I Tried To Control Mervyn - Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

From The Sunday Leader

He was considered a powerful Defence Secretary during his term in office but Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says the media portrayed the wrong image about him. In an interview to an independent organization, the video of which was handed over to The Sunday Leader, Rajapaksa said that when he was in office he did everything in good faith. He also said that allegations raised against him, particularly by people like former Minister Mervyn Silva, should not be taken seriously.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

Q: At the end of the last Presidential election there were claims that a conspiracy was hatched at Temple Trees to prevent the new Government from taking office. Your name was mentioned as one of the conspirators. Is this true? Why did G. L. Peiris, Udaya Gammanpila and others meet at Temple Trees?
A: If I planned a conspiracy it would not have been unsuccessful. The situation now would have been different. There was no reason to stage a conspiracy. Nothing of that sort happened. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over power to the new President and left. Before that the police intelligence had received information of an attempt to create violence soon after the election. There were fears a group of people may surround Temple Trees.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) was aware of this. The President was informed about this and the IGP had felt a curfew will be needed to prevent violence. The President had asked the IGP if a police curfew in a selected area will be enough but the IGP had said that it will not be enough. The advice of the Attorney General was sought and the Attorney General had suggested that curfew not be imposed.
The then opposition leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe was later asked to come and meet the President and power was peacefully transferred to the new President.

Everything took place democratically. Some people may have assumed that President Mahinda Rajapaksa will hold onto power by force. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was praised for the way he peacefully transferred power. The people who want to sling mud at his actions are the ones who are claiming that a conspiracy was hatched.

Q: What was your role in the former Government?
A: Whatever I did, I did in good faith and for the betterment of the country. Whatever the responsibilities that were given to me I have shown results. During the President’s (Rajapaksa) first term in office, my major task was to eradicate terrorism.

I have done that. During the second term the additional responsibility of urban development was given to me.

It is very evident that I have done that role very successfully. It is also very important to note that I was able to maintain the peace even after the war. We were able to take various measures to ensure the LTTE does not regroup or restart terrorism in the country.

Whatever people may say, they have to accept that we gave the people a lot of freedom. We tried to bring normalcy, especially to the North and East.
No one is recognizing these facts. Even 13,000 rehabilitees, we never charged them. The President decided that we must rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.

We did a very successful rehabilitation programme and reintegrated them back into society. These things are not discussed even in the international forums.

They talk against us but they don’t discuss the plus factors.
I never used my powers beyond my responsibilities.

Whatever I did I did within my responsibilities purely in good faith, to do the correct thing and to bring results.
In the urban development, look at the changes I have brought to Colombo. Even people who use the walking paths we have made criticize it and walk on it.

Q: What were the core issues you identified when you took over as Defence Secretary?
A: The biggest issue in the military was the strength. No Government identified this or identified and did not do anything. I identified this and told the President I have to triple the size of the military if you want to finish this war. I was able to convince the President we have to do this despite the issues faced by the treasury.

We had to spend a lot of money but I showed him that unless we do this we will not be able to finish this war. I am sure if we had not done that, whatever the tactics we use we will still be fighting the war.

Also diplomatically I knew to continue this war India is a factor. We had to keep India with us. Any other country can go against us but we knew if India goes against us it is very difficult to continue the war. So we devised a mechanism to keep India with us. We never depended on the traditional method of going through the Foreign Ministry.

We created this troika where three people from Sri Lanka and three from India were involved and we were able to neutralize many sensitive issues because we discussed very frankly the issues which were arising.

For example on one occasion Karunanidhi launched a hunger strike and I got a call from the Indian troika saying they need to meet the President. I spoke to the President and he agreed to meet them and the next day they came and met and we were able to issue a statement saying we will continue without using heavy weapons.

Mr. Karunanidhi was happy and he ended the hunger strike and we continued with the war.

Q: So where did things go wrong because you seem to have had a close link with the Indians?
A: Till the end of the war we had a close link and we were able to develop the relationship between both countries. Unfortunately after the war completely new characters came in the troika and the relationship was broken.

