Police repression directed against Left Front

(January 21, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Comrade Manikasothi, the electoral agent in Jaffna for Common Left Candidate Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne has been arrested by police while distributing the election manifesto of the Left Front.

Com. Vickramabahu says that this is a clear demonstration of police repression directed against Left Front, whereas both candidates Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka are allowed to carry on their publicity without hindrance.

This is the second time during the run up to the election where a representative of Dr. Vickramabahu was arrested by police in Jaffna.

Earlier, Dr Vickramabahu's representative Dharmasiri Lankapeli, the only Sinhala speaker addressing the gathering at LTTE leader V Prabhakaran's father's funeral was also arrested and later released due to local and international pressure.

The full statement by Comrade Vickramabahu on Thursday is given below

My election agent comrade Manikasothi was taken into custody by the Chunnakam police station for distributing my election manifesto.

The police Officer In Charge has given the lame excuse that the leaflet has not indicated the printer though Manikasothi has clearly indicated his name and address in the leaflet. Subsequently he was taken to jaffna hospital unnecessarily .

The JMO has refused to inspect as there was no complaint of assault or any other ailment. Then he was then taken to courts.

This is another example of police repression directed at us .

Both Mahinda and Sarath distribute leaflets freely as they want.

State media turned into presidential propaganda outlets

(January 21, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Flouting a 15 January supreme court ruling, state-owned TV stations Rupavahini and ITN continue to openly favour President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s campaign to win another term in the presidential election to be held on 26 January with a total of 21 candidates taking part.


Detailed monitoring by Reporters Without Borders has established that 98.5 per cent of the news and current affairs air-time on these two stations on 18 and 19 January was given over to the president and his supporters. This violates the constitution, above all its seventh amendment and article 104 (b) empowering the electoral commission.

“Alarmed by Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s candidacy, President Rajapaksa and his followers are using and abusing all of the state’s resources to get the president reelected,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The TV propaganda is deafening and the figures we are releasing today are worthy of the Burmese or North Korean regimes.”

The press freedom organisation added: “We urge the supreme court and the electoral commission to use all the powers at their disposal to force Rupavahini and ITN to come to reason. This glaring media imbalance shows that the incumbent is benefiting from an advantage that is unacceptable in a democratic election.”

The Reporters Without Borders monitoring on 18 and 19 January found that, of a total of 472 minutes and 5 seconds of news and current affairs air-time on Rupavahini and ITN, Gen. Fonseka and the other opposition candidates were granted only 7 minutes and 50 seconds, or 1.6 per cent, while the president, his government and his party were granted 465 minutes and 25 seconds, in other words, nearly eight hours of air-time in just two days.

On ITN, one had to wait until the 7 p.m. Sinhalese-language news programme for coverage of opposition activity (Gen. Fonseka for 30 seconds, the UNP for 40 seconds and the JVP for 45 seconds), while President Rajapaksa got 3 minutes on the 9 a.m. programme, 2 minutes on the 10 a.m. programme, 4 minutes 45 seconds on the noon programme and 4 minutes 20 seconds on the Tamil-language programme at 6 p.m.
Rupavahini is giving the government an overwhelming air-time advantage. In the 8 p.m. Sinhalese-language news programme on 18 January, for example, the government got 8 minutes and 30 seconds and the president got 7 minutes and 10 seconds, while Gen. Fonseka, the UNP and the JVP got a combined total of just one minute. And it is deplorable that the twenty or so other candidates are totally ignored by the state media.

Granting so much time to propaganda on behalf of the incumbent is not new. On 11 January, for example, Rupavahini carried a live broadcast of President Rajapaksa’s election programme launch that lasted one hour and 15 minutes.

Even if some privately-owned media are campaigning openly for the opposition or are giving more space to the activities of all the candidates, the extremely biased coverage on the main TV stations is having an undeniable impact on the campaign. Meanwhile, Sirasa TV, a privately-owned station based in Colombo, has not resumed its independent style of coverage since it was attacked by gunmen in January 2009.

The coverage imbalance is being accompanied by a smear campaign against Gen. Fonseka, the former army commander, in certain pro-government media, prompting him to write to eight newspapers requesting apologies for articles he regards as libellous. And the website of the defence ministry, which is headed by the president’s brother, is openly campaigning against him.

