A ‘Buddhist’ upasaka ruler assaults ‘Buddhist’ monks in a ‘Buddhist’ land

Today is a sad day for the Buddhists in Sri Lanka. It was like the day the Kalinga Magha completely demolished the ancient Anuradhapura kingdom; the day that Portugese burned down Veedagama Raja Maha Vihara; the day that King Rajasinghe I, banned following Buddhism on the advices of his purohita Aritta Kee-vendu. Today, a ruler of our times took away his white clothes to play the role of Kalinga Magha.

Which Buddhist does not feel regretful when their religious leaders are physically beaten by the Police-wallahs without showing any sympathy? Wouldn’t the Catholics feel sad if Catholic priests were tear gassed and baton charged? Wouldn’t the Muslims feel sorry if their Mowlavis were physically harassed by the Police? Shouldn’t we feel twice sorry as this happened when a leader who had promised to save Buddha Sasana ruling in Sri Lanka? Shouldn’t we feel thrice sorry when this happened at a time a political party representing Buddhist Bhikkus is a major player in the government?

Please don’t get me wrong. I do not endorse what the student Bhikkus have done. It is also no secret that these Bhikkus were motivated by JVP. Religion and politics is a dangerous mix. It would have been good for everyone if the Buddhist Bhikkus stayed out of politics. On the other hand, no denial that they are part of the society. Like any citizen they have rights to protest as long as such protests are peaceful. There are better ways to address such activities. Beating and tear gassing Buddhists monks will not be taken lightly by the Buddhists in Sri Lanka who daily take the wow “Sangan Saranam Gachchami”.

We have seen similar things happening in Burma – but there is a difference. Though Burma is country with Buddhist majority, it is not governed by a Buddhist leader. On the other hand Sri Lanka is governed by a leader who loses no opportunity to portray his ‘Sinhalese Buddhist’ image, from carrying ‘mal vatti’ at temples to publicly listening sermons at Temple trees at every Poya day. Is it the same individual who ordered this assault against Maha Sangha today? Can we think that the ‘Upasaka Mahattaya’ in white clothes can be so ruthless to beat the Maha Sanga he worships publicly?

This is not the first time Buddhist monks have protested. They protested during the Chandrika Kumaratunage government and also Ranil Wickremasinghe government. Those leaders, perhaps showing more wisdom, faced them in intelligent manner.

During the two years when Ranil Wickremesinghe was in power – and when protests by JHU and JVP at their height – no Buddhist mink was ever beaten by Police.

However, it is not possible to expect such wisdom from every ruler. There are rulers who know nothing but fighting. Like Choppes Pachcha Siras in Maradana, all they can do is to show their muscle. They never consider whether it is a journalist, an innocent citizen or a religious leader. Physical violence is used at maximum for anybody who comes against them. That is what Hitler did, Mussoloni did, Marcos did and Musharaff and Robert Mugabe doing currently. That is exactly what happens in Sri Lanka too.

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for the so called JHU Buddhist monks also to come up and express their opinion about Kurakkan government physically assaulting Buddhist priests. Do they condemn this attack? Or do they endorse it? We are happy to listen to them. Mr. Champika Ranawaka, you have anything to say?

How JVP ruined the family lives of Anjan Umma, Sunil Handunnetti and Wimal Weerawansa

Anjan Umma MP was lost for few days. Looks like Wimal Weerawansa has found her. According to Daily Mirror, she is about to join the newly formed Weerawansa’s Jathika Nidahas Peramuna or NFF. (Unlike ‘godayatik’ JVP which still abbreviates its Sinhala name, post modernistic Weerawansa seems to like the English abbreviations NFF rather than ‘JNP’)

Umma’s episode tells another filthy aspect about the political style of JVP - how this political party, which boast about its purity shamelessly intervenes to the family lives of its own people.