Q: Did you use military power to remove people during the Colombo beautification project?
A: That is not true. Most of the time people willingly gave the land. For example at Castle Street there were people. We build them houses before they moved. Of course there are minority numbers who lose some benefits by leaving shanties so they did not want to go and then the opposition, no matter if something is good or bad, they oppose it. Those are challenges you have to face if you want to achieve results. A majority of the people wanted to leave for better houses. Only a few cases did not want to move and then the police was used. Why they say the military was used is because I attached some military officers to the Urban Development Authority. So when they go the people say I used the military. Why I used them is because I thought I must use the commitment and skills of these military officers in urban development as well.

Q: Did you feel at anytime that people feared you?
A: That was because of the wrong impression created about me. Media unfortunately projected me as a difficult person to approach and talk to.

Q: Former Minister Mervyn Silva has made accusations against you including over the assassination of former The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge. How do you respond to this?
A: Those are very baseless allegations. It is very unfair for a former Minister to make irresponsible allegations. I am sure he is doing this to cover himself. Everyone in this country knows who Mervyn Silva is. Unfortunately our Government did not take proper action against Mervyn Silva at that time. But I did many things to control him. On many occasions, I arrested many of his people who were taking ransom. But unfortunately at a higher level action should have been taken. But I don’t take him seriously and I don’t think the people of this country take him seriously.

Q: Why were there several incidents targeting the media during the previous regime?
A: Unfortunately I can’t mention names. But various people at various times did these things. But all these things ultimately came on me. Now there is an opportunity to conduct an investigation so I am not afraid if they re-open the files and conduct a genuine investigation. But it should not be a witch hunt.

Q: There were also accusations that you were protecting Duminda Silva.
A: That is actually wrong. I associated with Duminda Silva as he was a Colombo Parliamentarian and nothing else. That association also started because of the Colombo urban development. He represents areas where people need houses. I did not have any friendship or knew him previously. He was a monitoring MP of urban development. I never got any information from the police to the effect that he was involved in drugs.

Q: The new Government has launched investigations over alleged corruption and even here you have been accused.
A: This is where the Government has gone wrong. When I was the Defence Secretary I was very transparent in my transactions. Also I have only one bank account in the whole world and that is at the Bank of Ceylon. I had a bank account in the US but I closed that down. Also as Government officials we need to declare our assets and I have done that regularly. So they (the Government) can check my present assets and publish that so then everything will be very clear. I had no secret accounts. I should say I am one of the cleanest people in the world. I know this in my heart. One day those who make these allegations will repent that they have made a mistake over these allegations.

A New Spin to the Gotabhaya Account Money - Galle Face land sales went to Defence Min. account against Treasury regulations

From The Times On Line

Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s contention on Monday that money from the sale of land at Galle Face went into a special Defence Ministry account was against all Treasury regulations, informed sources said.

Treasury sources, who declined to be named, said all such monies must be sent to the Treasury and the Consolidated Fund. ‘It is only thereafter that it is transferred to the respective projects. If this money was directly sent to a Defence Ministry account, then it violated standard regulations,” one source said.

Rajapaksa’s statement was issued by him and carried in a few websites in response to new Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake’s accusation that a large sum of money had been in a Bank of Ceylon account under the former Defence Secretary’s name.

The former Defence Secretary denied the allegation and has said this was a Defence Ministry account that was opened with cabinet approval with the money used for the construction of the military headquarters at Pelawatte.

However Treasury sources also referred to comments by Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane (over the years) that they have not received the money, which should have been deposited with the Treasury. “We have been waiting for this money. Now it seems it had been directly sent to this account violating stated rules,” the source said.

Dinesh asks Ravi to apologise to country

From The Daily Mirror

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) leader Dinesh Gunawardane said yesterday Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake should apologise to the country for making a false statement about a bank account maintained by former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Mr. Gunawardane told Parliament that the media had been manipulated under the new Government to spread falsehoods against the leaders of the previous Government.

