිමත් අධ්‍යාපනයක් ලබති. සේනාධිනායක ෆොන්සේකාගේ පෞරුෂය මේ විනය ක්‍රියාවලියේ හා විධිමත් අධ්‍යාපනයේ ප්‍රතිඵලයකි. එම විනය ක්‍රියාවලියම පුද්ගලයකු නායකත්වයට අතිශයින් සුදුස්සකු බවට පත් කරයි. වචනයේ පරිසමාප්තාර්ථයෙන්ම සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකා අවංක නිලධරයෙකි. වෘත්තිකයෙකි. මෝඩ දේශපාලකයන්ට ආදර්ශයට ගත හැකි ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ නායකයෙකි. රට වෙනුවෙන් තම ජීවිතය පරදුවට තැබූ විශිෂ්ඨ නිලධරයෙකි. An Officer and a Gentleman ලෙසින් හඳුන්වාදිය හැකි ආකාරයේ මහාත්මයෙකි. රටක් හරියට පාලනය කළ හැක්කේ කෙසේද යන්න මෝඩ හා දූෂිත දේශපාලයකයන්ට ඉගැන්විය හැකි ආකාරයේ නැණවතෙකි.

සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකා සටනකින් ජය නොලබතැයි කිසිවකුට කිව නොහැකිය. මන්ද ඔහු මේ වන විට දේශයේ පරම සතුරා පරදවා ජය ලබා තම හැකියාව පෙන්නා ඇති හෙයිනි. එය කිසිවකුට ප්‍රශ්න කළ නොහැකිය. වසර තිහක් තිස්සේ අපට බලය පෙන්නමින් සිටි ප්‍රභාකරන් දණ ගසන්නේ සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකාගේ පෞරුෂය ඉදිරියේය. ඔහු රටේ නායකත්වයට ඊට වඩා සුදුසුවන බවට වෙනත් සාධක අවශ්‍යද?

මේ වන විට රාජපක්ෂ කෙතරම් බිය වී ඇතිද යන්න ඔහු හැසිරෙන ආකාරයෙන්ම පෙනේ. රාජපක්ෂගේ අළුත්ම මේනියාව වී ඇත්තේ යෝධ කටවුට් ගැසීමය. මේ තමාගේ කුඩා බව පිළිබඳව ඔහුට ඇතිවී තිබෙන හීන මානයේ ලක්ෂණයකි. තමාටම අවබෝධවන කුඩා බව ඔහු වසා ගැනීමට තැත් කරන්නේ යෝධ කටවුට් ගැසීමෙනි. එහෙත් සේනාධිනායක සරත් ෆොන්සේකාගේ ජයග්‍රහණය මෙවැනි බොළඳ ක්‍රියාවලින් වැලැකීමට ඔහුට නොහැකි වනු ඇත. එය හෙට හිරු පායන්නා සේ නියතයකි. කටවුට් ගැසීමට යන කාලය, යළිත් සුළු කාලයකින් හම්බන්තොටට පදිංචිය සඳහා යෑමට ගෙදරදොර අස්පස් කර ගැනීමට වැය කරන්නේ නම් එය රාජපක්ෂට වඩා ප්‍රයෝජනවත් වනු ඇත.

“මා ඉතින් යන්න යනවා. මට යන්න අවසරයි.” නන්දන විමලාට බූට් එක දෙයි. පව් නේද?

ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණේ ලේකම් නන්දන ගුණතිලක සහ ජාතික සංවිධායක කමල් දේශප්‍රිය ඔවුන් එම පක්ෂයේ දැරූ සියලු තනතුරුවලින් ඉල්ලා අස්වී ඇති බව වාර්තාවේ. ඔවුන් දෙදෙනා මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස්වරයාට ලිඛිතව දැනුම්දී ඇත. ඔවුන්ගේ ඉල්ලා අස්වීමට තුඩුදුන් හේතු සහිත විස්තරාත්මක ලිපියක් ඔවුන්ගේ ඉල්ලා අස්වීමේ ලිපිය සමග මැතිවරණ කොමසාරිස්වරයාට යවා තිබේ විමල් වීරවංශ පක්ෂය තුළ අනුගමනය කරන ක්‍රියාමාර්ග වලට විරෝධය පෑමක් වශයෙන් තමන් ඉල්ලා අස්වූ බව නන්දන ගුණතිලක සිය මාධ්‍ය හිතවතුන්ට පවසා තිබේ.

www.lankatruth.com

විමල් වීරවංශගේ රෝමානු මතක සටහන් කිහිපයක්

සීගිරි, සිරීපාදෙ ගිහින් නැති වුනාට දැන් මම රෝමෙට ගිහිල්ලා තියෙනවනේ. කවුද මේවගේ මට සලකන්නේ මහ රජතුමා මිසක?

දුක් සැප කුමන්දා – අසන නිරිඳෝ වෙන කොයින්දා?

General Sarath Fonsenka nursing political ambitions? – asks Hindu

Chief of Defence Staff Sarath Fonsenka, who as Army chief led the 2006-09 Eelam War IV, has announced that he has “finished his obligations” towards the military.

In his address at the 60th Army anniversary parade here on Tuesday, General Fonseka said: “This may be the last occasion I make an address of this nature to officers and men of the Sri Lanka Army. Although I am still serving in the Army I have finished my obligations dedicated to the Army as I have reached different heights at this time.”

General Fonsenka’s statement created ripples in political circles here. There have been speculative reports in the local media to the effect that General Fonsenka nursed political ambitions.

General Fonseka, who led the 2006-09 Eelam War IV, was relieved of his job as Army Chief and designated as Chief of Defence Staff under a new Parliamentary Act which came into effect on July 15.