Control of the state media has become crucial to the election campaign. The Commissioner of Elections has issued several reminders about the rules requiring balanced coverage and tried to introduce a Competent Authority to monitor the TV stations, but the president’s office resisted. The supreme court’s ruling has also been ignored.

The president and his allies have abused other state resources in the course of the campaign. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, for example, forced all mobile phone operators to send SMS messages signed by President Rajapaksa to all their clients, while soldiers have been seen putting up the president’s election posters.

Cases of intimidation and violence against the media have also increased. Thakshila Dilrukshi, a journalist with the BBC’s Sinhalese-language service, was hospitalised after being attacked by supporters of a minister in the central city of Polonnaruwa on 13 January. Her equipment and personal effects were stolen during the assault, which occurred after she covered a clash between Rajapaksa and Fonseka followers.

The Colombo-based Sunday Leader, outspoken weekly, was raided the same day by police bearing a warrant who claimed to have been tipped off about the printing of "defamatory" posters.

Freelance journalist Jude Samantha was assaulted while covering clashes between government and opposition supporters on 16 January in Madurankuliya, in the western district of Puttalam.

Reporters Without Borders issued an appeal for calm in early December, after the first incidents: http://www.rsf.org/Reporters-Without-Borders-calls,35277.html
http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=36164

Is the opposition presidential candidate of Sri Lanka a crony or an unrejectable to West?

(January 19, Colombo - Lanka Polity) We re-publish this AFP report that was posted from Washinton since it is an insight into the diplomatic mindset of the US-led Western block. Sinhala nationalists backing Mahinda are trying to manipulate this story to portray Sarath Fonseka as a cronie of West to muster support to Mahinda Rajapaksa who appears as an anti-Western hero that is close to the states like China, Burma, Iran and Libya etc.

Sri Lanka vote raises hopes in Washington

By Shaun Tandon (AFP) – 21 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Sri Lanka's upcoming election is raising hopes in the United States for better relations after a chilly spell if the island turns the page on a bloody war that brought international opprobrium.
The January 26 election comes months after troops killed the top leadership of the Tamil Tigers, ending their ruthless decades-long separatist campaign but also triggering accusations of human rights abuses.
Asked if the election could change relations with Washington, a senior US official said: "It already has changed the dynamic in a positive way."
"A lot of the progress we've seen in the last two months or so is contributable at least in part to the election," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Sri Lanka has recently moved on key international concerns including releasing thousands of Tamil civilians who had been held for months in rudimentary displacement camps.
The US official was upbeat about pledges made by Fonseka including greater media freedom and independent commissions to oversee the judiciary and other key institutions.
"I'm hesitant to make predictions about the future, because candidates promise all sorts of things and then they don't deliver, but certainly General Fonseka has been making some good pronunciations," he said.
But the United States has strongly denied allegations made by one ruling party legislator that it is funding the opposition.
Some Sri Lanka watchers in the West -- and especially the Tamil diaspora, which has been instrumental in pressing for a harder line on Sri Lanka -- are deeply ambivalent about Fonseka.
Fonseka, who holds a US green card, escaped questioning by US authorities about possible war crimes during a November visit after Sri Lanka summoned the US ambassador to protest.
"Fonseka would not be the US's first choice as president but if he wins it would at least open the door for a better US relationship," said Robert Oberst, a Sri Lanka expert at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
"His whole association with the military is what tarnishes him in part. If there were war crimes committed, he obviously knew about them and was involved," Oberst said.
Sri Lanka increasingly distanced itself from the West as it came under fire for its human rights record. It has built ties with China and Iran and last year hosted Myanmar's reclusive military leader Than Shwe.
But Asoka Bandarage, an associate professor at Georgetown University and author of the book, "The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka," doubted the former British colony would turn to Western rivals except out of economic necessity.
"I don't think that even ardent Sinhala nationalists would want Sri Lanka cut off from Western influence and that longstanding connection," she said.
The US official also believed Sri Lanka saw good US ties as a "long-term interest," noting that Western nations were the key market for its exports such as garments and tea.
Tamil diaspora activists have also seized on the economic dimension, launching a campaign urging a Western boycott of the island's products.
In one racy video under the slogan "No Blood for Panties," a muscle-ripped man undresses an impassioned young woman only to lose the mood when he discovers her underwear is made in Sri Lanka.
"There is really no fundamental choice between General Fonseka and Rajapakse because both were instrumental in launching this military offensive against the Tamil community," said Tasha Manoranjan, whose group, People for Equality and Relief in Sri Lanka, is running the boycott campaign.
"I think the day after the election there will no longer be any concern for the Tamil people," she said.
Yet some in the Tamil diaspora, where Mahinda Rajapakse is a loathed figure, are willing to give Fonseka at least a chance.
"The Tamil diaspora wants Mahinda to be defeated," said David Poopalapillai, national spokesman for the Canadian Tamil Congress.
"The climate would change and the rays of hope would come. It would bring some change in the country in the political climate," he said.