He said there was a sinister media campaign about a coup hatched at Temple Trees on the day after elections.

"It is total fiction. I know the Prime Minister is aware of what happened. Therefore, I am asking the Government not to load people with false news. It does not help the good governance that you proposed," Mr. Gunawardene said.

Referring to the news item about a floating armoury in the sea off Galle, he said it was part of maritime security arrangements to protect the transnational ships and other naval activities to prevent sea piracy.

"This security arrangement has been recognised by the United Nation. Yet, the Government twists news stories. They are playing with the media. I kindly request you to allow the media to engage in impartial and accurate reporting rather than loading them with falsehoods," he said.

Mr. Gunawardene said nobody could forget the fact that it was former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who defeated separatist terrorism in this country.

"We all know Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa played a pivotal role in this effort. Today, there are accusations against him about running a bank account with a balance of eight billion rupees. This news has been vehemently denied even by the new Defence Secretary," he said.(Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera

Helping Sri Lanka’s New Democracy

By RYAN GOODMAN - New York Times

Sri Lanka’s voters shocked themselves and the world this month by tossing out their president, who crushed the Tamil insurgency in 2009 and then led the country, along with his brother as defense secretary, to the brink of authoritarianism. The new president has promised to restore freedom of the press, independence of judges, and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

Democracy advocates, including Secretary of State John Kerry, say this is the country’s most important chance to open a new chapter in more than a decade.

But the country must make sure that members of the ousted regime do not return to power and that the new government can secure its authority. The United States — and only the United States — can do something to help make that happen.

The former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and his brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, aren’t politically dead yet. Critical parliamentary elections are scheduled for April. The new president, Maithripala Sirisena, rode to electoral victory on the back of a diverse group of parties. He must now consolidate his power so that democratic reform can go ahead.

What can the United States do to help? Mr. Kerry said the United States would take up longstanding human rights concerns with the new government. The State Department has spearheaded the creation of a United Nations investigation into war crimes committed under the Rajapaksa regime during the country’s civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009.

But that inquiry offers both too much and too little at this point. Too much, because pushing for full, sweeping accountability in this fragile moment of transition could destabilize the new government and jeopardize the warming of relations between the United States and Sri Lanka. Too little, because the United Nations investigation doesn’t have any teeth — the panel leading it doesn’t have the powers of a criminal tribunal, and cannot even impose a financial penalty.

Here is where Washington can play a constructive role.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former defense secretary, oversaw the Sri Lankan armed forces’ worst atrocities during the final stages of the civil war and, as it happens, he is a naturalized American citizen. (Indeed, he used to live in Los Angeles, where he worked as a computer systems operator at Loyola Law School.)

As a citizen, Mr. Rajapaksa can be held liable under the War Crimes Act of 1996, which puts war crimes anywhere in the world under the jurisdiction of United States courts if the perpetrator, or the victim, is a United States citizen. Put another way, the United States has a perfect justification to go after Mr. Rajapaksa individually.

Independent observers have long viewed Gotabaya Rajapaksa as an obstacle, perhaps even more than his brother, to a smooth political transition in Sri Lanka. There is little indication that he will respect the new government, which has opened an investigation to look into widely reported allegations that he and his brother attempted to engineer a military coup to overturn the election results.

It is in the new government’s interest to move decisively to protect its democratic victory by eliminating the threat of Mr. Rajapaksa’s return to power. That is a distinct possibility if his brother, Mahinda, succeeds in a bid to maintain control over the powerful opposition party.

That’s why marginalizing Mr. Rajapaksa now is important. The new president, Mr. Sirisena, has signaled that he is open to domestic criminal prosecutions to ward off foreign war crimes trials. And the president’s spokesman has indicated that the government may be willing to prosecute specific war crimes, such as the so-called White Flag incident, in which surrendering Tamil leaders with white flags were allegedly executed by soldiers on the final day of the civil war. That’s a highly significant statement because, as many Sri Lankans know, and as the State Department reported to Congress, the army chief at the time said that Mr. Rajapaksa gave the order “they must all be killed,” and later added that he would be willing to testify in a war crimes trial.

