PC election fever hots up

The forthcoming Provincial Council elections to the North Central, Sabaragamuwa and Eastern provinces are fast approaching. Simultaneously, election fever is gradually reaching its peak as Opposition political parties make a desperate attempt to challenge the ruling UPFA’s undisputed record in polls victories.

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is under tremendous pressure to prove his leadership qualities at least at this very last stage, having lost 24 elections under his shaky leadership. But on the other hand, the man who challenges Wickremesinghe’s leadership - Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa too is not on a sound footing as stalwarts in his Reformists Group are gradually deserting him. It was widely speculated that a top leader of his rebel group who is also a parliamentarian will join the Government.

Though several UNP parliamentarians, district leaders and even candidates contesting the three Provincial Councils under UNP ticket have expressed their desire to join the UPFA in disgust. But the UPFA appears to be holding them, probably to play the trump card at the correct time.

Though some of the Opposition politicians are coming out with various concocted stories to tarnish the image of the Government, President Mahinda Rajapaksa continues to enjoy his nationwide popularity.

Knowing only too well that the President and his UPFA Government’s popularity would soar further each time they sling mud at the ruling party, UNP seniors have warned their provincial leaders to be extra careful when levelling allegations against the Government.

On the other hand, UNP candidates contesting next month’s Provincial Council elections appear to be in the wilderness, without knowing which camp they should select Ranil’s or Sajith’s. The moderate UNP provincial leaders are undergoing an even more difficult time as both groups are targeting them on suspicion.

Tissa’s challenge

It was under such a background that Health Minister and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena accepted UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake’s challenge to prove the Minister’s statement on the betrayal by Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe during the Presidential Election in 1994.

Addressing a SLFP press conference at the Mahaweli Centre last week, Minister Sirisena said that what he disclosed was nothing new to those who were actively involved in the Presidential election where UNP candidate Gamini Dissanayake and People’s Alliance candidate Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga contested.

He said that he could not be held responsible over the plight of the UNP in the aftermath of this disclosure in public, adding that he would not hesitate to bring out the details of this betrayal. He noted that it is an unwise challenge at the worst time on the part of the UNP.

Sirisena observed that he had made this revelation in almost all the previous presidential election campaigns since 1994, but it is only this time it received wide publicity in the media.

The minister said that after he made this statement he received a number of telephone calls and letters from powerful UNP members stating that they would also like to reveal the facts they know to prove this incident. He said that the internal struggle in the UNP would turn more aggressive following the disclosure.

The minister also stated that he has written evidence including the statements of former police personnel to prove his statement. He said that he had been in charge of the unit set up to obtain secret information pertaining to the Opposition during the PA election campaign in 1994.

Responding to MP Attanayake’s statement, the minister said that he would be proud even to be a peon in the SLFP, than being a General Secretary in the UNP, based on the political ideology he respects.

Minister Sirisena also noted that he spoke of a political issue and not a personal issue when he referred to the conduct of the Opposition Leader at the 1994 presidential election.

Ports and Highways Deputy Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena too joined the debate saying that the UNP leader convinced of defeat at the elections has centralised his powers instead of facilitating a power devolution within the party.

He observed that alternative groups of the UNP are contesting the elections as independent groups to challenge the party leadership. These groups are not competing with the government, but with the UNP.

Their intention is to see a humiliating defeat for the UNP, he said.

Consumers given relief

Masses across the country welcomed Government’s efforts to reduce the cost-of-living. Lanka Sathosa last week reduced the prices of a range of essential commodities to provide relief to consumers on a special directive from the President.

Internal Trade and Cooperative Minister Johnston Fernando said that the prices of sprats, sugar, canned fish, Samba rice, white raw rice, Nadu rice, red Nadu and lentil will be reduced in all Lak Sathosa outlets islandwide with immediate effect.

Minister Fernando, having analysed the tender prices and the market prices of essential commodities with the Lak Sathosa management, pointed out that consumers could be given relief by reducing the prices of essential commodities.

He said a special investigation unit will inspect Lak Sathosa branches islandwide to ensure that these items are available at reduced prices.

The minister said the government is taking all possible measures to keep prices of essential commodities low. Minister Fernando said the price reduction was introduced to have a control over prices as black market traders are increasing the prices of essential goods at their own will.

Transformation

Sri Lanka’s journey during the three years since the dawn of peace has seen the country transform itself from a nation confronting terrorism to a country that is amongst the most peaceful, stable and secure in the world. Sri Lanka today is one of the most peaceful and stable countries.

It is a country in the midst of a national revival. Those were the views expressed by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the opening ceremony of the Defence Seminar 2012 titled ‘Towards Lasting Peace and Stability’ last week.

He said that the government’s unwavering commitment and resolve to swiftly implement measures for reconstruction, resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and reconciliation laid the foundation for a prosperous future for the country’s citizens, irrespective of their diversity and differences.

“I have every confidence that as we step forward into this bright future, we will do so together as Sri Lankans.

