Grandiose plans go awry - Wimal Weerawansa

Huge blow for Western forces, local traitors:

Opposition candidate was at sixes and sevens during campaign trail:

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

National Freedom Front Leader MP Wimal Weerawansa.

The National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader MP Wimal Weerawansa said the people through the results of this Presidential Election have clearly proved in future they would not provide any room to any alliance to gain power which doesn’t safeguard the unitary state of the country. Weerawansa in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer said the election results have also confirmed the JVP has no role in Sri Lankan politics any more.

Q: How do you view the resounding victory achieved by the President?

A: This is a victory that belongs to the President. The President could bring peace to this country within four years. He also took measures for development. He successfully faced international forces and LTTE terrorists without any fear. He is a leader who brought so many victories to the country within four years. That is why he achieved a landslide victory. Certain elements attempted to prevent this victory achieved by the President.

Certain Western forces attempted to defeat the President using Sarath Fonseka, as he was a person who was in the President’s camp earlier. In order to defeat the President, these elements attempted to loot the war victory through Sarath Fonseka and get the LTTE friendly votes to Fonseka with the help of the TNA.

Ranil Wickremesinghe could obtain 4.7 million votes at the last Presidential Election after he entered into an agreement with the LTTE. Then Tamil voters in the North were not able to cast their vote. Those who supported the Opposition candidate believed if Ranil Wickremesinghe could obtain 4.7 million votes, Sarath Fonseka who represents the war victory would easily obtain these 4.7 million votes without Tamil votes.

They thought when TNA votes are added to this 4.7 million votes, Sarath Fonseka would be able to win easily. But as the Government we could prove that was 2005 and this is 2010. President Mahinda Rajapaksa asked a mandate from the people in 2010 as the leader who won the war. Most of the country’s people including women, urban and rural people voted for the President. Sarath Fonseka proved he can’t obtain even the votes obtained by Ranil Wickremesinghe. Finally all the strategies adopted by the Western forces were in vain.

Q: The attempts made by the Opposition to field a Common Candidate has failed and the people have given an unprecedented mandate to the President. Your comments?

A: People proved so many things from this election. They have confirmed they would not provide any room for any alliance which does not safeguard the unitary state of the country. Not a word is mentioned in Sarath Fonseka’s manifesto on the unitary state of the country. The people clearly proved they will never allow that kind of person to come to power. The public servants also proved they cannot be cheated by various false pledges. The Opposition Candidate pledged to increase the salaries of the public servants by Rs. 10,000. But the President promised to increase their salaries by Rs. 2,500.

The election also clearly proved some foreign embassies, FaceBook, E-mail or rumours have no ability to influence the public view. Voters also proved they will not allow politics of hatred. During the election campaign, Ranil Wickremesinghe cursed the Government while the Opposition candidate used various unruly words. The Opposition Candidate said he would bring senior military officials who led the war to the War Crimes Tribunal. This is the nature of a vengeful person. People clearly proved that they will not allow this kind of person to come to power.

The election has also clearly proved the JVP has no ability to do anything in Sri Lankan politics. Earlier JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe said they found a good jockey to run the race with Mahinda Rajapaksa. Finally that jockey and those who found him ended with failure. He couldn’t obtain even the votes obtained by Ranil Wickremesinghe. Those who placed confidence in this Common Candidate and moved forward have been politically displaced today.

When we consider the results in the Southern Province, the votes given to the JVP at the last Provincial Council election have been given to the President. Most JVP voters in Tissamaharama, Tangalle, Galle and Matara have voted the President. Otherwise the President could not have obtained 67 percent votes in Hambantota district. The President has obtained 117,000 majority votes in Hambantota district, 176,000 votes in Galle and 147,000 votes in Matara district. The President could obtain this kind of massive majority votes as a large number of JVP supporters voted for him. The present JVP leader has completely destroyed the laudable history, dignity and the identity of the JVP.

This election also displayed how a reputed person can be destroyed if an absurd decision is taken by him. A person who had the ability to gain the nation’s honour as a National Hero was finally subjected to the nation’s humiliation. In addition, the election showed how a person can be taken for a ride by persons like Ranil Wickremesinghe, Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. These are the key factors which can be witnessed from this election result.

Q: How do you analyse the overall results obtained by the President ? Compared with 2005 Presidential Election results, there is a big increase of the President’s vote base.

A: It is mainly because of the moves taken by the President to end the war in a victorious manner, face international pressure without any fear and key strategies adopted for country’s economic development. The President has paved the way for a massive development drive. People also had a close look at the Opposition Candidate as well. We could reveal the true picture of the Opposition Candidate within a very short period. The people could also witness the secret agreement reached by the Common Candidate with the TNA. Finally the President could obtain a massive mandate.

Q: Do you think the people have extended their gratitude to the President towards the moves taken by him to defeat terrorism and develop the country?

A: Definitely. Specially over 90 percent of Sinhala female votes have gone to the President. They have extended their gratitude to the President on a massive scale. Because they had a lot of experience vis-a-vis LTTE terrorism. They feared to send their children to schools and their husbands to office. Therefore women were in the forefront to extend their gratitude to the President. They also know they can only place confidence in a leader like President Rajapaksa. When the Opposition Candidate pledged to bring a ‘genuine change’, the people could understand the nature of the change to be introduced from the language used by him. People realised that only the President has the ability to make the change required the country. Therefore the people have given a massive mandate to the President to take the country forward.

Q: Despite the attempts made by the Opposition in collaboration with various international forces to defeat the President, the people have given them a clear answer. Your comments?

A: Even some foreign embassies were behind this move. One High Commissioner had reserved a room from her office to conduct the political campaign of Sarath Fonseka. Earlier this same High Commissioner had given the leadership to topple the Government in Bangladesh. But we could prove to her she can’t implement such conspiracies in Sri Lanka. The Western forces were fully behind the Opposition candidate.

