Within the past few months lot is said about Mahinda Rajapakse disfranchising the Tamil people at gun point at the Presidential elections in November 2005 with the help of the LTTE. Instead of responding to the charges of bribing the LTTE objectively, the government is going on a spree to defend itself by bringing in new charges against the accusers to circumvent a direct answer to the allegation.
Mahinda Rajapakse is accused of paying Rs 500 million to the LTTE to prevent Tamil people from voting in the Presidential election as he feared Tamil people will vote for the United National Party candidate en masse. An answer to the accusation he bribed the LTTE is very straight forward. He has to either say ‘yes’ I paid or agreed to pay the sum or ‘no’ I did not pay or did not agree to pay the sum. Why any of this answer is not forthcoming? In law silence amounts to ‘acceptance’ and until a frank rebuttal with evidence is made, Mahinda Rajapakse will remain guilty of bribing the LTTE and dilly dally dancing with them to become the president.
LTTE is an organisation which survives in the dictatorial regime of secrecy and violence. Its record has shown it will avoid any engagement to confirm details of events except for occasions when its former mentor Late Anton Balasingam letting loose some honest salvoes with full vigour after bowing down to Johnny Walker.
Even before his death, Anton Balasingam in his public speech at the Hero’s Day celebrations in London in November 2005, just after the presidential election, said ‘we have defeated an international conspiracy (Tamil: Sarva Thesa Sathi Valai Pinnal) to elect Ranil as president’. Except for not saying ‘we received Rs 500 million from Mahinda Rajapakse’ he had given all the clues to the emerging accusations there was conspiracy hatched between Mahinda Rajapakse and the LTTE to prevent the Tamil people of north from participating in the election.
Preventing Ranil to become President well suited the LTTE as well, as Ranil was giving a clear message to the international community including Norway that he will find a permanent political resolution to the conflict if he is elected as the President. He was telling the international community ‘if I could bring peace with ceasefire agreed with the LTTE when I became the Prime Minister, I will work towards brining permanent peace to Sri Lanka with my election to the much higher position of becoming the President ’.
LTTE found Ranil’s stand dangerous as any political resolution to the conflict with international backing will make them vulnerable and they have to give up their status quo of controlling the real estate of Vanni.
Hard evidence emerging though former government ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Sripathi Sooriarachi and the Tamil parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan confirms conspiracy had been well executed and the President is trying very hard to avoid giving an answer to the accusation of bribing the LTTE.
Mudslinging and vituperation are parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka. A matter of such importance undermining the very basis of democracy is peddled in a frenzied manner by the government. If public denial was not forthcoming, the government should have appointed an independent committee devoid from its influence to conduct an inquiry to unearth the truth. But subversion, subterfuge, lack of transparency and honesty has become the dictum in the conduct of the government.
Mahinda Rajapakse is following all deceptive methods to prolong his stay as President knowing very well he is an undemocratically elected President. It is clear he is using all the ploys to further undermine democracy and justice in Sri Lanka.
The associated development of this extraordinary situation is when the anti-Tamil racist parties like JVP and JHU appear to agree with deal stuck with the LTTE by Mahinda Rajapakse. Mahinda had played dirty politics by hugging JVP and JHU on one side and by bribing and hugging the LTTE on the other side. So far there is no cry of any funds being parted to the JHU and the JVP to secure their support at the Presidential election.
The JHU, JVP and the LTTE alignment with Mahinda in 2005 has produced a disgraceful Presidency and to the President’s credit, his near two years in office has seen over 6,000 people mainly Tamils being killed. This is what LTTE received in kind from the President for accepting the Rs500 million bribes.
The racist JVP and JHU are beneficiaries too of Mahinda’s election. They received legal concessions through political influence to divide the north and east with the help of the political Chief Justice Sarath De Silva.