Systematic erosion of democracy and democratic institutions and the emergence of a semi-authoritarian system

(January 18, Colombo - Lanka Polity) The Lawyers for Democracy (LfD) says that it has witnessed a systematic erosion of democracy and democratic institutions and the emergence of a semi-authoritarian system of government due to the concentration of all political powers of the State in the hands of the executive President under the present Constitution, who exercises such power arbitrarily and without accountability, usurping the powers of Parliament and the cabinet of ministers, which has resulted in the,

i. Subversion of the democratic rights of the people of Sri Lanka with impunity, by the assassination, abduction, assault and directing threats to the lives of media persons who refuse to tow their political line;
ii. Branding lawyers who represent individuals, associations and organizations representing dissenting views and trade union leaders, and other individual dissenters in society as ‘traitors,’
iii. Undermining of the cause of justice, and due process of the law and procedure by politicizing the quasi-judicial office of the Attorney-General, the Police Department, public administration, state controlled media institutions and also by attempting to influence the independence of the judiciary,
iv. Violation of the Constitution, with impunity using the parliamentary majority procured and sustained by un-democratic means,
v. Corruption, Waste and misappropriation of public funds, by-passing the legal provisions undermining the sovereignty of the people,
vi. Violation of the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of the free citizens who have been displaced by the armed conflict ( including children, women the disabled and the sick) by detaining them in camps depriving them of their basic minimum needs, and generally,
vii. Violation all tenets and norms of democracy and good governance namely, accountability, transparency and the rule of law.

LfD further states, "Since all appeals and requests made to the incumbent President by various organisations and concerned individuals in this regard have been treated with contempt our organisation is of the view that no purpose will be served by re-agitating the same to him.

"We therefore call upon, all other serious aspirants for the post of the President of Sri Lanka in the forthcoming election to give a resolute undertaking to the people of Sri Lanka that they will take and implement all necessary measures to immediately implementing the existing provisions of the Constitution including the 17th Amendment and then:,

i. Take steps to change/amend the Constitution of Sri Lanka in such a way, that the person holding the post of the head of the executive will, either is elected by the Parliament or answerable to the Parliament duly elected by the people’
ii. To guarantee to the people of Sri Lanka that such changed/amended Constitution of the country shall contain provisions protecting the rule of law which includes the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary and the accountability and transparency of all organs of government,

"We urge the people of Sri Lanka to elect a person who gives a clear assurance and an undertaking to fulfill the above aspirations of all the people of Sri Lanka."

Lawyers for Democracy is an organization of lawyers with island wide geographical representation committed for the establishment of, democracy, the rule of law and good governance, protection, promotion and fulfillment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in their fullness in the Republic of Sri Lanka. Following Attorneys-at-Law are the conveners of the LfD.

Lal Wijenayake
Chandra Kumarage
J.C.Weliamuna
K.S.Ratnavale
V. Sumanthiran
Sudath Nethesinghe
L. Jothikumar
Ranjit Wijekoon
Sujeewa Lal Dahanayake
Sudarshana Gunawardana

25,000 irrigation systems dilapidated despite rhetoric of Sri Lankan rulers regarding boost in agri sector

(January 17, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Twenty five thousand small sized irrigation systems of Sri Lanka are in dilapidated state, a study conducted by the Ministry of Irrigation  and Water Management has disclosed.

These irrigation systems include water reservoirs, bunds and canals etc. Most of them have been used by people for centuries.


Most of the dilapidated irrigation systems are under the management of the Provincial Councils. They are vital mainly for the cultivation of rice, the major staple food of Sri Lankans.

The nationalist government of Sri Lanka has launched a programme under the theme 'Let us grow and develop the country' to boost the production of food and to curb the imports. The President and the Ministers were seen in paddy fields for several minutes of photo shoots in the hyped propaganda. However the outcome of this programme is questionable as the import of essential food items escalated sharply while the programme is underway in full throttle.

