UPFA Campaign Strategy Has Failed Miserably: Ajith P. Perera
August 12, 2015
Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith P. Perera said that both the UPFA manifesto and the image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa have been tarnished during the general election campaign.
Speaking at a press conference at ‘Sirikotha’ UNP headquarters, Perera said that the UPFA manifesto, which promises ‘a guarantee for the future’, does not even have a guarantee for the present.
The UPFA stalwarts backing Rajapaksa thought that they could carry on the election campaign on the back of Rajapaksa’s perceived popularity, Perera said. However, the plan has failed miserably and the UPFA campaign is limping forward, he added. This has further tarnished the image of Rajapaksa, Perera argued.
UNP Kurunegala candidate Nalin Bandara said that the people of Kurunegala did not ask for the return of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to politics from their district.
Bandara stated this when asked about Rajapaksa's claim that he returned to politics due to overwhelming requests made by the people.
Speaking to Asian Mirror yesterday, Bandara said that Rajapaksa's candidacy was a blessing in disguise for the UNP. He claimed that even the moderate SLFP supporters are questioning the return of Rajapaksa, who is a defeated candidate. Only those who blindly follow him support Rajapaksa, Bandara insisted.
He further said that he was certain of UNP victory in the Bingiriya Electorate and the Kurunegala District.
Nalin Bandara is the UNP Chief Organizer in Bingiriya.
Rajapaksa Camp Has No New Faces, Says Ranawaka
August 12, 2015Although the UPFA campaign slogan speaks about starting afresh, there are no fresh faces among the main candidates of the UPFA, Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka said.
Speaking at an election rally last evening at Maharagama, Ranawaka said that the United National Front for Good Governance has put forward some fresh faces to the election campaign.
Furthermore, those who support good governance principles have gathered around the UNFGG, he added. Ranawaka insisted that the UPFA will be soundly defeated in the August 17 election.
'Thajudeen’s Girlfriend Was Forced To Listen As He Was Tortured': Sujeewa Senasinghe Claims
August 11, 2015
Deputy Justice Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe today claimed that according to information received by him, Wasim Thajudeen’s girlfriend was forced to listen over the phone as he was tortured, before he was murdered.
Senasinghe made this chilling revelation today at a press conference held in Colombo.
He added that those who are afraid of the details coming out are insisting that Thajudeen’s death was a murder. However, Senasinghe argued that no individual had ever died when a vehicle caught fire. If an accident happened and a vehicle caught fire, the driver would not remain inside, he also pointed out.
Senasinghe added that the former government of Mahinda Rajapaksa purposefully undermined the investigations, avoiding key pieces of evidence.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is shedding crocodile tears on the death of former Sri Lankan ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen, Minister Arjuna Ranatunga stated.
Speaking at a meeting in Dekatana yesterday, Ranatunga said that it was ironical to see the former president promising to launch an investigation to Thajudeen’s death.
Those who were against the Rajapaksa government had always insisted that it was not an accident but murder. Even though the death occurred in 2012, the Rajapaksa government did not launch any investigation on the matter, Ranatunga said.
The body of Wasim Thajudeen was exhumed yesterday for forensic analysis following a request by the CID.
BBC Says Mahinda Rajapaksa Is Fighting For Political Survival
August 11, 2015
As Sri Lanka prepares to go to the polls next week, the country's controversial former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, is fighting a battle for his political life.
He has faced a dizzying reversal in his fortunes.
This is the man who presents himself as the warrior king who, in 2009, ended the island nation's 26-year-long civil war.
The country's Tamil minority paid a terrible price for his "victory". One UN report estimates that 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the last few weeks of the war.
But finally putting an end to years of conflict proved hugely popular with the majority Sinhalese population and Rajapaksa and his family seemed set to run Sri Lanka for decades to come. He ended the two-term limit for president and appeared to be grooming his eldest son for power.
That all changed in January when, in a betrayal worthy of a Shakespearean drama, Rajapaksa was unseated.
His uncharismatic health minister Maithripala Sirisena unexpectedly won a narrow majority in the presidential elections, standing against his former political master.
But Rajapaksa is back, now standing not for president, but to be a humble MP - although he says he expects his party to do well enough to ensure he will become prime minister.
When I spoke to him in the kitchen of his huge house in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, he told me he was only running by popular demand.
"They want me," he said. "I thought I'd retired but when I went back to my village, you should have seen the queues! There were over 100,000 people."
That may be so, but there are other compelling reasons for Rajapaksa to want to return to power.
Since he lost the presidency, his reputation has come under attack. Members of his inner circle have been accused of graft, abuse of power and even murder. They deny the allegations.