That is the greatest accolade that can be paid to the success of Sri Lanka’s post-conflict development; that will be our legacy to future generations,” Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said.

He said resettling nearly 300,000 displaced people in just three years is a very significant accomplishment.

“It would not have been possible without the professionalism and commitment of the military, which facilitated almost all the major undertakings involved,” he said.

Apart from the displaced persons, the government faced another major challenge with regard to rehabilitating the large numbers of LTTE cadres who surrendered or were detained during the course of the humanitarian operation.

A total of 11,989 LTTE combatants surrendered to the military during the humanitarian operation, the Defence Secretary said.

Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne rejected the accusations made by the Opposition regarding new graduate appointments. Addressing the media at the Information Department last week, Minister Seneviratne said it was not an easy task to give appointments to a large number of graduates.

“However we have taken measures to give appointments to all graduates who obtained their graduate certificate before December 31, 2009.

Graduates who obtained graduate certificates in 2010 and 2011 have to wait for jobs until 2013 and 2014 as there were large numbers of graduates who had been unemployed for six to seven years. We had to give priority to them,” he said.

Seneviratne said certain political parties were trying to find shortcomings in this huge task and made baseless comments. “The UPFA provided a large number of graduate appointments in 2005. There were some mistakes. But this time we managed to do it properly. In 2002, during the UNP regime, a large number of graduates struggled to get jobs. The UNP didn’t give jobs to graduates,” the minister said.

The UPFA has always given top priority to the country’s agricultural sector, maintaining its continuous supply of fertiliser at highly subsidised rates. The Government spends millions of rupees to maintain the fertiliser subsidy and is well aware of the hardships faced by farmers in certain areas due to the drought.

The government will provide the maximum possible relief for the farmers affected by the drought, Minister Sirisena said. He said compensation will be granted for the drought-hit cultivated lands.

The minister said the government has decided to distribute paddy seeds and fertilizer free to farmers affected by the drought, defer the recovery of interests on their bank loans and pay a daily wage by using their labour to clear drains and canals. Sirisena said some of these moves are already being implemented.

He observed that a significant service was rendered to the farmers under the leadership of President Rajapaksa, for the first time after D. S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake and Sirimavo Bandaranaike regimes.

He also noted that the UNP regimes led by Ranil Wickremesinghe during 1977 to 1994 and 2002 to 2003 failed to provide any service to the farmers, adding that they were deprived of the benefits they enjoyed, during these periods.

The minister revealed that the Paddy Marketing Board building valued at Rs 250 million in Kandy was given to set up a restaurant while property and money invested on agriculture were grabbed indiscriminately.

The minister also noted that the public have kept faith in the government despite false propaganda by the Opposition parties to tarnish its image.

New political culture

The country cannot move forward if political parties resort to inciting communalism with the petty intention of securing more votes, according to Technology and Research Deputy Minister Faiszer Mustapha. Addressing a UPFA press conference at the Mahaweli Centre last week, the deputy minister said it is ease to secure more votes by rousing communalism among Muslims and Tamils, but the time is ripe to move away from this kind of cheap political tactics.

He said that ethnic harmony and cooperation should be promoted among people while merging all Sri Lankans into a single nation. He observed that the UPFA has nominated Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil candidates to contest the Eastern Provincial Council election considering the multi-ethnic nature of the province, adding that the ethnic representation is more balanced in the UPFA compared to the TNA and SLMC.

He noted that the Muslim community in the Eastern Province is duty bound to strengthen the hands of the President at the upcoming Provincial Council election since they overwhelmingly enjoy the dividends of peace and development as never before.

Responding to a question by a journalist, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne said that the SLMC would continue to work as a coalition party of the UPFA in the central government despite it contesting the Eastern Provincial Council separately.

He also noted that the UNP is the only Opposition party in the world which refuses elections, adding that the holding of elections stage by stage is more favourable to the Opposition, since it can fully concentrate on those provinces.

British delegation

A nine-member UK Parliamentary delegation, which made a week-long tour of Sri Lanka last week, commended the rehabilitation and resettlement process in the post conflict areas. The delegation head Conservative MP James Wharton addressing a media briefing in Colombo last week said they were highly impressed with the ongoing rehabilitation process and the development activities in the North and the East.

“We have witnessed the large scale development process taking place in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, during our visit,” he said.

“The government is more focused on reconstructing the North and the East and making the region economically and socially vibrant.

The delegation also received first-hand information on the rehabilitation and resettlement process currently under way in the North and East,” he said.

“We travelled to all corners of these two regions and got an opportunity to talk with ministers, officials, opposition members, resettled people, fishermen and farmers in the North and East. But, I can say that Sri Lanka’s progress after the end of the conflict is tremendous,” he said.

“We have a strong historical and cultural ties between our two countries. We hope to strengthen economic and trade relations with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka offers many trade and investment opportunities for the British business community.

The time has come for Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom to build a strong economic relationship.

We hope to have members of the British business community meet in Sri Lanka shortly,” Wharton said.