In November 2008, the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Cooperative Development Bandula Gunawardhana said to the parliament that Sri Lanka imported 90% of its milk powder needs while justifying the high import taxes stating they are for the upliftment of the local milk farmer.

The import of food items like potato, onion, chillie and sugar have increased rapidly under the present government, the Minister said. For instance, in 2005 Sri Lanka imported 89.6 of its sugar consumption. In 2008, the imports rose to 92.7%.

At the moment, Sri Lanka is facing a severe rice shortage and the prices in the markets are unbearable to most of the people in the low income groups.

However, Sri Lanka government boasts of providing fertilizer subsidy to the farmers, the only remarkable service rendered by the government levying high taxes from the people.

Fonseka-Sampanthan Pact and post-war reconciliation of Sri Lanka

By Ajith Perakum Jayasinghe

(January 16, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led present ruling coalition has once again resorted to racism targetting to win the early presidential to be held on January 26 seeking re-election of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.


Rajapaksa intended to investe the last year's war victory for his re-election but he was ill-fated to face a pitch battle in which the probability for losing is also high with the opposition deciding to set forth the former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka as the common opposition candidate. Fonseka though he was a hardline Sinhala chauvinist in the past took the capitalist liberal line during his campaign and mustered support of the majority of the minority community political parties pushing Rajapaksa into jealousy and further risk of defeat.


In 2004 general election, the present ruling coalition United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) concocted a story of 'an Elephant-Tiger Pact' that did an enormous damage to the United National Party (UNP) whose leader ex-Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe signed the 2002 ceasefire agreement. Ultimately, the UNP lost the election. In the Presidential held an year later, they performed extremely well and Wickramasinghe lost to the present President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a narrow margin. He was deprived of minority Tamil community votes by then powerful Tamil Tiger rebels who called for a boycott of the Presidential. Rajapaksas supported by Sinhala chauvinist 'Marxist' People's Liberation Front (JVP) thrived in their racist campaign based on the concocted story of Elephant-Tiger Pact. The so-called pact was for dividing the nation, the UPFA then said.

Six years have passed and none of the government politicians have disclosed a copy of that so called Elephant-Tiger Pact. Definitely, one such never existed.

History repeats. The UPFA has now resorted to a new racist campaign based on a so-called Sampanthan-Fonseka pact. They do not articulate clearly if it is to divide the nation like the fabricated 'Elephant-Tiger Pact'. Who cares? They need no content. When the content is secret, the fear created in the minds of the majority Sinhala community is endless.

Rajapaksa's campaign managers that know too well that people do not believe what the state media says manipulated several pawns that were planted in privately-owned Lankadeepa newspaper. They fabricated a story to be published on January 10 in which Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan says that the TNA had pledged support to Fonseka since the latter agreed to their 'conditions'.

'Derana TV' another television owned by the family members of a powerful cabinet Minister Sarath Amunugama was 'clever' in obtaining a statement from a junior TNA MP about an 'agreement'. The approach of these Sinhala media in interviews with the Tamil MPs is extremely racist. These MPs do not understand Sinhala language properly. On the other hand, these 'embedded' journalists are hard-boiled than them.

Now the story is published. The writer who wrote it failed to prove she was correct and resigned the job. She will definitely be given a good position in state-owned Lake House soon after the Presidential if Rajapaksas win. Now, the racist campaigners of the UPFA, including Mahinda Rajapaksa himself, are following up the fabricated story on the pretended assupmtion of it as a fact. Even the Norwegian embassy staff is also involved in the signing of the so-called agreement as witnesses, they say. Why Norway? Why was it not US or a any other European country? Norway facilitated the ceasefire and was subjected to the wrath of the Sinhala majority for a long time by the UPFA politicians.

This reminds us Barry Levinsons's movie 'Wag the Dog' in which a false war with Albania is created by a Hollywood cinematographer in media to deviate the voters' focus from a sex scandal of a US President seeking reelection, two weeks ahead of the polls.

One can say that the 'Sampanthan-Fonseka Pact' is a success of the campaign managers of Rajapaksa. But this trick is played on the ethnic reconciliation in the post-war period. TNA expresses the frustration in Tamil community over Rajapaksa rule. The backing Fonseka received from the majority Sinhala community is also caused by similar frustration. It is democracy the TNA pledges support to any of the candidates of the presidential. They could have supported to Rajapaksa. TNA says that the support pledged to Fonseka is not conditional. Fonseka has said he will work for a political solution based on power devolution that exceeds the perimeters of the Provincial Councils that were introduced under the 13th amendment to the constitution, two decades ago.

