UNP and JVP suffer setback

During the 1977-1994 UNP regime, none could challenge the Executive President. People lived in fear and did not utter a word to express their political views, even at their homes, forget about workplaces or in other public places. The late President J.R. Jayewardene once said the Executive President could do anything except turning “a man into a woman”.

That alone shows the unprecedented level of power which former President Jayewardene concentrated on the executive presidency when drafting the 1978 Constitution.

Though the masses did not give him a mandate to become the country’s first Executive President, Jayawardene made use of the landslide victory at the 1977 general elections to appointed himself as the President in 1977 under the new Constitution introduced by his UNP Government which had a five sixth majority in Parliament. After that, he was referred to as His Excellency the President in English and Janadhipathi Uthumanoo in Sinhala.

In contrast, President Mahinda Rajapaksa a veteran politician with over four decades of a proven track record has set an example. His latest exemplary act came when he even pardoned his enemies who sling mud at him and come out with concocted stories to gain petty political mileage.

On the eve of the forthcoming Provincial Council elections, certain opposition politicians, in a desperate bid to avoid another humiliating defeat, came out with various defamatory stories and baseless allegations against President Rajapaksa and his Government. But President Rajapaksa set a new standard in local political culture when he asked the Police not to take defamatory action against the offenders.

President Rajapaksa directed the IGP last week not to take legal action against Opposition politicians insulting and slandering him in public. The President’s directive followed newspaper reports that the CID is planning to institute legal action against several persons including certain Opposition parliamentarians and regional politicians for allegedly insulting the President.

Presidential Spokesman and International Media Advisor Bandula Jayasekara, in a press release, said last week that the President had told the IGP that as a seasoned politician he looked at those insulting and slandering him, sympathetically.

However, the President had instructed the Police to pay attention to the insults and mud-slinging levelled at innocent people, public servants and businessmen, investigate them and take suitable action to create the environment for them to work and indulge in their activities peacefully.

President Rajapaksa had another busy week, hosting three Heads of State and also a series of other local meetings including an important discussion with private entrepreneurs to gather suggestions and proposals for Budget 2013 at Temple Trees.

Following the three-day State visit of King Mswati III and Madam Inkhosikati Make Mahlangu of the Kingdom of Swaziland last weekend, leaders of Seychelles and Maldives too made State visits to Sri Lanka. Each of the visiting Heads of State were accorded a guard of honour and banquet. Seychelles President James Alix Michel made his State visit after the King of Swaziland. This was followed by the State visit of Maldivian President Dr. Mohammed Waheed.

The Maldivian leader said that his country and Sri Lanka were in the process of finalising a number of agreements that would strengthen ties in trade, investment, legal and the higher education sectors.

He said the two countries would be able to ink these agreements soon. President Waheed said the two countries had already inked a number of MoUs with regard to defence and police training.

The Maldivian President thanked the Sri Lankan government and President Mahinda Rajapaksa for making elaborate arrangements to receive him during his first official visit to Sri Lanka.

President Rajapaksa, in his capacity as Finance Minister, held a meeting with private entrepreneurs to gather suggestions and proposals for Budget 2013.

Entrepreneurs

The entrepreneurs who provide goods and commodities to the local and international market ranging from agriculture, plantation, garments, gem and jewellery, spices, cosmetics, handicrafts, pharmaceuticals, animal husbandry and leather industry attended.

Detailed attention was focused on increasing production of goods both for the local and international market and strengthening the local entrepreneur. A program is being implemented on a concept of the President to receive views and ideas for Budget 2013 from all sections of society. Prior to this, discussions were held with the representatives of the stock market and trade unions. Minister Wimal Weerawansa and Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundara were also present.

UNP and the JVP, two major parties in the Opposition, suffered a major setback with less than a fortnight to go for the North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council elections scheduled for September 8.

Even the candidates contesting the three PCs under the UNP ticket are in the wilderness without knowing who their real party leader is. Though Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe still continues to be their constitutional UNP leader, parliamentarians Sajith Premadasa and Karu Jayasuriya too seem to be having their own teams of loyalists.

Apart from the teams supporting Ranil, Sajith and Karu, there is a fourth faction in the UNP who are in disgust of all three and are working behind the scene to get Sarath Fonseka into the picture.

Knowing only too well that Fonseka, if accommodated by any chance, could become a dictator in the party and may oust not only Ranil but also Sajith and Karu too, none of the UNP seniors are in favour of giving any chance to the retired Army Commander who marched from grace to disgrace after losing the 2010 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders of six Pradeshiya Sabhas controlled by the UNP and several other prominent UNP and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) activists in the Anuradhapura district joined the United People’s Freedom Alliance at the UPFA’s maiden Provincial Council election rally held in Anuradhapura under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

With the rally held in support of the party candidates contesting the polls for the North Central Provincial Council, President Rajapaksa commenced the election campaign of the UPFA under the theme ‘Let’s proceed as One Nation’.

