Opportunists try to gain political mileage out of minor incidents

It seems that political opportunists are attempting to blow small incidents out of proportion to gain cheap political mileage.

Knowing that they cannot come to power and put the INGO and Western agendas in motion, they now resort to various tactics to create problems in the country. The recent developments in Weliweriya and the Noori Estate are classic examples.

While castigating those responsible for the unfortunate incident which took place last Thursday in Weliveriya, leading to the loss of a life, top Government ministers have pointed out that a certain group seeking political mileage triggered the tense situation.

Chaotic drama

Addressing an SLFP press conference at the Party Headquarters, SLFP Treasurer and Youth Affairs and Skills Development Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that a certain group driven by political motives created an unnecessarily chaotic drama, resulting in tragedy.

The Minister expressed the Government’s and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s condolences over Thursday’s unfortunate incident which resulted in the death of a person.

The Iranamadu reservoir

Bowsers are used to provide drinking water to people

The Minister, explaining the background to the incident, pointed out that the Government had already taken measures to provide pipe-borne water for residents, at the time this incident happened. “President Rajapaksa, at the progress review meeting of the Water Supply and Drainage Ministry held last Tuesday, referring to the complaints of the residents as appeared in newspaper reports, ordered that pipe-borne water be provided immediately to this village.

“Accordingly, the laying of pipes from Kadawatha was in progress even by yesterday,” the Minister observed. He said that the management of the factory in question had sacked over a 100 workers associated with a political trade union seven to eight months ago for arousing tensions within the factory for political gains. He said the background behind these events should be further analysed.

He said the President and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa had personally spoken over the phone to the Bhikkhu who had begun a hunger strike and later, the Bhikkhu had decided to end the strike.

“Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the temporary closure of the factory until the report on the test samples of water was received. The security officers brought this message to the protesters and a group of people with vested political interests attacked them even using petrol bombs.

“Five to six Army personnel were injured, with one receiving serious injuries. Therefore, we state with responsibility, that this episode was a result of a few people who took the water issue into their own hands, seeking political mileage,” he said.

Public inconvenience

Responding to a question by a journalist, the Minister explained that the Army was deployed to control the situation, only when the Police could not handle it. The Minister observed that the road remained blocked for many hours, inconveniencing the public and resulting in heavy traffic congestion.

Commenting on the unfortunate incident at Weliveriya, Rajakeeya Panditha Ven. Theripeha Siridhamma Thera, the Chief Incumbent of the Sri Sambuddhajayanthi Temple, has said that the protesters, under his leadership, had continued their protest on Thursday at the factory premises, chanting pirith. He has said that no member of the Security Forces or Police had caused them any harm. “In fact, Security Forces members talked to me with respect and had no issue with the protesters, whom I gave leadership to,” he was quoted as saying.

The Thera had said the protest under his leadership was conducted for one week in a harmless manner with the chanting of pirith with a view to resolve the water issue. The Thera had said that the aim of the protesters should always be peaceful without causing any harm to the public, State property, Security Forces or Police personnel and without being misled by forces with ulterior motives.

However, the Thera had said that some groups under the leadership of interested parties had adopted a different method and had caused trouble. He said those who led the trouble-making groups had been part of a conspiracy to disrupt his and the villagers’ peaceful protest.

The Ven. Thera condemned the unruly behaviour of the other protesters. “It is quite possible that they were trying to stop my harmless protest”.

Army Spokesman Brig. Ruwan Wanigasuriya has told the media that at the meeting presided by Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he had decided to close the factory temporarily until investigations were complete and if it was proved that the water had been contaminated by the factory's production process, to close down the factory for good. This has received the agreement of the company personnel.

Board of Inquiry

Meanwhile, newly-appointed Army Commander Lt. Gen. Daya Ratnayake appointed a Board of Inquiry, headed by Adjutant-General Major General Jagath Dias, to probe the Weliveriya incident. According to Brigadier Wanigasuriya, this Board of Inquiry consists of senior officers of the Sri Lanka Army.

The Board will lay special emphasis on the conduct of Army personnel during the incident. He has said that several parties have made allegations over the conduct of the Army during the incident and the Committee will seriously look into these allegations. One person was killed and 36 persons were injured when the Army attempted to disperse a group of villagers protesting over the pollution of water in the area.

Similarly, the criminal activities that had taken place at the Noori Estate too had been blown out of proportion. Interested parties had also given a wrong picture to the world which had prompted the US to make a statement in this regard.

However, the top officials of Walters Bay, owners of Noori Estate whose Manager Nihal Perera was killed by goons in Deraniyagala recently, have written to the Defence Secretary, stating that they are appreciative of the efforts being made by him to resolve the crime.

Earlier, the US Embassy in Colombo had expressed concern over the crime, Walters Bay being a company based in the US.

“Walters Bay would like to sincerely thank you for all the tremendous efforts that have been deployed under your guidance to immediately address the Deraniyagala crime. We also truly appreciate the immense ongoing help that is being offered to Walters Bay that allows us to continue our operations at the Noori factory,” the letter signed by Sanje Widyaratne (Chairman and CEO) and John Cullicott (President and COO) said.

“As a company, we are truly grateful that the law enforcement personnel acted swiftly to capture the suspects. We are also incredibly thankful for the actions both the law enforcement and the judicial system are taking, not only to punish these criminals, but also to prevent such crimes from happening in the future,” the management of the estate said.