Are conditions and agreements are so important, if they exist? Have Sri Lankan politicians kept all promises, pledges, conditions and agreements so far in the history? We do not believe in these pledges etc. But, we believe in the joint actions of Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other communities of Sri Lanka. One day the ethnic unity will bring results although it will not be tomorrow.

They can do any gimmick to win elections.That is capitalist democracy. They do not stuff ballot boxes by force like in some past elections in Sri Lanka. Instead, they subtly manipulate media to build opinions in your mind to compell you to vote to them. That is their democracy that we have had to accept for the moment. The problem here is that this game is played on the potential reconcilation among ethnicities in the post-war period. It is The UPFA is campaigning against a negotiated settlement. They are creating fear and hatred  in the minds of the Sinhala majority people. Their campaign is Sinhala racist and anti Tamil now. This campaign violates all the norms of the democracy, rule of law and the codes of ethics of politics and social life.

There are two sectors in Sri Lankan polity that is happy about this development. They are the Tamil extremists that do not accept anything less than seperate state irresepective of whatever amount of blood is needed to be shed and years are needed to achieve this goal as a solution for the problem of the Tamils. Steps towards Tamil-Sinhala reconciliation are allergic to them. The other group is the Sinhala racist forces that are risked of losing their livelihood following the unexpected defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). These two groups are a single bunch of opportunists with good mutual understanding, respect and rapport. By circumstances, one was made to defeat the other militarily. For them, blood is not more worth than any other object they meet across their path. They need the other for their existence. That is why the Sinhala chauvinists are giving a hand to the Tamil nationalist extremists.

The most important speech delivered by Sri Lanka opposition presidential candidate

(January 14, Colombo - Lanka Polity) The most politically important speech made by Sri Lanka's opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka in his campaign is the speech he delivered to the business community. As a candidate vying for a better capitalist governance, he expllains his positions clearly to the capitalist class of Sri Lanka. The full text of the speech is as follows:

Dear Friends, I come before you today, not as a politician with years of experience, but as someone with a lifelong commitment to safeguarding the country. It was this commitment that saw me leading the security forces to a decisive military victory over the LTTE, which many said was not possible.

Of course the victory would not have been possible without the commitment of the three forces, the police and the civil defence force, many of who made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives.

The victory we secured for all Sri Lankans was not an end in itself. It was the decisive beginning towards restoring peace that would enable us to re-build the country and put it firmly on the path to economic recovery and development. We owed this to the general public who gave us the moral support and patiently endured many economic hardships. We owed this to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and those who suffered permanent disabilities. We even owed the international community that supported the war against terrorism.

Sadly, this hasn’t happened.

Corruption and Mismanagement
Nearly eight months after victory was declared, the incumbent regime is continuing to glorify the military triumph as a personal achievement at the expense of the follow-up needs - that of reconciliation, peace building, infrastructure development and economic resuscitation. It has effectively managed to place the nation in a time warp of victory euphoria, disguising the rampant corruption and one family rule, while sidelining the urgent need for progress on numerous fronts, the least of which is good governance that ensures transparency and accountability.

The nation’s wealth is being squandered on self- perpetuating projects that are both wasteful and meaningless. Billions have been lost due to corruption, nepotism, mismanagement and waste. Public funds are being used to sustain and nurture a single family. The goodwill of the international community has been destroyed, so much so the US and the European Union have become our harshest critics. The economy is in ruins and we are on the verge of losing the GSP+ trade concessions that are of immense benefit to our export sector and the hundreds of thousands employed in the apparel, ceramics and many other sectors.

Under the guise of security, our citizens are increasingly being denied their democratic freedoms. Dissent has been suppressed, sometimes violently, with the independent media and its journalists coming under frequent threats and attack. A significant segment of the Tamil population from the north continues to languish in IDP shelter and in transit camps with uncertain futures. The rule of law has morphed into the rule of political might, depriving the common man the right to equal justice. Even powerful groups such as the formal business sector, professional bodies, academics, the judiciary and those maintaining law and order have not been spared
The nation is gradually drifting towards a dictatorship, with fear replacing freedom and discontent replacing hope.