But proceeding against Mr. Rajapaksa will be politically challenging for the new Sri Lankan government to do on its own. The United States could help by signaling its own interest in opening a criminal case against Mr. Rajapaksa in the event that Sri Lanka doesn’t. That would give the new government both an opportunity and a justification to clean its house. Because of Mr. Rajapaksa’s citizenship, the United States would also be less vulnerable to accusations that it was meddling in the affairs of another nation.

The Obama administration might even say, in a very public way, that it will decide whether to proceed with its own criminal inquiry after giving Sri Lanka’s new establishment an opportunity to move first. Such signals from the United States could help politically marginalize the Rajapaksas at a critical point in the life of the country. They would also bolster President Sirisena’s efforts to have the country repudiate the past and recognize that its best future lies with his administration. The United States should do its part to bring accountability to Sri Lanka and assist its transition to democracy.

Ryan Goodman is a professor of law, politics and sociology at New York University and co-editor in chief of the blog Just Security.

Defence Secretary verifies Gotabaya’s claims

From Ada Derana

The newly appointed Secretary of Defence, B.M.U.D. Basnayake, today confirmed that the account held with the Bank of Ceylon’s Thapprobane Branch, containing nearly Rs 8 billion, is not under the name of his predecessor and that it belongs to the Ministry of Defence.

In a press conference yesterday (18), Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had claimed that a sum of Rs. 7,500 million was found in a bank account under the name of the former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and that the money has been transferred to the Treasury.

However, Rajapaksa has rejected the allegations leveled against him as “grossly misleading” and an attempt to discredit his reputation with “ulterior motive.”

In a statement released to media earlier today, he stated that it is an Operational Account dedicated for the use of financing the construction of Army Headquarters building at Pelawatta.

Rajapaksa also said that the account was created with the approval of the Cabinet from the revenue from the sale of land at Galle Face, Colombo where the Army Headquarters was previously located.

New Defence Secretary Basnayake confirmed these claims while also refuting Karunanayake’s allegation that it was used by the former Defence Secretary as a personal account.

The Raid on "Mahanuwara Nuakawa" floating armoury reminds me of 2002 Raid on Mattegoda LRRP of Army

Images with Courtesy of NETH FM

Today our efficient civil defense forces carried out a raid on the M/V Mahanuwara owned by Avant Garde Maritime Srevices (Pvt) Ltd through Avant Garde Security Services (Pvt) Ltd. This is a floating armoury which was bonded through the approval of Defense Ministry of Sri Lanka. It may be that the ownership of the holding company was questionable with regards to the connections with Mr Gotabhaya Rajapakse & the defense establishment. This floating armoury was a fantastic idea with relations to its activities against the Somalian Pirates. It may be that somebody holds a grudge against the function of its activities in relation to the former Defence Secretary! That is administrative issue that has to be resolved by the present rulers. This floating armoury is providing invaluable service to the to anti piracy activities. This whole matter may involve diplomatic consequences as well. I give below a article that had devastating consequences  to our effort in defeating LTTE operations. 

Army needs officers and gentlemen (Sunday Times Letters to Editor - 03/02/2002)

January 2, 2002 must be rated as one of the darkest days in Sri Lanka's military history. The raid conducted by some top-notch policemen on a 'safe house' in Athurugiriya following a 'tip off' has raised very sensitive issues. 

When I saw the news splashed in some Sinhala newspapers I felt that the whole story was improbable. 

No trained army personnel would require such a heap of weaponry for a civilian target in non-operational areas. The tangle of wires, cyanide capsules and Tiger fatigues were obvious. Even if, as the police first contended, everything was suspicious, what purpose would it have served by giving it wide publicity? The others would have gone into hiding or the evidence could have been destroyed making the whole exercise useless. 