Secure investments

They further said; “Walters Bay continues to believe that our investments in Sri Lanka are well secured and we will always continue what we have set out to do in Sri Lanka. We are a company that takes great pride in taking Pure Ceylon Tea to the global market and promoting its extreme merits. This year, the Noori factory became the very first FSSC22000 certified orthodox black tea factory in the world. This is one of several initiatives in the tea industry that we have launched in Sri Lanka. Walters Bay is committed to promoting Pure Ceylon Tea and will do so with the utmost respect and enthusiasm.

“Once again, we sincerely appreciate the incredible amount of support you and your organisation have provided, and continues to provide, in resolving the Deraniyagala crime”.

When even the American management of the Noori Estate had commended the Defence Secretary, one cannot understand why certain quarters are attempting to paint a different picture. It is obvious that such attempts are being made to gain petty political mileage as the Opposition is not in a position to capture power democratically.

While the LTTE cohorts indulge in their usual tactics to discredit Sri Lanka at a time the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 is scheduled to be held here in November, local opportunist politicians and NGO goons too seem to be working overtime to achieve their goals.

At a time the Government intends to set up the Northern Provincial Council after the elections scheduled for next month and let the people in the province elect representatives of their choice to run the interim administration, opportunist politicians and the LTTE rump are trying the mislead the international community.

While the LTTE rump tries to sully Sri Lanka’s image, Opposition politicians who are daydreaming of capturing power, attempt to show the world that Sri Lanka is a failed state. These are well-organised moves instigated by certain quarters in the West through their local agents who thrive on INGO funding. It is a pity that bankrupt Opposition politicians too have joined these interested parties.

The Government is making every effort to give people in the North almost everything that had been destroyed due to LTTE terror. The Kilinochchi Water Supply Scheme, which was destroyed by the terrorists, is being rehabilitated.

Development project

Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardene recently inaugurated work on the latest development project in the North along with Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Douglas Devananda.

The Government will spend Rs. 740 million on this project while the balance funds required, amounting to Rs. 677 million, will be provided by the Japanese government. Upon completion, the project will have the capacity of pumping 3,800 cubic metres of water to 100 kilometres per day.

Over 40,000 families in the Karachchi Divisional Secretariat Division and Kandavalai Divisional Secretariat Division would be supplied with drinking water under this scheme.

The contract for the scheme has been signed with a Japanese company named ‘DINO'. The project is expected to be completed in the latter part of next year. Until then, a water purification plant with a 500 cubic metre capacity would be set up in Kilinochchi, where the water would be distributed to the consumers through bowsers.

The massive water supply scheme, which was in existence in the locality, had been completely destroyed by Tiger terrorists and the Government has to put it back in order.

Plans are under way to commence the largest ever potable water scheme in Sri Lanka – the Iranamadu Water Scheme, drawn up by Arumugam, a renowned hydro-engineer in Sri Lanka, at a cost of more than Rs. 22,000 million. Once commissioned, the drinking water problem in the North would be a thing of the past.

This is just one example of the many mega development projects that had been completed in the North and the East.

Since the opportunist Opposition politicians see a gloomy future for them, they resort to various tactics and look for short-cuts to capture power.

One cannot rule out the possibility of the JVP and its breakaway group Peratugami Party having a hand in the Weliweriya incident. When the Thera who gave leadership to the initial protest himself says he only conducted a peaceful protest and with the company concerned agreeing to shut down the factory, it is obvious that another group had added fuel to the fire to create violence. We hope that the law-enforcement authorities would launch a thorough investigation to apprehend the culprits.

Reasonable doubts

One has reasonable doubts whether the elements who were behind the Katunayake Investment Promotion Zone protest too had played a role in the Weliweriya incident.

Be it the JVP or its breakaway group, they all know that their political future is bleak and that they could not gain power democratically. Moreover, the JVP’s vote base is deteriorating fast and there is absolutely no meaning of talking about their breakaway groups which have a negligible vote base.

The cat came out of the bag when JVP Propaganda Secretary and Parliamentarian Vijitha Herath condemned the attack in next to no time.

“We vehemently condemn the attack carried out on innocent unarmed civilians who were protesting for a basic human need.

The Government did not pay attention to this issue even though thousands of people took to the streets and a Bhikkhu staged a fast-unto-death. If the Government had acted swiftly to resolve this issue, this tragedy would not have happened,” Herath said.

Though Herath has said that the Security Forces should not have been called, it is obvious that the bankrupt JVP and Peratugami activists had attempted to capitalise on the incident.

Herath has said the residents were compelled to take to the streets as the authorities failed to close the factory and provide them clean water. This is far from the truth.

The Government had mediated well on time and the owners of the factory had agreed to close down the project until a solution was reached on the disposal of its waste. At the same time, the Government had taken adequate steps to supply drinking water to the residents through bowsers until the conditions improved.

Hence, there was no need for the protesters to continue their action. In addition, protesters under the blessings of some Opposition political parties, cannot take the law into their hands and disrupt normal life.

Under such circumstances, the Government is compelled to maintain law and order to protect people without allowing unruly mobs to capitalise on the situation. All that bankrupt politicians want is to make an issue out of nothing and discredit the Government as the Opposition parties are confronted with a gloomy picture.

The masses should not get carried away by these opportunist politicians who also give ammunition to interested parties abroad.