Tissa at crossroads as common candidate turns multi-colour

United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Tissa Attanayake has reached a crucial juncture of his political career and is in two minds whether to crossover or not. Attanayake has been a dejected man after Mangala Samaraweera and his men invaded the party and stole the limelight with their inner circle contacts with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Maithripala Sirisena’s political summersault gave extra problems to Attanayake who has gradually lost his control in the party. There were strong rumors that Attanayake has been invited to join the SLFP for a ‘tit for tat’ act though he would not get the same post in the party.

Attanayake broke his silence on the day Maithripala made his first visit to the UNP headquarters Sirikotha on Wednesday since the later was named the common candidate of the Opposition.

Tissa warns Maithripala

Making an emotional speech, the UNP General Secretary charged that Mangala’s web mafia has been carrying out a mudslinging campaign against him. But a heartbroken Attanayake said he would not join the Government. “I won’t crossover to the government and my conscience cannot be bought over,” he said. But several media reports said that he was on the verge of joining the government.

The ceremony in UNP headquarters to welcome the Opposition’s common candidate Maithripala Sirisena took an unexpected turn with Attanayake striking a discordant note. He said if one thought the party could make any headway without its colour or symbol or candidate at an election, one was sadly mistaken.

A visibly resentful UNP General Secretary pointed out that the real UNPers had been shortchanged at all levels of the party and he, too, had not been spared. Attanayake said that he is ready to give up his post as the UNP General Secretary at any time he declared.

He stressed that the interests of UNPers is of utmost importance and should take precedence over everyone else’s. He warns Maithripala that the UNP should not be taken lightly. Attanayake is one of the UNP seniors who wanted to field a UNP presidential candidate.

This idea has been endorsed by both the UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa as well as Treasurer Daya Gamage. In fact, Gamage said that if Ranil is not willing to contest, the opportunity should be given to Sajith and if both the leader and the deputy leader of the party are reluctant to contect, he himself would take the challenge.

Sajith punches common candidate

UNP deputy leader Sajith made a calculated punch on Maithripala when the Opposition’s common candidate visited Sirikotha last week. Sajith said that whoever entered the presidential race, it was the UNP supporters who had to bear the brunt of the campaign and their interests had to be looked after.

“Our dream is to have a President from the UNP elected — a Green President,” Sajith said much to the displeasure of Maithripala whose face became gloomy after the remarks.

But Ranil came to Maithripala’s rescue saying that he was happy to see a person from Polonnaruwa being nominated as the common Opposition candidate.

Meanwhile, Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said that he was only a public servant and that it was not his duty to protect or topple governments. “Although I was appointed by the President, I’m a public servant and not a servant of the government. I’m not here to protect or to topple any government. I will also not fear the government when carrying out my duties,” he said.

Mangala hits back

Immediately after Maithripala had left Sirikotha, Mangala Samaraweera thought he should bounce back and reply his critics. He arranged a news conference to hit back strongly and rectify the pledges made by Maithripala on the cause of action that would be taken in case the Opposition’s common candidate emerges victorious.

Mangala said Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe would be appointed as the Prime Minister without executive powers, contradicting the earlier promises that the executive power of the President would be transferred to the Prime Minister within 24 hours.

Mangala said if their common candidate emerges victorious, a national government would be formed till the necessary constitutional changes are made within 100 days. He said that a general election would be held after the term of the present Parliament ends in April 2016.

He suggested that it was a better move to form a national government for at least two years even after the general elections. He charged that there was a move to temporarily halt SMS services during the final week of the presidential elections.

Maithripala in the wilderness

The so-called common candidate is wilderness without knowing from which party, symbol or colour he is going to contest the next presidential election. He has refused a move by Mangala to use ‘Ape Jathika Peramuna’ (AJP) registered under the Matara District parliamentarian.

There had been lengthy discussions on the matter. Originally, Ranil and Chandrika were allowed to nominate persons for the post of President and the General Secretary of the AJP but the persons they had nominated were rejected.

Many in the UNP too were against the move as the party symbol telephone could not be marketed. Proposals to use swan and the symbol of peace too had been rejected at discussions.