Almost 60 years since Sri Lanka gained independence and democracy, such degrading underhand politics has waylaid the honest path of politics for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka lacks mature political leadership to take forward the nation to achieve the socio-political and economic freedom that people need to advance their status as a responsible player in the global community.
Mahinda Rajapakse is accused of paying Rs 500 million to the LTTE to prevent Tamil people from voting in the Presidential election as he feared Tamil people will vote for the United National Party candidate en masse. An answer to the accusation he bribed the LTTE is very straight forward. He has to either say ‘yes’ I paid or agreed to pay the sum or ‘no’ I did not pay or did not agree to pay the sum. Why any of this answer is not forthcoming? In law silence amounts to ‘acceptance’ and until a frank rebuttal with evidence is made, Mahinda Rajapakse will remain guilty of bribing the LTTE and dilly dally dancing with them to become the president.
LTTE is an organisation which survives in the dictatorial regime of secrecy and violence. Its record has shown it will avoid any engagement to confirm details of events except for occasions when its former mentor Late Anton Balasingam letting loose some honest salvoes with full vigour after bowing down to Johnny Walker.
Even before his death, Anton Balasingam in his public speech at the Hero’s Day celebrations in London in November 2005, just after the presidential election, said ‘we have defeated an international conspiracy (Tamil: Sarva Thesa Sathi Valai Pinnal) to elect Ranil as president’. Except for not saying ‘we received Rs 500 million from Mahinda Rajapakse’ he had given all the clues to the emerging accusations there was conspiracy hatched between Mahinda Rajapakse and the LTTE to prevent the Tamil people of north from participating in the election.
Preventing Ranil to become President well suited the LTTE as well, as Ranil was giving a clear message to the international community including Norway that he will find a permanent political resolution to the conflict if he is elected as the President. He was telling the international community ‘if I could bring peace with ceasefire agreed with the LTTE when I became the Prime Minister, I will work towards brining permanent peace to Sri Lanka with my election to the much higher position of becoming the President ’.
LTTE found Ranil’s stand dangerous as any political resolution to the conflict with international backing will make them vulnerable and they have to give up their status quo of controlling the real estate of Vanni.
Hard evidence emerging though former government ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Sripathi Sooriarachi and the Tamil parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan confirms conspiracy had been well executed and the President is trying very hard to avoid giving an answer to the accusation of bribing the LTTE.
Mudslinging and vituperation are parliamentary democracy in Sri Lanka. A matter of such importance undermining the very basis of democracy is peddled in a frenzied manner by the government. If public denial was not forthcoming, the government should have appointed an independent committee devoid from its influence to conduct an inquiry to unearth the truth. But subversion, subterfuge, lack of transparency and honesty has become the dictum in the conduct of the government.
Mahinda Rajapakse is following all deceptive methods to prolong his stay as President knowing very well he is an undemocratically elected President. It is clear he is using all the ploys to further undermine democracy and justice in Sri Lanka.
The associated development of this extraordinary situation is when the anti-Tamil racist parties like JVP and JHU appear to agree with deal stuck with the LTTE by Mahinda Rajapakse. Mahinda had played dirty politics by hugging JVP and JHU on one side and by bribing and hugging the LTTE on the other side. So far there is no cry of any funds being parted to the JHU and the JVP to secure their support at the Presidential election.
The JHU, JVP and the LTTE alignment with Mahinda in 2005 has produced a disgraceful Presidency and to the President’s credit, his near two years in office has seen over 6,000 people mainly Tamils being killed. This is what LTTE received in kind from the President for accepting the Rs500 million bribes.
The racist JVP and JHU are beneficiaries too of Mahinda’s election. They received legal concessions through political influence to divide the north and east with the help of the political Chief Justice Sarath De Silva.
Almost 60 years since Sri Lanka gained independence and democracy, such degrading underhand politics has waylaid the honest path of politics for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka lacks mature political leadership to take forward the nation to achieve the socio-political and economic freedom that people need to advance their status as a responsible player in the global community.
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