I have been closely following the very objective analysis of Iqbal Athas, The Sunday Times Defence Correspondent. His articles on the January 2 episode are chilling. the LRRP operations were being carried out deep in LTTE-held areas by a handful of brave and dedicated men. Today their lives are shattered. I am sure they would have preferred death at the hand of the enemy rather than disgrace.

Thanks to some hasty and unwise decisions of those in uniform the whole country is in jeopardy. The way that some factions of the media splashed the news without verifying the facts of the discovery of the safe house and weaponry and some police officers posing before TV cameras expressing their views was nauseating to say the least. Apparently, there is a very serious security leak somewhere and that has to be in the higher echelons of the army. 

If the identities of these brave and dedicated men were revealed to all and sundry before they were found guilty, then the identities of the so- called 'informants' should also be revealed. The country should know who the real traitors are. If the top police officer says that he was given information over his cell phone, then it would not be difficult to trace it. He is duty bound to inform at least the courts of the identity of his informant. If they are army officers they should be dealt with, no matter what their rank. 

The army doesn't need men in their ceremonial uniforms. It needs officers and gentlemen. I am sure there are plenty of brave and committed men. I salute them and others who have paid the supreme sacrifice for their country. 

N. Perera
Mattegoda 

    

Mahinda to be given Gota’s official residence!

Image From Google Maps

From Lanka News Web

President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed that his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa be given former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s official residence at Stanmore Crescent, Colombo. This house has all the luxuries and has a garden extending to several acres. The ex-president is to be given this house as a result of his meeting with his successor on the night of January 14.

Since his request for an official residence met with a favourable response in that manner, Mahinda, together with speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, asked the president that Gotabhaya too, be given a house. President Sirisena has promised to look into that.

However, when Mahinda was the president, he had given his predecessor Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga only a second class house at Torrington Square, previously used by an additional secretary. As she had gone to stay there, there were no pipe borne water, electricity or sanitation facilities, and all those had been given some time after she began her stay.

Anyhow, the incumbent president, who shows kindness even to his enemies, has begun giving good precedence of Maithri Paalanaya with his predecessor.

Mervyn Silva goes to CIAOB against Basil & Gotabhaya!

News reports are quoting the Maverick Ex minister Mervyn Silva is at the Bribery Commission to lodge a complaint against Ex Politicos Basil & Gotabhaya Rajapakse. I think this news takes the BISCUIT!!!!!

Mangala files complaint on coup

External Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today over an alleged coup attempt by the former government on election night.

Police Spokesperson SSP Ajith Rohana said that the Minister had visited the CID office in Fort to file the complaint.

Meanwhile Samaraweera told reporters that he had filed a complaint against the former President Mahinda Rajapakse, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse and Chief Justice Mohan Peiris alleging they were involved in the attempt to prevent Maithripala Sirisena from taking office.

Sirisena won the Presidential elections last week defeating Rajapakse and Rajapakse was later commended for gracefully stepping down.

The former President had yesterday denied allegations that he had attempted to stage a coup. (Colombo Gazette)

Sri Lanka: “Attempted Coup” Rajapakse Is Trapped

A Translation of a News Report in Malayalam ‘Manorama Daily’ published on 12th January 2015 entitled 

Rajapakse: I need you to continue my protection!

Wickramasinghe: It can be continued.

Rajapakse: You should not make Sarath Fonseka the Defense Minister!

Wickramasinghe: I cannot guarantee such things.

Rajapakse: You should continue the personal protection to my brother Gotabhaya!

Wickramasinghe: Impossible.

( January 12, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sri Lanka Government has promised that the attempted coup by the former Sri Lankan President to maintain his Presidency will be investigated. It is reported that Mahinda tried to declare emergency or use the military or the police to undermine the just concluded Presidential Election. It is also reported that it is when all of these attempts failed that Mahinda Rajapaksa decided to hand over power.

It is assessed that Mahinda’s attempts to undermine the democratic process in Sri Lanka is likely to place Mahinda on trial after investigation and such a trial could destroy Mahinda’s political future.

