President opts to march with working class

All political parties concentrated fully on their May Day celebrations on the first three days of last week. From Sunday evening, senior politicians of all major political parties held several rounds of discussions to fine tune their respective May Day rallies.

The main feature of the May Day celebrations was President Mahinda Rajapaksa disregarding security arrangements to join his party’s May Day procession to march with the masses, showing his extraordinary affection for the working class.

But the most notable person missing from the lot was UNP and Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who is keeping away from all party work for one month as he is on a so-called study tour to the United States. Hence, the UNP looked a ship without captain as the remaining seniors tried to outshine each other in the absence of Ranil.

The 128th May Day was celebrated in grand style in Colombo and several parts of the country as political parties brought representatives, from all over the country to mark Workers’ Day.

Although the main Opposition – the UNP, held its main celebrations in Ampara, Colombo turned red as it hosted a total of 18 May Day rallies. There were 12 processions in Colombo, with the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) showing its weight with a highly-successful May Day rally with record participation.

Apart from the biggest rally held by the UPFA at Campbell Park under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), Nawa Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), Sri Lanka Communist Party (SLCP), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and various other Trade Unions too held their May Day celebrations in Colombo.

Tissa overlooked at UNP rally

But the main Opposition - the UNP, sans its leader Ranil, went all the way to Ampara to celebrate May Day. It was obvious that the UNP took its May Day celebrations to Ampara, disregarding a proposal to hold it at Hambantota, to support its national organiser and parliamentarian Daya Gamage. But UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake appeared to be unhappy after the organisers had forgotten to reserve seat for him.

The UPFA procession, marshalled by the main constituent party of the ruling coalition – the SLFP, commenced at Nelum Pokuna and headed to Campbell Park in Borella. President Rajapaksa who came to see the procession, disregarded the security arrangements to come out of his vehicle and mingled freely with party supporters.

He actively took part in the procession, walking alongside SLFP supporters. When the officials of the Presidential Security Division politely advised him about his security, the President insisted that he must join the masses in the rally and that he could not get back home when the SLFP supporters were marching courageously, beating hot weather.

That was a shining example of a leader who is close to the masses, especially the working class.

The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) held its rally under the patronage of its leader Minister Dinesh Gunawardene. The MEP procession started from the Ayurveda junction, Borella and joined the rest of the UPFA rally at Campbell Park.

The JVP May Day procession commenced from S.D.S. Jayasinghe grounds, Dehiwela and wended its way to the BRC grounds, with the participation of affiliated students, farmers and trade union wings. The joint left – the NSSP, Communist Party SLCP and Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) held a joint rally under the leadership of Ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara, D.E.W. Gunasekara and Tissa Vitharana. Their procession began from the Kirulapone grounds and ended at Ananda Samarakoon Open Air Theatre, Nugegoda.

Namal comes with a record crowd

Young and energetic parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa brought the largest crowd from Hambantota while Gampaha and Badulla districts too were represented by a large gathering of UPFA supporters, mainly from the SLFP. The SLPF supporters marched with Namal under the theme 'Api Hambantota' (We are from Hambantota).

The JVP procession looked attractive and disciplined with their members marching to beating of drums. The JVP rally was held at BRC grounds and they made sure that there are speeches in Tamil as well.

UNP MP Sajith Premadasa however chose to stay in Colombo and commemorate the death anniversary of his father – former President R. Premadasa. The ceremony was held at Aluthkade, opposite the statue of R. Premadasa who was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber during UNP’s May Day procession in 1993.

Colombo Mayor A.J.M. Muzammil garlanded the Premadasa statue but none of the UNP Leadership Council members were present.

At a time the UNP leader Ranil is having a month-long stint in the US, claiming that he is mastering the art of political victories, former deputy leader of the main Opposition Sajith Premadasa said last week that Sri Lanka did not require foreign advice to its solve problems, though the country had been facing many serious issues since the end of LTTE terrorism.

Sajith said the late President Premadasa had neither succumbed to international pressure nor given in to those who promoted international presence to solve internal problems. “The late President did not try to get political mileage by promoting our issues in the international arena nor did he enter into any agreements with foreign countries,” he said.