His latest statement has attracted attention as a there is the possibility of a general election preceded by a presidential poll in the next few months.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa described the outcome of the Southern Provincial Council election as an “overwhelming mandate” for the ruling alliance.

In his statement on the victory of the ruling alliance, Mr. Rajapaksa said the mandate had encouraged his government to go ahead with its plan to reawaken the nation with renewed strength.

“The clear and overwhelming mandate given by the Southern people at this election is a decisive and strong message to those groups trying to create misconceptions about the government and also to the international community,” said Mr. Rajapaksa.

The election outcome triggered varied reactions among a section of the political parties and the media. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which polled almost 11 per cent of votes cast in the home district of the President, said it was a turning point in the political scenario.

JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva told reporters that the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded an overall decrease of 25,491 votes when compared with the 2005 presidential election.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article33084.ece?homepage=true

විමල් වීරවංශගේ මැර සොහොයුරා පොලිස් අත් අඩංගුවේ

මොරවක නගරයේදී ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ ආධාරකරුවන් පිරිසකට ගිනි අවි පෙන්වා මරණ තර්ජනය කොට, පහරදී බරපතළ තුවාල සිදු කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව පලා යමින් සිටි එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානයේ මාතර දිස්ත්‍රික් අ‍පේක්ෂකයකු වන සරත් වීරවංශ පිටබැද්දර පොලිසිය විසින් අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන ඇති බව Lanka Truth වෙබ් අඩවිය කියයි..

ඩබ්.පී. කේ. එච්. 3944 කාරය හා 64-8027 පැජරෝව පොලිසිය අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන ඇති අතර අත්අඩංගුවට ගන්නා මොහොතේ සරත් වීරවංශ මහතා කාරයේ සිටි බව පිටබැද්ද‍ර පොලිසියේ ප්‍රකාශකයකු පවසා ඇත.

Tissainayagam and the land of deaf and dumb

Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced J. S. Tissainayagam to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for publishing a magazine named North Eastern Monthly which ‘provoked racism’. Colombo High Court Judge Deepali Wijesundara sentenced him after convicting him on three counts indicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Emergency Law. This is an appealable judgement, and I am certain there will be one.

The judgement per se does not surprise me. What surprises me is the local media response. There was not a single print media – in English and Sinhalese, I do not read Tamil – that did an editorial on this. Not a single editor, including Tissainayagam’s own stood for his/her own colleague. Some Sinhalese media, notably Lankadeepa of the very Wijeya Group that employed Tissainayagam for nearly a decade showed no reservations in expressing their pleasure. I thought there was something called ethics in fourth estate. I was wrong. These are the times of invertebrates.

I never knew Tissainayagam personally. I have glanced over some of his articles to Sunday Times. I never read the controversial magazine. Basically I have little idea what he stood for. But as a lawyer none of the above stops me commenting on the case.

What was the basis of conviction? Let me quote from the press release of International Press Institute.

The evidence against the journalist is based on two articles he wrote in the North Eastern Monthly, and a signed confession, which Tissainayagam later said had been written under duress. According to the written submission made by his defense counsel to the court, the confession was tampered with to suggest that the journalist had taken money from the LTTE. The document says: “The only allegation that he (the accused) did (accept money from a terrorist organization), is based on a fraudulent alteration of the Accused’s purported confession.”

In other words, the judgement was not based on any serious evidence other than a confession. The only occasion a court should take a confession seriously is when the behaviour of the accused supports such confession. One makes a voluntary confession only when one is convinced about guilt and regrets one’s actions. In this case Tissanayagam’s behaviour clearly was the opposite. Then the next factor is to whom he made his confession.  Don’t we know about Sri Lanka’s police? Don’t we know how these confessions were taken?

This reminds me the old joke about KGB. Having left no other way of determining the time, Soviet archaeologists handed over a mummy to KGB. They didn’t have to wait for long. Pat came the answer. Apparently, the mummy has ‘confessed’.

As a lawyer, I have appeared for hundreds of ‘JVP suspects’ during the 1988-9 era who had made similar ‘confessions’. So I know how confessions are made. I know who makes them.  Thanks to Inspector K. P. Newton, former-OIC of Angulana Police station and Vass Gunawardena, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), I do not have to mince words explaining. The entire island knows.

Neither does International Press Institute (IPI) mince words. This is what it says:

No less than twelve journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since 2006,  according to its Death Watch list, with many more harassed, threatened, and arrested.

In January 2009, Lasantha Wickrematunga, editor-in-chief of the Sunday Leader, was shot at close range in the head and chest by two men on a motorcycle as he drove to work in a suburb of Colombo. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received emergency surgery, but died a few hours later. Known for his critical reporting on the government, Wickrematunga was a frequent victim of harassment and intimidation, and predicted his own murder in the pages of his newspaper. The initial results of the investigation of his death have not been released.

Obviously the Sinhalese racists are jubilant. Seeing a Tamil in mess always makes them happy. To them, we have the best police and the leagal system in the whole world.

Sadly, on the other hand, this furthers us from civilised world. Sri Lanka was hardly known for its Media Freedom, but this takes us even lower. No better confirmation of the fact than the following brief story on from Chinese Xinhua:

JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS FOR AIDING TERRORISM IN SRI LANKA   

COLOMBO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) — The High Court on Monday sentenced journalist to 20 years at hard labor for aiding terrorism. J. S. Tissainayagam was arrested by the police’s Terrorism Investigation Division in March 2008 for alleged aiding and abetting terrorism through a magazine he edited.

Thanks guys, for your warm welcome to the club. We owe you one.