The spokesperson for the new government Rajitha Senaratne, has disclosed how Mahinda, had tried to bring the army onto the streets to undermine the Presidential Elections. Managala Samaraweera another spokesperson for the government has disclosed the details of this incident Samaraweera affirmed that Mahinda vacated office only because the firm positions taken by the Military Chief Daya Ratnayake and Police Chief N K Ilangakoon, that they will not cooperate with Mahinda to undermine the elections.

In the meantime, attempts made by Mahinda to be back in the Parliament through nomination are also facing stiff setbacks. Each political party in Sri Lanka, according to their strength in the Parliament can nominate MPs to the Parliament. But Rajapakse is facing resistance from his own party to secure such a nomination. Nobody seems to be supporting Rajapakse’s bid to be the opposition leader even if he manages to get to the Parliament.

Reports showing how Mahinda’s government has tried to misuse authority for the election campaign have also been revealed. A team of observers from the Commonwealth countries have reported that government publications and media had completely avoided the incumbent president during his election campaign. The report also states that Mahinda had misused all government facilities for his election campaign. In the absence of an independent framework for the Elections Commissioner to operate the Elections Commission was finding it impossible to stop Mahinda’s misuse of office at the time of the elections.

The incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena has guaranteed to the nation that the new government will not follow the previous government’s policies of oppression and will ensure political and societal freedoms therefore, guaranteeing a new era in Sri Lanka.

From emergency to a coup;

Colombo: Highly placed sources in the government have divulged that when Mahinda was certain of his failure in the elections he tried his best to cling onto power. Mahinda tried to declare emergency rule. When it was not possible to directly undermine the elections Mahinda tried to do it indirectly through others.

When nobody listened to the then President, and when he found that vacating the office is the only way around Mahinda called Ranil Wickramasigne ( the incumbent Prime Minister) over telephone, and demanded that the new government should ensure a list of things in favour of Mahinda, failing which Mahinda threatened that he will not vacate office. When that bullying also did not succeed Mahinda had no way other than to vacate the office.

Attempts made by Rajapakse to continue in power

1. Tried to declare emergency in Sri Lanka and thereby to declare the ongoing elections process null and void

• Failed

2. Sought support from the joint operations command (JOC) to undertake a military coup

• The military refused

3. Ordered the Attorney General to declare the elections null and avoid

• Attorney General refused

4. Ordered the military commander to undertake a military coup

• The Commander refused

The following is an extract of the conversation between Rajapakse and Ranil Wickramasinge in which Rajapakse has placed conditions to vacate office peacefully.

Rajapakse: I need you to continue my protection!

Wickramasinghe: It can be continued.

Rajapakse: It is because LTTE is getting more active that I need high personal security !

Wickramasinghe: No, We will continue your protection as a former President of Sri Lanka.

Rajapakse: You should not make Sarath Fonseka the Defense Minister!

Wickramasinghe: I cannot guarantee such things.

Rajapakse: You should continue the personal protection to my brother Gotabhaya!

Wickramasinghe: Impossible.

Rajapakse: I need a big house to stay in as a former President of Sri Lanka!

Wickramasinghe: Impossible, you will get what you are entitled to.

Rajapakse: You should guarantee that there will not be any act of vengeance against me!

Wickramasinghe: Vengeance is not our policy, but I will guarantee you that whatever that is required to undertake a transparent and clean administration.

8th Jan: Poetic Justice For My Father Lasantha?

By Ahimsa Wickrematunge - From Colombo Telegraph

January 8, 2009: a blood-drenched, day in the media and human rights history of Sri Lanka. A day when tyrannical rulers drunk with power decided they must kill the messenger and let loose their murderous assassins on an unarmed journalist. On that day, my father’s vision for justice and equality ended. The death knell of democracy rang loud and clear.

January 8, 2015:  a day when those very persons responsible for Lasantha Wickrematunge‘s death are asking that a grateful and amnesiatic people re-elect them to power so their blood lust may continue and thrive.