My Vision
Was this the post war developments we envisaged? Certainly not. This is why I consented to contest the Presidential Election as the common candidate of the opposition. Sri Lanka at this juncture needs a leader, who is disciplined, committed, honest, forthright and not afraid to make tough decisions. Just as my decisions of the past, my decision of the future will always be in the interest of the nation. I have delivered on my promise to rid the country of terrorism. Now I promise to restore democracy and good governance, eliminating corruption, waste and all other evils that have blighted the promising prospects secured with our hard fought victory over terrorism.

I have a vision of a free Sri Lankan, where decent and functional democracy prevails and the rights of all citizens are upheld. A Sri Lanka free of discrimination and with equal opportunity for all. A Sri Lanka not weighed down by the tyranny of an Executive Presidency, but where the best men and women run for Parliament and those elected have the highest standards of ethics. A Sri Lanka where every family enjoys three square meals a day and every Sri Lankan is ensured access to a safe health service, quality education and gainful employment.

Believable Change
To do this, Sri Lanka needs change, believable change.

As a man who keeps his promises, I have pledged that my first act upon assuming office will be to reactivate the 17th Amendment to the Constitution by appointing the Constitutional Council for the re-establishment of the Independent Commissions. I will then dismantle the jumbo cabinet and invite all parties representing Parliament to nominate members to a caretaker cabinet. I will then dissolve Parliament. Within a month cabinet papers will be presented for the approval of a Constitution Amendment Bill to abolish the Executive Presidency and take necessary step to ensure that the most free and fair elections in Sri Lanka is held.

Within three weeks my multi-party Caretaker Cabinet will bring new regulations to combat fraud and corruption in conformity with the UN Convention against Corruption. A powerful agency to combat fraud and corruption will be established along with an independent commission to audit all public finances. I will also ask the new Parliament to pass Parliamentary Code on Ethics, similar to that of developed democracies and appoint an independent Parliamentary Ethics Commission to uphold Parliamentary ethics on finances.

Fiscal Responsibility
These mechanisms will ensure that government acts in a fiscally responsible manner and cuts waste and losses due to corruption. Prof Indraratne; the President of the Sri Lanka Economic Association has estimated that corruption in government causes a loss of 9 % of GDP. This is a staggering Rs 400 billion a year at present. In addition the wasteful government expenditure including expenditure incurred by 108 ministers is phenomenal. Elimination of corruption and waste will help the immediate reduction of heavy and unwarranted taxes and help bring the budget deficit to a manageable level, leading to freeing up of resources for the private sector, lower interest rates and sustained lower inflation.

Economic Growth
The time has come for Sri Lanka to unleash its true potential and boost economic growth. We need to have an economy where the private sector and the public sector work in partnership to serve the people in a corruption-free environment.

We must ensure there is the right amount of regulations and the rights and obligations of workers as well as employers are protected.

We also need to learn from the economic policies of our previous governments, so future mistakes are avoided. We must undertake necessary reforms and adopt pragmatic approaches.

We need to create wealth in Sri Lanka by encouraging not only big business but equally importantly village level entrepreneurship. We need to ensure the distribution of this new wealth equitably to all people, not just for a selected few.

The Ease of Doing Business ranking for Sri Lanka has dropped from 97 to 105 from 2009 to 2010. Under my watch, I will ensure Sri Lanka is brought to the top 50 by streamlining and simplifying the process of starting a business, making tax payment, obtaining construction permits, registering property, obtain credit and carrying out cross border trading. I assure you that the current kappam regime will be demolished. We will also look into impediments to accessing finance, especially leasing, for the Small and Medium Enterprise sector, which has become very expensive because of wrong tax policies.

The streamlining process will also see the reintroduction of the one-stop-shop concept that was practiced by the BOI in the old days, to help improve investor facilitation. Today, the BOI only gives licences and the investor has to deal with various government departments to get other approvals. The National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) which was set up mainly to assist Small and Medium Enterprise has proved to be ineffective. Both the BOI and NEDA have to be refocused on business facilitation throughout the country, with special provisions for the development of North and East.

Another area we will focus on is the construction industry, which at present has no work as most government projects are carried out by foreign contractors including labour at very high cost. Foreign contractors must be made to subcontract a part of their work to local contractors.

I will also urgently address the problems faced by the tourist industry to make sure the infrastructure is ready to receive the expected large inflow of tourists.