Former Minister Imtiyaz Bakeer Marker, UNP MPs Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Talata Athukorala, Buddhika Pathirana, Sujeewa Senasinghe and Colombo Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil also addressed the gathering.

Veteran trade union leader Bala Tampoe was brought to the headquarters of his Ceylon Mercantile Employees’ Union (CMU) for their May Day celebrations in a motorcycle by a party supporter. But the 92-year-old trade union heavyweight was not wearing a helmet.

Tampoe, who has steadfastly remained committed to the struggle of the working class while most other trade union leaders ended up in politics or NGO activities, said previous governments have neglected the working class. “Political parties don’t see workers as voters. They are not interested in the working class. They are unable to see workers as people putting in their labour in a capitalist system,” Tampoe told the gathering.

As someone at the forefront of the massive hartal (strike) in 1953, which paralysed the entire country, he is concerned about many trade unions being ‘trapped in parliamentary politics.’

Tampoe observed that the real challenge is to mobilise workers outside the sphere of parliamentary politics, which is ‘evidently controlled by the capitalist class.

Linus Jayatilleke, president of the United Workers Federation, said with ‘growing exploitation’ of workers in all sectors, there is a greater need for them to appreciate one another’s concerns and raise them collectively.

President on working class, war heroes

While almost all of the UN agencies praise Sri Lanka’s achievements on all fronts since the defeat of terrorism, those who brought human rights violation charges against Sri Lanka were conspicuous in their silence on those accomplishments. President Rajapaksa made these observations when he addressed a packed Campbell Park UPFA May Day rally on Thursday.

He added that the changes brought about in Sri Lanka since the launching of the Mahinda Chintana Policy framework some nine years ago, and following the eradication of separatist terrorism from the soil of Sri Lanka, were clearly visible to anybody and could be experienced by anyone.

“The working class and the war heroes have sacrificed much to save this country. They have also sacrificed much to save the victory they gained by putting an end to separatist terrorism and preventing capitalist forces making this country their playground. Therefore, the war heroes and the working class will never let anyone snatch their victory from them whatever the cost,’ he said.

The unity of Sri Lankans under one flag signifies the power and the patience of the working class and the war heroes. This solidarity will further brighten the motherland. There is no power or individual that can reverse these accomplishments and take the country back to the darkness of hatred, disunity and division, he said.

Wedding without a bride

The UNP’s May day celebrations in Ampara appeared to be a wedding without a bride as the rally of the main Opposition was held sans the Opposition and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is on a month-long tour of the US. In his absence, several UNP seniors have tried to outshine each other as the UNP has now turned out to be a ship without a captain.

Once again, the UNP made its customary pledge – that the next May Day would be celebrated under a UNP government though the party has not had executive powers for two decades. The only difference was that the pledge was made by Karu this time, instead of Ranil. While claiming that the next May Day would be held under a UNP government, UNP acting leader Karu Jayasuriya who led the party’s May Day rally urged the government to hold a general election and said his party would do the rest.

He said this and pointed out that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had recently said he would hold a general election if the Opposition wanted one.

“It was the President who said he would hold a general election if the opposition wanted him to, and we urge him to hold one in a free and fair manner and we will do the rest,” Karu said. But what Karu had forgotten was that the President’s offer was made to the Opposition leader and not to the acting UNP leader.

Karu admitted the poor attendance at the UNP rally and gave several reasons for the party’s failure to attract supporters to attend the UNP’s main May Day rally. He said, the party had intended to bring more people but could not do so due to unavoidable circumstances. A helpless Karu said only one bus had come from some constituencies as hiring charges were high.

But the only happy man at the UNP rally was none other than UNP National Organiser Daya Gamage who beat all odds to bring the UNP’s May Day celebrations to his hometown. Daya said his party had succeeded in hold a May Day rally despite the efforts made by some interested persons to sabotage party activities. “These persons ridiculed the leader and the leadership council when it was appointed; but we will show our strength at the next elections,” he said.