Meanwhile Rajapaksa, the self-styled father of the new Sri Lankan nation, is alleged to have been involved in corruption on an epic scale.
He told me he was a victim of smears put about by his opponents.
"This is all political tricks," he insisted when we spoke. "Politically they want to attack us so they will do that."
I asked about the allegations that billions of dollars had been stolen during his time in power.
"So why don't you help us find this money?" he barked angrily, as his entourage swept the visibly irritated former president out of the house and into a waiting Mercedes.
He was more forthcoming at a huge rally just outside Colombo.
His effort to become an MP is being run as if he was still a presidential candidate. Before he takes to the platform there are endless speeches by fawning supporters, songs extolling his many virtues, and swooping cameras to project images of his cheering fans onto vast television screens.
He told the crowd the real corruption is in the new government, citing an alleged scam involving the sale of government bonds.
He also warns that the current government's plans to devolve power to the Tamil north will split the nation in two.
But it isn't clear he has the attention of some of his key supporters. During his speech I watched as one of the dignitaries on the podium behind him slumped forward gently and nodded off.
And his arguments seem to be falling on deaf ears amongst the public too. He's expected to win his parliamentary seat comfortably but a recent opinion poll suggests his party is trailing significantly behind the government.
Nevertheless it would be wrong to write the old warhorse off quite yet.
The fact that he is standing at all is testament to this veteran politician's tenacity, and the huge turnout at his rallies shows he still has some passionate supporters.
(BBC)
Rajapaksa Justifies 18th Amendment, Seeking Third Term
August 11, 2015
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated that he passed the 18th Amendment and decided to run for a third term because there was a demand from the people to remain in office until the work he had started could be finished.
Taking part in the 360 political talk show on TV Derana, he insisted that the people, not the constitution, should decide on whether the president could take office for a third term. There is no need to merely follow what is said in the US or French systems, he added.
Rajapaksa also said that people decided to refuse him a third term. He bowed to the decision and went to his hometown, he added.
Rajapaksa stressed that he is contesting in the upcoming general election purely due to the demand of the people. He pointed out that thousands of people came to see him in Medamulana and Tangalle ever since he left Colombo following the election defeat.
Former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa had contacted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over the phone on a matter concerning investigations into Wasim Thajudeen's death.
Responding to the former First Lady's request, the Prime Minister had said he was not in a position to interfere with investigations into the Rugby player's mysterious death.
The CID investigate whether a jeep belonging to Siriliya Saviya Foundation was used to abduct Thajudeen before his death. The vehicle had been presented to the foundation by an international non-governmental organisation operating in Colombo.
Siriliya Saviya Foundation was headed by former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa. The CID had received information that a secret discussion on Thajudeen had taken place among some senior officers of the PSD prior to the incident.
A senior official from the organization had already been questioned by the CID in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, sources close to Thajudeen's family said the Prime Minister had assured the Rugby player's family that he would continue with investigations irrespective of political pressure.
Eknaligoda's Wife Lashes Out At Rajapaksa, Aides
August 10, 2015
Missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda's wife Sandhya today blamed the former government of Mahinda Rajapaksa for her husband’s disappearance and rejected the pledges by Rajapaksa and his aides to investigate the matter if the UPFA comes to power.
Speaking at a special media conference, she requested the Army to handover any army officers connected to the disappearance of her husband to the CID.
She said that she had received information regarding an army officer connected to her husband’s disappearance imprisoned in a camp at Girithale, Minneriya or Batticaloa.
Sandhya Eknaligoda said that she had repeatedly requested the help of Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Shiranthi Rajapaksa to find her husband. She revealed that she even requested a meeting with the former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa. None of her pleas were answered, Sandhya Eknaligoda said.
Meanwhile she requested the President to direct the CID to do a thorough investigation the incident into the disappearance of her husband.
Two military intelligence officers were arrested in connection Pragneeth Ekneligoda's disappearance last week. Reports said that the CID is expected to question two army officers based on the information given by the two suspects.
Exhumation Of Thajudeen's Body: Protest Held Near Burial Ground
August 10, 2015A protest against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was held near the burial ground where former Havelock's Captain Wasim Thajudeen's body was exhumed this morning.
Protestors carried placards attacking Rajapaksa, whose family is being accused by certain parties of involvement in the alleged murder.
Both the former President and his elder son Namal Rajapaksa have denied any involvement with the alleged murder.
Thajudeen's body was exhumed amidst heavy security this morning at the Dehiwela Muslim burial grounds.