Better Salaries
I have pledged to increase the salaries of the public sector employees. As I have explained, this can be done by eliminating waste, mismanagement and ridding the country of corruption that continues to gobble up billions of rupees in state revenue. By negotiating with the private sector stakeholders and by assisting in eliminating unwarranted taxes and payments that increase the cost of doing business as well as by having a realistic exchange rate, low interest rates and low inflation I hope the salaries of private sector employees can be increased. By adjusting the income tax threshold I hope to help these employees take home more of their hard earned salaries.

I will also take steps to correct the tax anomalies that see the private sector retirement benefits being taxed 3 times; employees contribute to the EPF from their after tax salaries (only Rs 25,000 per year is allowed as qualifying payment); the fund itself pays tax; the benefits are again taxed when the employee receives it. This creates hardship to the retirees and needs to be set right.

Employment opportunities for the Youth
Youth unemployment is an area that needs to be addressed urgently. Accordingly, within three months, I will take steps to initiate a ‘Youth Challenge Programme’ which will provide vocational training for young people between the ages of 17 and 25 and will establish a ‘Youth at Work Programme’ under which the government and the private sector will find jobs for youth who complete the youth challenge programme.

GSP +
I have stated time and again that this government is pilfering a golden opportunity to reap the economic benefits of defeating the LTTE. However it bears repeating, because today, when we have a unique opportunity to put our country on the right path, the prospect is being wasted because of the government’s arrogance and political expedience. This fact is nowhere better illustrated than by the foolhardy manner in which the GSP+ issue is being mishandled. The President, Ministers and even the Governor of the Central Bank have gone on record stating that the European Union need not bother granting the GSP+ trade concessions to Sri Lanka.

The government’s sole purpose is to portray the GSP+ issue as an international conspiracy, to stoke up anti-west fervour and hoodwink the people into believing the west is all out to undermine the country’s economic progress. Playing politics with the lives of the innocent people has now become a pastime for those who put us in this dismal situation in the first place.

The GSP+ concessions were not a gift granted to the Rajapaksa administration. It was the result of hard work done by previous administrations and our Foreign Service, which ensured Sri Lanka was among the 15 countries the EU saw fit for the trade concessions, based on adherence to certain accepted standards of democracy. The benefits of these concessions are now obvious. Today the EU has overtaken the United States as Sri Lanka’s main export market for garments.

These trade concessions are not applicable purely to the apparel sector. Thousands of other products also benefit from it. The fact that Sri Lanka is a GSP + recipient nation has attracted the attention of many investors, who see our country as a gateway to the European Market. Furthermore, the potential of utilising the concessions to promote other products remain enormous, while it also give the apparel industry the additional fillip - to explore new and better options for market penetration in Europe.

Yet all this is now at risk due to the actions of a few. The EU is now threatening to discontinue the GSP + citing our poor human rights record.

I am not willing to gamble with the lives of the people of my country, especially the poorer segments who should not be punished for the grave mistakes of power hungry politicians. Given the opportunity, I promise I will make a determined effort to safeguard the GSP+ concessions, because losing it would mean wide scale livelihood loss for hundreds of thousands of Sri Lanka and a marked step backward for the apparel industry as a whole.

I am confident that with the return of good governance, democracy and due process to Sri Lanka, we will be in a position to obtain these concessions for a longer period. The lives of 800,000 people directly depend on this.

Political Partnership
Many political parties, forces, organisations and individuals have gathered around me in the hope that we can usher a better tomorrow for our country. The political parties that invited me to run for President reflect the great diversity among us. This is our strength. You may wonder how the JVP which professes a socialist, welfare oriented economy can be in the same league as the UNP which is known for its open economic policies. This is a valid question. I would like to ask a question which I initially asked myself. Why are such politically, ideologically and communally diverse parties rallying behind one candidate at this point?

The answer is a testament of our current predicament. All those who are now rallying behind me believe that there should be a country left for us to have ideologies and differences in opinion. It is no longer a matter about open or closed economy. It is now a matter of preserving democracy, re-establishing law and order and delivering on a functional state. After the Presidential elections the JVP and the UNP will go before the people and present their respective cases on their own if they wish to do so. Yet at this moment we are united in the cause to save our mother land. For, that necessity far outweighs any other difference we may have. It is in this spirit that so many others have thronged around us.

Conclusion
It is this spirit that will pave the way for a realistic and believable change on January 26, when the country votes for a new era of unity, vibrant democracy and development that will provide an equal opportunity for every Sri Lankan to enjoy the benefits of an economically strong and free country.