Both the UNP and JVP local politicians got on stage and pledged support to the President and UPFA campaign noting that they are doing so after being impressed by the scope of progress in social and economic development carried out by the government.

UNP Opposition leaders of Tirrappane Pradeshiya Sabha K. B. Munasinghe, B. Tilakaratna of Kahatahasdigiliya Pradeshiya Sabha, R.M.C.N. Saliyaratna of Rambewa Pradeshiya Sabha, Mahinda Rajakaruna of Galenbindunuweva Pradeshiya Sabha, R.H.A. Ashoka Gunasiri of Kekirawa Pradeshiya Sabha and Sugath Herath of Ippalogama Pradeshiya Sabha joined the UPFA.

In addition JVP organiser of Mihintale electorate and district treasurer Rohana Pushpakumara, Councillor of Talawa Pradeshiya Sabha Sepala Dissanayaka, JVP member of Nuwaragampalatha Pradeshiya Sabha P.K.S. Piyasena, W. Wanigasekera of Rajanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha and M.M. Fazeel of Palagala Pradeshiya Sabha joined the UPFA.

UNP’s Rambewa PS Opposition leader Saliyaratna said his party was today in disarray due to internal feuds and weak leadership and it had neither a mission nor a vision.

He said he and his colleagues were impressed by the President’s leadership and work done by the government and hence had decided to join hands with the UPFA to serve the people.

The JVP Mihintale organiser Rohana Pushpakumara too addressed the gathering and said that his party too was suffering from internal conflicts which prevented it from fulfilling the expectations of its supporters.

He said being impressed with the government’s work he and his colleagues had decided to join the UPFA.

No room for irregularities

Meanwhile, the Elections Secretariat has made arrangements to ensure there is no room for irregularities at the forthcoming Provincial Council elections, Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya said. Speaking at a press conference at the Elections Secretariat last week, the Commissioner said new mechanisms have been introduced to clear uncertainties among voters and candidates over possible irregularities in the election procedure, specially at postal voting, polling booths and counting centres.

Commenting on the postal vote, Deshapriya said 100,818 voters are eligible to use postal votes this time, adding that the majority of them, amounting to 35,000, belonged to the Anuradhapura district. He said postal votes should not be considered less important since they can have a greater impact on the final result. Deshapriya said the Secretariat will closely monitor the entire postal voting procedure.

He said all postal votes will be considered confidential, adding there is no room for others to know, how a particular individual voted once the ballot paper is marked and posted.

The Commissioner said forcing a postal voter to show his ballot paper, attempting to see it or voluntarily showing the ballot papers are punishable offences.

He said more than three secret strategies unique to each postal vote have been introduced to the postal vote envelope this time, including a random number and two special seals to ensure the voting process was foolproof. Deshapriya asked candidates to pay special attention to educate the voters on how to mark a valid vote during their canvassing.

He said in addition to officers of the Secretariat, five representatives of each candidate, representatives of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections and Centre for Monitoring Election Violence will be allowed to enter counting centres this time to witness the counting procedure.

UPFA confident of victory

The latest survey carried out by independent sources have disclosed that the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) will register another landslide victory at the September 8 Provincial Council elections.

Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that the UPFA is contesting the election with the confidence of gaining victory because the UPFA government carried out unprecedented development in the provinces during the past four years.

The Minister said 14 main election rallies will beion about an underworld leader who kidnapped a busine held until September 5. The next rally will be in Ratnapura on August 26 and Ampara on August 27 with the participation of the President. The UPFA has held 2,400 pocket meetings at grass roots level. The victorious final rally will be held on September 5.

The minister said the government regrets the inconvenience caused by an election meeting to students sitting the A-L examinations at an examination centre in Anuradhapura. Steps have been taken to avoid a repetition, he said. The Opposition, especially the UNP, fears these elections as they know they will definitely be defeated, he said. “The Opposition tried to make use of the drought in many parts of the country for political gain,” the minister said.

He said after eradicating terrorism, the government has put the country on the course of rapid development. “At this juncture, the Opposition understands they cannot win this election using foolish political tactics. The UNP will be pushed back to third or fourth place in the Eastern Province,” Alahapperuma said.

“As usual, all ethnicities will be united under the UPFA banner to contest the PCs. Politically the UPFA is stable in all three PCs. Therefore, the UPFA will definitely win all three PCs and the government is confident about victory. The government has ensured the democratic right and freedom of the people. However it is a matter for regret that some political parties are rousing ethnicity to win votes,” the minister said. The Minister challenged the UNP to obtain at least five seats in the Eastern Provincial Council.

Prabha confident in East

Parliamentarian Prabha Ganeshan said the people in the Eastern Province will definitely vote for the UPFA. He said the TNA has put forward the same slogan from 2008 that the government has failed to fulfil the Tamil people’s aspirations.