Although the die-hard UNP seniors insisted that they should stick to the party’s elephant symbol and the green identity, Maithripala finally agreed to contest as an independent candidate. Earlier, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunha proposed the purple colour of Sri Lanka Mahajana Party (SLMP) founded by her late husband Vijaya Kumaratunga.

Maithripala pledged to form a national government comprising all political parties represented in Parliament after he wins the presidential election. He said the national government would be for a period of only 100 days because he expected to complete the implementation of the much-needed reforms by then. “Only I could do that!”

President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday said that only he could abolish the Executive Presidency because his government already possessed the two-thirds majority in Parliament.

“If the only reason to campaign against me is the abolishment of the executive presidency, what they should know is that I'm the one who can do that,” he said. Addressing a ceremony held at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre to offer the credentials assigning sacred lands for Buddhist Monks of the Sasanaraksan Bala Mandalaya, the President said that a two-thirds majority in Parliament is necessary for the Constitutional amendments to abolish the Executive Presidency and only his government is capable of doing it.

“A parliamentary select committee was appointed to consider Constitutional amendments but the opposition is only spreading rumours without taking part in the committee,” he said.

Opposition’s daydreams

Maithripala has been given so much of hopes that he acts and talks as if he has been voted as the Executive President. From the moment the Global Tamil Forum threatened to take President Rajapaksa before an international war crimes tribunal, Maitripala has discovered that the joint Opposition’s links with the LTTE rump would be disadvantageous for his election campaign.

Maithripala now says that he would not allow international forces or the Tamil diaspora to drag the incumbent President his family or anyone in the Security Forces to an international war crimes court.

Azwer steps down to protect UPFA

United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) national list parliamentarian A.H.M. Azwer resigned from Parliament on Friday in the best interests of the party to thwart Opposition’s plans to capture power in the Eastern Provincial Council. But many people were unaware why Azwer, who has been vociferous against the Opposition moves to discredit the Government, had tendered his resignation.

Some UNP gossip mongers began doing their grounds, saying that Azwer has resigned to join the UNP and its common candidate’s campaign. But Azwer made it clear yesterday that he decided to step down to look after the interest if the President and the UPFA Government.

The UPFA decided to appoint All Ceylon Muslim Congress (ACMC) Eastern Provincial Councillor Amir Ali to Parliament through the national list to fill the vacancy created by Azwer’s resignation.

He was one of the three councillors who decided to act independently in the Eastern Provincial Council recently. Ali was a former Disaster Management Minister and had resigned from Parliament.

Nagamuwa, Left Front’s common candidate

The Left Front comprising the Frontline Socialist Party (FLSP), New Left Front (NLF) and the United Socialist Party (USP) had decided to field FLSP politburo member Duminda Nagamuwa as their common candidate for the upcoming presidential election. FLSP Propaganda Secretary Pubudu Jagoda disclosed that they held discussions with leftist parties about the possibility of fielding such a candidate soon after the announcement of the election.

“We are having discussions with several other socialist parties and organisations such as the Maoist Communist Party, Praxis Collective and People’s March to get their support as well. They will also join us in our campaign,” he was quoted as saying.

Jagoda said the main political parties were engaged in an attempt at increasing their vote base rather than addressing the issues of the working people. “The main political parties are not talking about people’s issues but they are trying to change the people’s opinion and increase their votes. They rumoured that some ruling party politicians may crossover,” he had said.

BBS to support President

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) said last week it would extend unconditional support to President Rajapaksa at the forthcoming Presidential election.

BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera said President Rajapaksa and Opposition’s common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena were “good citizens”.

Gnanasara Thera said it would not present any conditions and would support the President for the sake of the country. He said they were not going to field a national candidate since the country was in the midst of a political storm.

The Thera said President Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena were good citizens but they decided to extend support to the President to save the country from what he termed international conspiracies. “The country is already in danger today. The opposition is filled with puppets.

The decision to field Mr. Sirisena is also a conspiracy of rejected politicians and western forces,” he said.

The BBS General Secretary said they had considered the qualities of both candidates and other political trends to reach the final decision.

“The country has to be our priority, not politics. We have always put the country before politics,” he said.

