Idiaminization and de-democratization in Sri Lanka

(January 29, Colombo - Lanka Polity) The post-war Sri Lanka has moved into a post-presidential Sri Lanka. Main stream media is highly defensive in reporting and some pro-opposition media outlets are facing severe challenges. 'Lanka-e-News' website was illegally sealed by a group yesterday, said the staff that went there to report to duty. Criminal Investigation Department visited the office of 'Lanka' newspaper run by People's Liberation Front (JVP) and the editor is asked to report for recording a statement regarding an article related to Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has sought asylum in foreign soil while claiming the government has blacklisted his passport. The government says he plotted to assassinate the ruling family. The plot described by the Director General of the Media Center for National Security seems very naive. Booking hotel rooms and arresting of several Army personnel said to be deserters do not provide gullible evidence. However, no legal action is taken. Why? 'I don't know why?' a famous Sinhala song says. 

State media continues vilifying the opposition candidate. A term that can be coined to introduce this campaign is 'idiaminization' i.e. portraying Fonseka as Idi Amin. But this Idi Amin won the confidence of at least 40% of those who voted at the presidential. 

We used the phrase 'at least' since Fonseka claims victory alleging government subtly manipulated the result. The major media in Sri Lanka today is gossip and a wide spread opinion is observed regarding rigging the election based on rumors spread island wide. The opposition leaders too repeat the gossip and no concrete fact is produced to prove the allegation so far. No authority either local or international is ready to admit the allegation that is not backed by concrete evidence. 

Anyway, people will lose confidence regarding elections and democracy if the politicians allow the rumor to consolidate. 

Sarath Fonseka letter to Sri Lanka Elections Commission

(January 27, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Excerpts of a letter by Gen Sarath Fonseka to Sri Lanka's Elections Commission, following his defeat in the presidential poll. The letter has been translated from Sinhala.


Dear commissioner of elections. Before and after handing over the nomination papers, President Rajapaksa's election campaign has made great use of state resources.
Further, there have been threats, intimidation and accusations levelled against me. Many of my supporters were intimidated.

The government engaged in a campaign abusing state media and state resources to accuse me of being a foreign agent and a traitor.
Further, 10 security force personnel provided to me as a result of serious threats to my life were withdrawn.

'Handcuffed'

They were allowed to stay until after the election after your intervention. However, after the results were announced, this morning they were called back to the army police unit.

When they left to report at the army police, under the orders of the head of the army police unit, they were arrested in front of the hotel I am staying in, handcuffed and ordered to kneel down on the street.
I have also received information that the government is planning to arrest me.

The army personnel who are stationed in front of the hotel also tried a few times to forcefully enter the hotel.
I humbly request you to order the inspector general of police and other appropriate authorities to take appropriate security measures to protect my life and to protect my freedom of movement
.

Conservative Sri Lankan polity vote to be grateful instead of change

(January 27, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in the path of a massive victory in the presidential for his re-election. Pre-election malpractices like misuse of public property and the election day violence and blockade of Tamil votes also seem not affecting the end result.


Minority communities have voted against Mahinda Rajapaksa. But the majority Sinhala community voted him overwhelmingly.


Common opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka could not attract voters despite his pledges to alleviate corruption, to introduce good governance, rule of law and democracy. People eventually voted for the appeal of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa to be grateful for defeating the Tamil's violent liberation war.


People completely disregarded the allegations against the Rajapaksa regime over mass scale corruption, nepotism, waste, high cost of living, taxes etc.


It is not clear what will happen to the expectations of the minority communities for a political solution for the long standing ethnic issue.


The hotel the opposition common candidate Sarath Fonseka and his supporters stay is surrounded by pro-Rajapaksa troops. Rajapaksa regime has vowed to sue against him on various charges including treachery.

Sri Lanka Presidential; opposition candidate likely to be arrested

(January 27, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Soon after the first result of the presidential of Sri Lanka was out, the following news was posted in a local website.

A large group of Army personnel encircled Trans Asia Hotel a short while ago and are carrying out checking on the foreign and local guests in the hotel, say reports.

According to reports the raid is being carried out assuming apolitical Common Candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka is residing here.

As a result of the raid the guests in the hotel have been subjected to great inconvenience say sources.

Another pro-Fonseka website reported that the raid is carried out by a group led by a Major of the Army Special Forces. The troops have arrived the scene in two trucks and three motorcycles.

Our sources say that Sarath Fonseka and his supporters are staying in this hotel. 

In the postal votes results released so far Rajapaksa is ahead. Postal votes are cast by public servants and security forces members who are on election duty.

The result of the presidential of Sri Lanka needs to be rejected

(January 26, Colombo - Lanka Polity) It is a dire need to reject the result of the 2010 presidential of Sri Lanka irrespective of whomever the winner. 

Polls rigging and violence can be less in Sinhala dominated areas. The ruling party lacked support for polls rigging at the grassroots level. There were people to vote to Rajapaksa but few were ready to engage in violence before a probable loss.  

However, the government which was launching a racist campaign for the President Mahinda Rajapaksa during the final week was unashamed to block transport to the Northern Province internally displaced persons to travel to their villages to cast their vote. There was a rumor earlier that most of the buses permitted to ply on the newly opened A-9 highway either belonged to a senior government official with political patronage or paying ransom to him. Anyhow, the buses pledged for the IDPs to travel to Jaffna have been mysteriously disappeared, says opposition member of parliament Vijitha Herath. The MP was even detained by police for few hours as he attempted to address the voter grievances and solve the transport issue. Many more frauds of this sort can be expected to be reported in the coming hours. 