Umma’s husband is still an ardent JVPer. When she went hiding, even her husband did not know where she was. Looks like she has sacrificed her family for the party – that too a party that believes in the Sinhalese Buddhist supremacy and undermines her own Muslim identity. Is that a worthy sacrifice? Will her family approves that. Only time will tell. The question is not that. The question is should a political mater like this should split a family. Her husband goes on media to critisise her act – probably on the instructions of JVP. Will their marriage last after today’s developments?

This with the earlier Handunnetti and Weerawansa’s suicide attempt episodes are examples of JVP’s control over the personal lives of its members. The party has taken the right of their own men to lead normal lives.

The woman who lives with Handunnetti and identifies herself as his wife was neither his love not his choice. That was a selection of the party. Handunnetti was force to marry and live with her. She was the in-house spy. When Handunnetti made plans to leave party and migrate she promptly betrayed her ‘husband’ to the superiors.

When she found the suicide note of her husband, Wimal Weerawansa, Shirsha Udayanthi (Shashi) Weerawansa too did a similar thing. She faxed it to party office, so that party could send five of its cadre to ‘protect’ him. Wimal Weerawansa trying to commit suicide is no surprise. He is somebody who wants to achieve beyond his own capacity. He is also a coward, contrary to the public image. When such an individual wants to take life (We still do not know whether he physically attempted suicide, probably yes) the first thing a wife should have done is to take him to a psychiatrist. Why fax suicide note to party office? Probably because her job too was to spy Weerawansa. If Shashi Weerawansa too is still an ardent JVP member Wimal is in a sure fix. Like Anjan Umma, he too has to select between the family and party.

Why, unlike any other political party, controls the personal lives of their people? Is this what Wijeweera sahodaraya preached? Or is that something they have learnt from their communist masters in China? Whatever it is, we can have only sympathy for the poor JVPers. Surely these three cannot be the only victims of this strange practice.

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.

Election campaigning…….…in the land of rising sun

I am at Lahugala, in the Ampara district. Write this just after finishing another round of campaigning and conducting pocket meetings.

Entire Eastern province has caught the election fever.

Election campaigning is fun. What adds to our enthusiasm is the awareness of the impending danger.

Pillayan’s henchmen are waiting to kill us. He is a terrorist and should not be trusted. The only shield we have against his arms is the support of the people. Whatever the powers this terrorist has we do not think he can just shoot anyone and flee. But the danger is there, everywhere. We have got over with is now. Pillayan’s terrorism should not stop us in our fight for democracy.

Just a brief background of the work I do.

I am in charge of six villages in Lahugala. They are Panama North, Shastrawela, Panama West, Lahugala, Pansalgoda and Hulanuge. My job is to campaign but I take pleasure in educating them on the danger of electing an armed terrorist – or more precisely letting his get elected through inaction. (That is what Pillayan tries to do. Massive pool riggings are expected on May 10th. That is why I said this is a fight for democracy. If Pillayan wins the losers will only be the people of this country.)

The areas I cover are predominantly Sinhala. Lets say 80%. But there are Tamils and Muslims as well. Travel few kms away the composition changes. For example the nearby Pottuvil area is predominantly Muslim (more than 90%)

JHU tries to do some campaigning here, with the backing of Pillayan’s gunmen, but without much success.  JHU MP Akmeemana Dayaratne thero is using 16 government vehicles. (This is illegal but there is little we can do. Baduth hamuduruvange, naduth hamuduruvange!) We see these government vehicles run everywhere with Pillayan’s henchmen in black sit in the front seats. They do not show arms openly but surely they are under the clothes.

People themselves have started responding to JHU campaign negatively. Villagers ask where were all JHU supported when they were in trouble. JHU had to give up their initial idea of having a political meeting at the Lahugala temple, because villagers vehemently opposed it.

There is no sign of JVP – either faction.

I am still not sure exactly what sort of tricks Pillayan will pay in pool rigging, but even with that I am sure we would win Ampara with a significant margin. That is the level of support we receive at ground level from poor people who no more want to live under the twin tragedies of war and rising cost of living. People are determined to end the suffering and I do not think even the guns of Pillayan can stop that kind of determination.