Their intention was to bring Sarath Fonseka to power. Have we ever seen a Presidential Candidate being in a hotel when the election results were released. Normally a Presidential candidate listens to election results from his home or a friend’s place. If the Opposition candidate has faced some security threat, why did he reserve nearly 100 rooms in that hotel?

He had both legal and illegal security guards. Nine Army deserters in that hotel were arrested with weapons. They stayed at that hotel as they were fully confident of their victory. Their intention was to surround the President’s House and throw the incumbent President out of the office and seize power on January 27. As they had planned to surround the President’s House, they had also planned to burn down the houses of the innocent people in villages and dismiss employees from state institutions. They had planned for a vicious campaign to seek revenge from their political opponents. That is why they came to that hotel. When the final result came, all their plans completely collapsed.

Q: The Common Candidate has failed to obtain even the 4.7 million votes obtained by Ranil Wickremesinghe at the 2005 Presidential Election? How do you view this situation?

A: Next to President Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe has also won. Now Wickremesinghe would say the Common Candidate has failed to obtain even the percentage of votes obtained by him at the last Presidential Election. He would say there is no use of forming alliances with other political parties and the UNP should go on its own journey to win future elections. Wickremesinghe could impart the imminent defeat to be achieved by him to Sarath Fonseka in a very shrewd manner. As a result Ranil Wickremesinghe could safeguard his position while Sarath Fonseka became the victim.

Q: The UNP and the JVP were of the firm view that people are asking for a change. They were very confident about the victory of their candidate. But the people didn’t accept their request. What is the reason for this?

A: People expected a change. But they don’t expect a change from a vengeful person. People want good governance, economic development and to prevent fraud and waste taking place in State institutions. People also request changes in education and health sectors as well. The people are well aware that they cannot expect this change from Sarath Fonseka. But the President has pledged to make these changes. A “brighter future” means this change.

Q: The President’s vote base in the North and East provinces has shown a slight decrease. But the Common Candidate has been able to win most of the polling divisions in the North and the East. Do you think this is due to some agreement reached between the Common Candidate and the TNA?

A: Of course. The Opposition Candidate reached a secret agreement with the TNA to win the election by obtaining nearly seven or eight lakhs votes from them. While he obtained those TNA votes, he lost nearly two or three million votes here. Therefore his plans didn’t work out. It is very clear all the districts won by Sarath Fonseka in the North are within the ‘Tamil Eelam’ areas which had been declared by the LTTE in their map earlier. The Opposition Candidate could obtain these votes from the North and the East with the help of Sampanthan and Hakeem. But it has been clearly proved that Sampanthan or Hakeem can win a district but they have no ability to elect the country’s President.

Q: The Common Candidate didn’t have a vote. But he didn’t disclose this to the people. The Government attempted to highlight this as a key factor?

A: The Opposition candidate attempted to mislead the people. He always made contradictory statements. When he was the Army Commander, he appreciated the President and the Defence Secretary. After he retired, he started to criticise them. He gave contradictory answers on the key allegations levelled against him. All these clearly proved that he is not a person who represents one firm view. He attempted to hide that he has no vote. If he didn’t have a vote, he would have told it to the people. But he didn’t tell it as it would cause a negative impact on his vote base. As soon as we knew it, we educated the entire country on this issue. A person who contests the Presidential Election should be registered as a voter. This clearly shows that he doesn’t have any confidence in his vote as well. How can such a person is elected as the President? This was the question we raised on behalf of the Government. I think as a result, he lost another 500,000-600,000 votes.

Q: The JVP’s attempt to extend its support to the Common Candidate turned into an utter failure. How do you view the future political destiny of the JVP?

A: The JVP is bankrupt today. The JVP leaders don’t have any theoretical knowledge. They can’t identify the pulse of the present politics. They lack the knowledge to understand imperialistic forces. After they attempted to form an alliance with Ranil Wickremesinghe, the JVP has completely collapsed. The JVP doesn’t have a future political path to go. Today the JVP has nothing to do in Sri Lankan politics. They would go into the history as a group of people who destroyed the reputed political image of the JVP. At present the JVP is run with the help of funds given by some foreign embassies. There is no difference between the JVP and the NGOs.

Q: The Opposition Candidate believed that the Armed Forces would extend their fullest support to him. But the Armed Forces have placed their fullest confidence in the President. Your comments?

A: The Armed Forces cannot be misled by Fonseka. It is the Armed Forces who know the true nature of Sarath Fonseka. Therefore they will never vote for him. That is why even the people in his own home town didn’t vote for him. Even after the tsunami, he didn’t go to his village Ambalangoda. Therefore he was defeated by the people both in his village and those who worked with him.

Q: The Opposition Candidate has complained that various election malpractice has occurred during the election. How do you view this allegation?

A: He is a “political infant”. He doesn’t know how to analyse an election result. He says he cannot accept this result as a large number of people attended his political rallies. How can we decide on the number of votes to be received from the crowds ? But he didn’t properly see the mammoth crowds at the political rallies of the President. Otherwise he would have given up his campaign midway. Can over a 1.8 million vote gap be maintained by bogus votes? That argument could have been valid for a gap of 100,000 votes.

Q: What is your message given to the people who voted and extended their fullest to the President to achieve a landslide victory?

A: We elected President Rajapaksa in 2005 for the wellbeing of this country. He safeguarded that pledge given to the people. This time the people gave an unprecedented mandate to the President for the next victories to be achieved by the nation. The President would achieve these victories as well. He has pledged to take the country forward and turn Sri Lanka into the most dignified country in South Asia.