As the daughter of that journalist, since then, January 8 has been the hardest day of the year for me, and now, the sheer audacity of the Sri Lankan government’s decision to hold the presidential election on the 6th anniversary of my father’s murder, is abominable to say the least.

It is no secret who was behind his death and who gave out the orders. It’s public knowledge. And though I speak from a victim’s standpoint, I am also trying to speak out as a Sri Lankan who is greatly concerned for the welfare of her country. And irrespective of the history, politics and  differences my family has had with this current regime, I only want what is best for my country and my people.

On my last trip to Sri Lanka about two months ago I was shocked and disgusted at how ridiculously high the cost of living is; I witnessed so much poverty and met so many families whose children go days without a meal. It seemed to me that while the everyday Sri Lankan struggles to educate and feed their children, their rulers are unconscionably living large on taxpayer money and induldging in extravagant expenditures, bribery and vulgar tamashas.

On that note, it really warmed my heart to hear that Opposition Presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena has declared that certain proceeds from his campaign will go into a fund for kidney patients who can’t afford dialysis treatments.

The only improvements I saw in Sri Lanka seemed to be the beautification programs and the road developments but no amount of quick-fix cosmetic changes will ever justify all the human rights abuses that have and are taking place.

Never in the post-independence history of our country has there ever been a leadership that has so much blood and corruption on their hands and brought so much shame to our country’s name. Both Mahinda and Gota continue to take the cake as two of Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Predators. Do not forget that it was this government that was alleged to have deprived civilians in the conflict zone of humanitarian aid during the closing stages of the war. It has systematically attempted to intimidate and silence the media and other critics through a plethora of threats and actions. Only in a totalitarian country like Sri Lanka today would leaders who have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity be up for election for another term.

Even though I lost a father I know I’m just one amongst the hundreds of thousands that lost loved ones to the war. My heart goes out especially to the tamil people who continue to grieve in silence.Its time for us all to have some accountability

It is unimaginable that the 8th of January could be an auspicious date for some also considering that It is the birth anniversary of SWRD Bandaranaike and the 6th death anniversary of my father. This 8th of Jan will be even harder because there’s a chance those that took my father’s life will be up for another term.. The present President’s astrologer deems it is “auspicious” for him to hold elections on this very same day.

The political party SWRD Bandaranaike founded is in fragments and so was my fathers’ body. Both under the present President who is seeking an unprecedented third term after promising to the people that he would abolish the cursed Executive Presidency.

It was this same President who on several occasions had informed my Uncle Lal that it was Gen Sarath Fonseka who killed my father. There is a case ongoing in the Magistrates Court of Mt Lavinia into my father’s death. I truly hope that he would go that short distance to place such evidence before court. Gen Sarath Fonseka when asked by a reporter from BBC accused the President and his brother Gota of killing my father.

After everything we have gone through as a country pre and post war, I think it’s really time for a change and nine years of what we have been through is enough. Nothing can stand in the way of millions of people calling for change.

If my father hadn't been slaughtered in a high security zone in broad daylight, there would be no way he would have stayed silent about what has been happening in this “Dhammadeepa”.  But of course he was summarily executed so the evils would remain skeletons firmly locked up.

Just like every right-thinking citizen my heart hurts for my country and my people. Let’s do what’s best for our children and our country.  The choice to dispense with these blights on society and democracy is in our hands.

Last Sunday at All Saints Church in Borella!!!!

In church at All Saints Borella last Sunday, I heard a sweet elderly lady in the pew behind me saying a

prayer.

It was so innocent and sincere that I just had to share it with you:

"Dear Lord: The last four

or five years have been very

tough.

You  have taken my favorite actor - Paul Newman; my favorite

actress - Elizabeth  Taylor; my favorite singer - Andy Williams,

My favorite author  -Tom Clancy, and now my 2 favorite comedians – Robin

Williams and Joan  Rivers.

I just wanted you to know that

(scoroll down)

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

my favorite politicians are –

Mahinda Rajapakse, Gotabhaya

Rajapakse, Duminda Silva and Mervyn Silva

Amen!

(By Anonymous)