Finally, this is a beautiful area. I wish I am on vacation. (More about the area on my next posts)

“අනේ දෙවියනේ මට වුනු වියෝයා” Can someone give a ’sooppuva’ to crybaby Wimal Weerawansa?

Wimal Weerawansa ‘andana baba’ is in all tears now because his beloved party chased him off.

This is how Lankadeepa cartoonist Dasa Hapuvalanage saw it.

 

Perhaps Lakbima cartoonist Anjana Indrajit was more eloquent.

 

 

Split in JVP’s three-wheeler future

The inevitable happened. A major split in JVP imminent in near future.

To the students of Sri Lankan politics, this comes as no surprise. The surprise is why it not happened so far.

If a list of Sri Lankan political parties that depends least on principles were made JVP comes on top. Even its cousin three-wheelers LSSP and CP, though spineless and hapless, maintain some sort of principles. Not the JVP. All the support to JVP comes from the frustrated youth, for some reason cannot find a place in other political streams. Their blind support and acceptance of brainwashing done on them unquestioned has been the strength JVP always had.

Dilemma faced by JVP on maintaining multiple sets of principles has been observed even by some of their comrades of yesteryear, notably Victor Ivan and Kelly Senanayake.

Is JVP still a Marxist party? Nobody is sure. Effigies of Marx, Lenin and Engels still escort the decorative May Day rallies of JVP, but surely not many present day JVPers (or ‘jeppas’ as known at universities) might not even be able to name them. This, as well as the use of blod red coloured flags is purely for earning the support of similar socialist groups in international circles. That is how JVP gets money. Not many are aware that JVP is the largest NGO in Sri Lanka to sustain on foreign capital.

Is JVP a nationalist party? They like to imply so but we do not see the sheer commitment by JHU.  All the ‘nationalism’ of JVP (if there is  such thing) seems to come from Desha Hithaishees, among whom the propaganda sectary of JVP is a prominent figure. Apart from Weerawansa, nobody in JVP takes this ‘nationalist’ angle. The extremist Sinhalese camp has abandoned JVP long before. This niche vote would go to SLFP+JHU alliance in the next election, not to JVP.

Is JVP a socialist party? Hardly. How socialist one can be when the leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with dirty capitalist of the land? This was one issue echoed at the JVP polity bureau recently when Sunil Handunnetti challenged revealing his colleague Weerawansa’s links with the top businessmen. According to newspaper reports the issue led to Handunnetti’s house arrest by JVP and still remain unresolved.

Nandana Gunatilake, a former polity bureau member too continues his attack on JVP leadership.  Two weeks back he wrote one full page article in Sunday Divaina criticising JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe. The pressure is accumulating there too.

The last straw anyway comes from Lalkantha, the unionist. He correctly identifies Pillayan as a threat in Eastern provincial pools. It is common sense that Pillayan+SLFP alliance will eat bulk of the JVP votes and JVP will end up in an embarrassing position, unless that could be prevents. Lalkantha’s attempt is to minimize that damage. Two logical reasons justify his stance. One cannot run with hare and hunt with dogs simultaneously. So if JVP to were contest independently, it has to take a different stand from that of Pillayan+SLFP alliance. The other reason relates to a more particle issue. You cannot campaign against armed rivals. So Lalkantha, just like any rational individual sees the need to disarm Pilliyan before the elections. Somawansa Amerasinghe, party leader seems to be in agreement. That was what he said publicly.

Funny thing is the impact of this on JVP Propaganda Secretary’s position. In their black and white world, Desha Hithaishees recognize anybody who opposes LTTE as their ally. They do not realize what bigger pain Pillayan can be. Neither they realize the danger in conducting elections when one contesting party is armed and others are not. All they see is their short term gain. So Weerawansa does not want to disarm Pillayan – opposing the view of his own party leader and comrade. He recently questioned the integrity of Somawansa and Lalkantha. This means even Weerawansa does no more trust his party leaderrship and colleagues.

