Peace or misery - voters should decide

Voters in Sri Lanka will have to make an important decision in four days time - an election that would not only decide on the next Head of State but also the future of the country's hard-earned peace.

If one were to study the line-up for Thursday's Presidential election, it is crystal clear that it will be a contest between those who love the country and those who don't. In other words, it's a battle between those who wish to retain the country's hard-earned peace and those who are hell-bent on capturing power at any cost who care two hoots for the hard-earned peace enjoyed by one and all.

The unholy Opposition alliance, which supports New Democratic Front (NDF) candidate Maithripala Sirisena, has spelt out their intentions. They are trying to use Maithripala as a scapegoat to achieve their vicious ends. A closer look at those who lead the unholy alliance speaks volumes.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is the undisputed 'best loser' in election history, with his party - the UNP, losing a record 29 elections under his shaky leadership. The UNP has not won a single Presidential election since 1988 and Wickremesinghe would even invoke the devil to change that dismal record and overcome the growing challenge from within the party to hand over the party leadership to his energetic deputy leader Sajith Premadasa.

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is wallowing in malice. From the day she was compelled to nominate her then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as the SLFP's candidate for the 2005 Presidential election following the overwhelming support he commanded in the party, Kumaratunga has spared no pains to defeat Rajapaksa.

Her unbecoming conduct reflects a bandit queen as she always abhorred the administration of President Rajapaksa whereas she should have looked at it positively as her successor was a fellow SLFP senior. Having ruined the country for 11 long years, Kumaratunga could not stomach President Rajapaksa's immense success - winning the battle against terrorism and leading the country towards new economic horizons with mega development projects. Hence, Kumaratunga's seething anger to settle a political score is perhaps understandable.

Former Minister Rajitha Senaratne has the notorious track record of changing political parties on not less than eight occasions. Crossovers for personal benefits had been the hallmark of Senaratne's political career. He was unseated from Parliament for indulging in business transactions with the Government while being a Member of Parliament. However, the then UNP government undermined the Court's decision by re-appointing Senaratne to Parliament from the national list. Hence, he does not have an iota of self-respect in his political conduct. There are many allegations regarding his conduct as the Fisheries Minister for irregular dealings with foreign trawlers reaching Sri Lankan shores.

Maithripala Sirisena, whom the vicious Kumaratunga and the West are exploiting as a scapegoat for a regime change, is not the innocuous Grama Sevaka the masses knew several decades ago. Those in Polonnaruwa would vouch for his adamant and dictatorial conduct, even pressurising his voters in the area. He supported his brothers to make hay while the sun shone in their business - both legal and illegal.

Mangala Samaraweera had always been a blind supporter of former President Kumaratunga and his presence in the unholy alliance is no surprise. Soon after he supported President Rajapaksa at the 2005 Presidential election and secured a powerful ministerial portfolio, Kumaratunga brainwashed him and made him quit the UPFA Cabinet. Since then, he has been a political refugee in the UNP.

Moreover, the TNA and the SLMC have joined forces to achieve their separatist agenda since President Rajapaksa would never agree to even in his wildest dreams. SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem demanded a separate administrative district for Muslims in the East and threatened to quit if his demand was not met. The President said a firm no and showed him the door.

The TNA, which had never supported a Sinhalese leader at any election, is showering lavish praise on Maithripala and have called upon the people in the North and the East to support his candidature. Maithripala's secret pact with the TNA has made R. Sambandan and his men overjoyed as they have been given a firm assurance on all their demands. Hence, the TNA is now trying to win their demands democratically as the LTTE had failed to achieve them despite three decades of armed struggle.

Mano Ganeshan, another LTTE sympathiser, too has also joined the Opposition alliance for the same reasons. He knows only too well that Wickremesinghe will ensure that he gets the lion's share when dividing the country.

One should also take a closer look at the few ministers and parliamentarians who had crossed over. Most of them had failed to deliver the goods. They are, by and large, opportunist politicians with a track record of changing political parties for personal benefits.

Generally at any election, the ruling party has more money to expend than the Opposition. But for the first time in election history, the Opposition alliance has infinitely more than the UPFA. Two Western countries and a few INGOs are spending lavishly on Maithripala's campaign as this is their last chance for a regime change and to get rid of a President who does dance the fandango round the West.

President Rajapaksa's fearless conduct and charisma had always proved to be a headache for some Western leaders. They are supported by the LTTE rump to wreak vengeance against President Rajapaksa as it was under his political leadership that their megalomaniac leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was liquidated. Therefore, the Tiger rump has embarked on an ambitious mission to avenge the President who had shattered their dreams.

The Opposition's media propaganda machine is working overtime to project 'huge popularity' for Maithripala. This is a calculated move to mislead the masses that the political wave is swaying towards the NDF candidate. But lo and behold, the election result on Friday will demolish all those myths.

The Opposition employed the same tactics at the 2010 Presidential election to no avail and Sarath Fonseka was projected to be the most popular candidate in all those 'surveys' and social media sites. Eventually, the truth emerged victorious and President Rajapaksa won the election by a thumping margin of over 1.8 million votes. Similarly, Maithripala would end up as the facebook President while President Rajapaksa would emerge the true winner again.

The masses still recall that at the 2005 Presidential election campaign, their solitary expectation from the winning candidate was to wipe out LTTE terror which had brought about untold agony for the entire nation, irrespective of race, religion and political affiliations. Significantly, President Rajapaksa eradicated terrorism by May 2009 and led the country towards economic prosperity in the next five years.

Despite waging a relentless battle against the most brutal terrorist outfit in the world amidst mounting pressure from a section of the International Community, President Rajapaksa and the UPFA Government embarked on massive development projects - a unique achievement which could not be matched.

It is abundantly clear that Maithripala and his the opportunistic politicians in the Opposition are taking the voters for a good ride with numerous promises, including a 10,000-rupee monthly salary increase for public servants - the same figure pledged by Fonseka in 2010. In contract President Rajapaksa offered Rs. 2,500 in 2010 and the masses reposed faith in him, thereby rejecting Fonseka's unrealistic Rs. 10,000.

Not to be outdone, Maithripala is following in his footsteps with a variety of promises to woo voters while entering into many secret agreements with the UNP, TNA, SLMC, JHU and several others. There could be perhaps an undisclosed pact with the JVP and even the LTTE transnational government as the sole intention of Maithripala and his cohorts is to capture power at any cost to fulfill the Western aspirations which funds them.

Do people realise the gravity of the situation the country would be plunged into if this unholy alliance secures power? Hence, it is up to the voters to decide - whether they wish to sustain the country's hard-earned peace or not.

The wily Opposition should not be permitted to rob the country of its hard-earned peace which was achieved through the supreme sacrifice of thousands of Sri Lanka's valiant soldiers. Let's continue to enjoy the current peaceful environment, sans ethnic or religious affiliations.