Bahrain’s highest award for President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was awarded the prestigious Khalifa Medal, the highest honor in the Kingdom of Bahrain earlier last week. During the ceremony, the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa said the medal was being presented to President Rajapaksa in appreciation of the contributions of the Lankan leader and his friendly country. He commended the personal efforts of President Rajapaksa, exerting to move with bilateral ties to a higher level of development and progress.

The Order of Al-Khalifa was founded in 1940 and revived in the 1970s. The medal honors the dedication of the late Amir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa to humanitarianism. The medal has been presented to a handful of notable leaders including the King of Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Queen Elizabeth II, among others.

Upon receiving the medal, President Rajapaksa said, “I am humbled and honored,” and said, “With Bahrain, we seek to build an enhanced dynamic partnership. The kind words, gracious hospitality and warm interactions will leave enduring and fond memories of this state visit, for me and my delegation, which undoubtedly will translate into active cooperation.”

Sajith upsets UNP’s Colombo heavyweights

Many senior UNP members appeared to be greatly perturbed after Sajith Premadasa visited the old stronghold of his late father R. Premadasa – the Sucharitha headquarters in Colombo Central. The most disturbed were the UNP parliamentarians and Western Provincial Council members, including MP Ravi Karunanayake.

Sajith, who has been involved in UNP activities in Hambantota as the district leader ever since his entry to politics, visited his father’s old vote base to address a media conference held at Sucharitha auditorium. Many media personalities questioned as to why such a great place built by a former leader had been deserted.

While claiming that he would continue with his activities in the Hambantota district, Sajith promised to visit Sucharitha Movement headquarters whenever he comes to Colombo to attend parliamentary sessions.

“Under difficult circumstances, I managed to show some progress in the UNP vote base in Hambantota. It has been my base. Colombo Central has always been a UNP stronghold. But it recent times, it has not been able to maintain the same commanding position. Hence, I will come here whenever possible to boost party activities,” he told the gathering. Sajith did not forget to have a dig at his opponents who would obviously get disturbed by his return to Sucharitha. “I don’t need anybody’s permission to come to Sucharitha and meet people. In future I will use this office to meet people in Colombo,” Sajith had said.

US shatters hopes of LTTE rump

While claiming that the LTTE’s financial network of support continued to operate throughout 2013, the United States on Wednesday said that the LTTE uses its international contacts and the large Tamil diaspora in North America, Europe, and Asia to procure weapons, communications, funding, and other needed supplies.

Issuing its Country Reports on Terrorism 2013, the US State Department stated: “There have been no known attacks in Sri Lanka that could verifiably be attributed to the LTTE since the end of the war, but LTTE’s financial network of support continued to operate throughout 2013.”

“Despite its military defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan government in 2009, the LTTE’s international network of sympathizers and financial support persists,” it said.

It also said that the LTTE members or supporters are operating in Sri Lanka and India.

Bombs explode in India

The importance of crushing terrorism from the South Asian region was once again highlighted after two bombs planted on a train killed a 22-year-old woman and wounded nine others at the Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday morning.

The blasts took place at around 7.15 am on the Bangalore-Guwahati Express, which had just pulled into platform nine of the station for a 10-minute stop. The nature of the blasts, which come in the middle of India's national election, is not known yet. A National Investigation Agency team is going to Chennai to join the investigations.

A woman, Swati, was killed when one of the bombs exploded under her seat. Officials said she was traveling to Bangalore, from where she was heading to her home in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Her relatives have been called to Chennai. Two people have been critically wounded, while seven have received minor injuries.

On Thursday, Sri Lanka strongly condemned the twin blasts that took place at the Chennai Central Railway Station.

Issuing a statement, the External Affairs ministry said, “The people of Sri Lanka share the pain and anguish of the Indian people over this wanton act of violence targeting innocent civilians.”

It also stated that the Government and the people of Sri Lanka offer their deep condolences to the Government and the people of India, particularly the bereaved family, and wish a speedy recovery for those who have been injured in this cowardly attack.