Fractioning has been a common phenomenon among Sri Lankan left parties. That is how the old left segregated itself faster than amoebas and finally ended up as three wheelers. With their vote banks eaten up by the SLFP, and their inability to brainwash youth in this age of Internet, as they have done in past is drastically decreasing the numbers for JVP. The presence of young students, some of the obviously children of JVP leaders ay Youth Council Hall Maharagama few weeks back shows their weakness in attracting crowds anymore. The splits will ensure further reduction and the day we see JVP been subdued to another three wheeler party like LSSP and CP is not far. Be optimistic.

JVP ‘child soldiers’

In its shameless four decade history Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) the extremist and perhaps most chauvinistic political party in Sri Lanka had no principles at all in exploiting school children for its political purposes.

Even in the pre-1971 period JVP had a significant percentage of high school students in its cadre. (One of them was Sunanda Deshapriya, who later became a district leader in the 1971 insurgence.) The innocent but gullible students were shamelessly used by JVP leaders to do their dirty work varying from pasting posters and protesting to, in times of fighting, robbing and perhaps even killing.

In 1987-9 period JVP brought students to roads to shout slogans ‘Palamuva mavbima devanuva igenuma’ (Country first and education second) Little did these children know they were not doing anything for the country but unfortunately destroying their own future.

Image: The unrest in a school in Southern province recently was alleged to be planned by JVP

I remember how JVP henchmen tried to bait us when we were doing A/Ls. This was immediately prior to the 1987-9 insurrection and when JVP was more an underground party. We were not stupid to swallow their ‘Seeni Bola’. Understanding it was a fruitless task trying to brainwash us, they focused on some other victims. The difference is while most of us who did not listen to them doing well in our professions today, while some of those who listened to them are no more with us. It looks like some of my pro-JVP ex-classmates have just vanished to thin air.

Image:student unrest in a Southern school.How many of them were brainwashed by JVP?

JVPs ‘policies’ in exploiting school children in political work, that is if they have anything called policies, was not different from those of LTTE. They hardly worry about the means as long as those means justify the ends. Many other political parties, even extremist parties like JHU would think twice before engaging school children in their political work, but JVP has no shame at all doing it. To JVP they are the necessary sacrifices to be made in their way to the ‘Viplavaya’ – a goal that no rational individual sees ever materializing.

Image: LTTE using students in their political work, in this case throwing stones at an effigy of the President

In this backdrop that we see JVP is back to their old tactics. Significant participation of School children, some in their school uniforms was noted at the annual propaganda meeting of Samajavadi Shishya Sangamaya, the student wing of JVP last week. (Principals of several schools and parents have already condemned this act) According to Ministry of Education, it is prohibited for students to participate any other activity not related to their studies, let alone political activities for extremist parties.

Both in 1971 and 1989, hundreds and thousands of mothers and fathers lost their children, thanks to the day dreams of JVP terrorist leadership.

Do we want a repetition of the same?

Should we anymore tolerate, be it JVP or LTTE exploiting innocent children for their political activities?

Anura Bandaranaike was fooled by JVP, sister Sunethra says

Anura Bandaranaike helped to get the support of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in forming a government without being aware of the true nature of the JVP says Sunethra Bandaranaike.

The eldest sister of the former parliamentarian said that the move to get JVP support was an opportunist political step in order to gain power.

Sunethra Bandaranaike told BBC Sandeshaya that every politician is an opportunist when it comes to gain power.

His eldest sister says Mr. Bandaranaike was very disappointed on policies of Rajapaksa administration in which he was a member until last year.

In November 2007, Mr. Bandaranaike joined the opposition at the vote for government’s budget proposals.

He did not vote against the budget, says Sunethra Bandaranaike, to protest government’s war strategy and rising cost of living.

Full article is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2008/03/080316_anura_dead.shtml