He accused that the foreign forces had invaded the country and the common opposition gives the lead to these foreign forces.

President returns from Nepal

President Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to the island on Friday morning after a successful South Asian dialogue. The President met fellow leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) on the sidelines of the 18th SAARC Summit in Katmandu, Nepal.

Leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, the Maldives and Nepal held bilateral talks with the President. Afghan and Sri Lankan leaders paid attention on strengthening education and health cooperation between the two nations. Afghan Leader Ashroff Ghani noted that Sri Lanka has achieved greater milestones in the sectors of education and health. He also requested President Rajapaksa to assist to develop the respective fields in his country.

The Prime Minister of Bhutan Tsherin Tobgay noted that many Bhutanese students are seeking higher education in Sri Lanka. He thanked President Rajapaksa for allowing room to Bhutanese youth to complete their higher education in Sri Lanka.

He also requested the President to support to develop health sector of Bhutan. The talks with the state leaders of the Maldives and Nepal were centered on economic relations and the tourism industry.

Maldivian President Abdhul Yamin Abdhul Gayoom held the remarkable development is being taken place in Sri Lanka. Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala pointed out the importance of stability in achieving development goals in a nation.

The 18th Summit of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation concluded on Thursday adopting a 36-point Kathmandu Declaration that emphasised enhancing connectivity, combating terrorism and launching regional, development projects to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia.

The two-day summit also decided to hold the SAARC Summit every two years, instead of the present practice of holding it annually. Accordingly, the next SAARC Summit will be held in Pakistan in 2016.

Leaders from eight SAARC member states took part in the Summit.

They stressed on collective efforts in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and having effective cooperation among the member states to prevent trafficking in persons, arms and drugs and exploitation of children for forced labour. They also agreed to review and analyse a previous document regarding the engagement with the Observers to establish dialogue partnership.

Modi thanks President Rajapaksa

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during which he thanked him for pardoning and sending back five Indian fishermen, who were sentenced to death for alleged drug trafficking.

During the meeting, which lasted for nearly 30 minutes, the two leaders discussed important bilateral and regional issues. This is the third meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Modi took over as Prime Minister in May.

President Rajapaksa attended the Indian Prime Minister’s swearing-in after which they held a bilateral meeting. Later, the two met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Asked if Modi thanked him for the release of fishermen, President Rajapaksa had said that Sri Lanka must thank Modi for his foreign policy. “The relationship between India and Sri Lanka is very good,” the President said.

Johnny exposes rice mafia

“What we are experiencing today is an artificially induced rice price hike by a handful of millers and traders who have got together as a mafia to make the maximum profits by retaining jacked up rice prices at a higher level,” Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando said.

He said these traders bought stocks of paddy and hoarded them to create an artificial rice shortage to raise prices.

“I should say the government is determined to go all out to dismantle this mafia and to provide the people with rice at a reasonable price,” the minister added. “The law will be implemented against rice mill owners who have hoarded 200,000 mt of stocks of paddy purchased making use of bank loans granted to them by the government,” he said.

The minister said he has received reports of the survey conducted by the Finance Ministry.

“Some rice mill owners have purchased 200,000 mt of stocks of paddy using loans obtained from banks and were hoarding them in their stores,” Fernando said.

“I request these rice mill owners to take immediate steps to release their stocks of paddy to the market.

Otherwise, stern action will be taken against rice mill owners who do not adhere to the law,” he added. Action will also be taken to inspect all the stores at rice mills across the country.

The minister also warned that legal action would be taken against any trader hoarding rice or paddy.

Minister Fernando said that there was a plan to create an artificial shortage of rice leading to a price hike ahead of the presidential election and the upcoming festive season.

Some mill owners increased the price of kilo of rice upto Rs.125 during the Presidential election held in 2005 to manipulate the market and thereby the voters. There are also reports that a mill owner in the Polonnaruwa is currently working to do the same.

“If they attempt to control the prices in an unreasonable manner, we would sell imported rice at cheaper rates through Lanka Sathosa outlets across the country. Accordingly, the price of Samba rice would be reduced to Rs. 60 per kg, Nadu Rs. 55 per kg and Kekulu Rs. 50 kg.