However, real rigging took place prior to the election. The President and his campaigners were daring to break all election regulations and to manipulate almost all the public property for Mahinda Rajapaksa's campaign. This went on to the extent that the Election Commissioner also had to annul the mandate of the competent authority he appointed to monitor state media. Ministry secretaries and other department heads disregarded more than 100 circulars issued by the election Commissioner. The poor public official eventually lamented about the situation and said he would resign following the presidential poll. 

Amidst this situation too, the election is so tense that opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka has a chance to win. Although, Mahinda Rajapaksa wins the election, he needs to achieve at least 60% of votes to proclaim it a real victory since he manipulated all state his powers to block the opposition.

This election is not a fair one in any sense. We, as democratic citizens of this country need to reject its result irrespective of whatever the result. We need to fight for free and fair elections. Elections of this sort must be rejected. The perpetrators of the malpractices must be brought to books and their civil rights should be suspended.

We will get a substantial vote to fight both reactionary camps - Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne

(January 26, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Common Left Candidate Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne of the Left Front contesting under the Table symbol in his Election Day address said that he is confident of obtaining a substantial vote that will enable to mobilize against both camps.

In a video address Dr. Vickramabahu said that the combined votes Tamil Presidential Candidate MK Shivajilingam who represents Tamil Liberation along with him who represent the left and the proletariat will get a vote for a “progressive liberationist force prepared to fight back”.

He emphasized the need to build a force that will fight against global capital and Sinhala chauvinism represented by Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka.

“If we can mobilize a progressive liberationist force prepared to fight back, it will enable us to play a big role in the coming period regardless of whoever becomes the president,” he said.

Dr. Bahu explained how both Rajapaksa and Fonseka are reactionaries fighting to be agents of global capital in Sri Lanka with the aid of Sinhala chauvinism.

While pro capital politicians like Rohitha Bogollagama together with Sinhala supremacist JHU and Wimal Weerawansa are fortifying the Rajapaksa camp, Dr. Vickramabahu pointed out that the Sinhala extremist JVP along with Buddhist monk politician Dambara Amila Thero have joined Ranil Wickramasinghe who tows the western agenda to reinforce the Fonseka camp.

“We need to fight both camps that are equally reactionary,” said Bahu.

In order to do so, Dr. Bahu emphasized the need of voting on the 26^th of January presidential election for him and Shivajilingam to combine both Tamil liberationist and left wing forces in the fight for democracy, self rule and self determination.

What a President are we going to re-elect in Sri Lanka?

(January 25, Colombo - Lanka Polity) January 22nd dawned with the news of a bomb explosion in the house of Sri Lanka opposition activist Tiran Alles. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ally Wimal Weerawansa was quick to say that it was a conspiracy of the opposition to beg for sympathy votes. But yesterday Alles spoke to media and said he wanted to make an exposure since there is a threat to his life.


Alles said he witnessed President's brother Basil Rajapaksa who is an appointed MP and an adviser of the President now giving Rs. 180 million in cash to a leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) in his presence under the guidance of then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The grant was an appreciation for the LTTE to lead a boycott of Tamil votes in the 2005 Presidential. Mahinda Rajapaksa, backed strongly by Sinhala chauvinist elements was able to deprive the victory of the opposition candidate Ranil Wickramasinghe thanks to this boycott that prevented Tamils expressing their conscience. LTTE reportedly bought boats with these funds and later used them to kill many Navy personnel and to transport deadly weapons.


Alles, who was a close ally of Mahinda Rajapaksa during his 2005 Presidential campaign defected from the ruling alliance later and he had to face terrorism charges later. He says he revealed all what he knew to the Terrorist Investigation Department of Police to be recorded by them. Embarrassed police later released him without framing charges.


The President was saved of being sued for breach of trust regarding tsunami aids received from abroad thanks to the official impunity of the Presidency under Sri Lankan law. His governance is ill-famous for corruption from top to bottom and his extended family is alleged of amassing huge wealth through corrupt deals.


However, the President is a hero among many Sri Lankans that belong to the majority Sinhala community due to the war victory against Tamil nationalist liberation movement. He, together with his brother Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, present opposition presidential candidate ex-Commander of Army Sarath Fonseka and other service commanders led the state forces supported by the public to totally annihilate the Liberation Tigers.


But Rajapaksa failed to lead the reconciliation process in post-war Sri Lanka. No political process was initiated. However, his regime was in an illusion that they are to rule the country for many years ahead until the long lasting democracy produced a powerful contender for his post. The nation was on the verge of the patience regarding corruption, bad governance, dictatorial rule and anarchy.


The 2010 presidential is the tensest political battle in the history and it is also earmarked as the most corrupt one. The President was shameless to manipulate each and every public property for his propaganda campaign and the opposition was deprived of all opportunities he could block. However, the tide is so high against the President and he is likely to lose the post irrespective of how corrupt the election is.


Sri Lanka needs a leader that can lead the post-war reconciliation. The President needs to fight corruption and to introduce good governance, democracy and rule of law. The President must restart the political process to seek permanent solutions for the woes of the minority communities.

Opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka has pledged a good life. He is also a man with a questionable past. However, he has been able to muster the support of many who need a change in the system. However, we have to wait to see if the vote will express the sentiments for a change. 


(Photo: Emil Kanthan, the LTTE leader that obtained money from Basil Rajapaksa, according to Tiran Alles, posing with President's son Namal Rajapaksa)