“But it is clear that the TNA is keen to create issues among the people in the province since it has no future without disputes. The government will score a significant victory in the Eastern Province,” Ganeshan said.

Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara said the patriotic far-sighted people will stand with the UPFA. Holding elections on time is a sign of a vibrant democracy. The people-friendly government will never devalue the election system by taking cowardly steps and destroying democracy. The UPFA will help conduct a peaceful election, he said.

Museum thieves arrested

Ever since the recent theft at the National Museum, the Opposition has been pointing an accusing finger at the Government. Some of these opportunistic politicians in the Opposition have been making use of such slogans for character assassination and also to get undue political mileage at the Provincial Council elections.

However, the police teams investigating the theft, had made its own findings to apprehend the real culprits. The Police arrested three suspects, a man and two women, on Monday night in connection with the robbery at the National Museum.

Police said two of the suspects were arrested along with some of the stolen artifacts from the Piliyandala area on Monday night. The two female suspects are reportedly residents of Gonawela in Kelaniya and the third suspect is a three-wheeler driver from Maligawatta. The Police revealed the male suspect is a son of an underworld leader in Maligawatta.

The Police made the breakthrough following months of investigations. Piliyandala Police began investigations on the basis of information gathered by a police sergeant. The sergeant received informatssman and demanded a Rs. 1.5 million ransom.The Police searched his home and observed several objects wrapped in lead foil. Their suspicion aroused, the search party left the place and later deployed men in civvies to conduct a surveillance of the spot. While the surveillance was on, the underworld figure’s son arrived and left with the wrapped items.

The Police later traced the suspect, arrested him and the other suspects along with the items. The wrapped items contained two swords and rings.

They were identified by the National Museum Director General as the stolen artifacts.

Thieves who broke into the National Museum on March 16 got away with several priceless artefacts including swords, rings and gold coins belonging to the Kandyan era. A one million rupee reward was offered for anyone providing information on the robbery. The Colombo Crime Division is conducting further investigations.

No third party mediation

The Government categorically stated last week that it would not accept any third party mediator or facilitator roles by foreign governments or organisations in finding solutions to its internal problems.

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s position was very clear in this regard right from the beginning of his office as the President,” External Affairs Ministry Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama said last week.

“The President’s position is that we will be open and be positive to receive and share insights and knowledge of other countries to be constructive in structuring solutions to our problems, be they political or otherwise,” explained Amunugama.

He made this observation on being asked whether the government had rejected an offer by South African International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim to undertake a mediator role between Sri Lankan government and the Tamil National Alliance, to initiate negotiations between the two parties on the question of power devolution to the North and East. Local media reported that Ebrahim’s proposal was rejected by the President.

External Affairs Ministry Secretary Amunugama said, South African Deputy Minister Ebrahim met President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he came on a goodwill visit to the country. "There was no such offer or request on his part to play a facilitator's role as such to engage the TNA in talks," he said.

However, Ebrahim's advice and insights into Sri Lanka's political situation has been well received. He has been a friend of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a long time. The same could be said of the Swaziland King Mswati who visited Sri Lanka last week, he said.

Ebrahim is an experienced politician in matters of conflict resolution.

He has been involved in conflict resolution efforts between Israel and Palestine, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Kosovo, Bolivia, and Nepal in his capacity as Senior Political and Economic adviser to the Deputy President of South Africa. "The discussions held between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ibrahim were friendly and were based on knowledge sharing about each others' experiences in many areas, including devolution of power in conflict resolution."

They also discussed at length Sri Lanka's post-war reconciliation process and aspects of political healing to some of its problems, he said.

"Although Sri Lanka is open to potential cooperation with foreign nations for knowledge sharing, it will not have any third party intervention in its internal matters. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has made his position clear on this aspect," he said. Commenting on the situation of the Tamil National Alliance whose non-participation has delayed the process of Parliamentary Select Committee Process proposed by the government, Amunugama said the TNA members should join the Parliament Select Committee to discuss their proposals. The process will end in six months with the necessary resolutions to be adopted.

6,000 schools to be upgraded

The Education Ministry is in the process of upgrading 5,000 primary schools and 1,000 secondary schools to strengthen free education and provide equal opportunities for all students, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.

The government will provide all students equal facilities and opportunities under the Sapiri Pasal program, the minister said. The Education Ministry has taken several measures to uplift the standard of education by 2016 considering the new trends in local and foreign sectors, he said. "The ministry identified schools in 72 Divisional Secretariat divisions which do not have all four Advanced Level streams.

"The Education Ministry has launched a project to solve this issue by 2016," Gunawardena said. "The students need not waste time, money and other resources to come to schools in towns," the minister said.

He said moves are under way to introduce a job oriented education system. "The Information Technology literacy rate which is 35 percent will be increased to 75 percent by 2016," the minister said.