By Charles.S.Perera

Before there was peace. We had left behind the fear psychosis of a few years back, the claymore bombs, suicide bombers, and even the rickety homemade planes that bombed the Colombo city.  Instead, we saw and heard development in progress. The massive construction sites,  trucks, tractors. waste haulers were common sights. There were armies of construction workers in their hard yellow hats,  trying as it seemed to do an impossible job to fill the sea to extend the land to construct the  Colombo Port City.

The President of China  His Excellency Mr.Xi Jinping had visited Sri Lanka to inaugurate the construction of the Colombo Port City. He laid the foundation stone with all ceremonial elegance and splendor. 

Development was not confined to Colombo, New railway tracks were laid, railway stations were renovated,  and now a long time after, there are trains from Colombo to Jaffna. The first time in the history of Sri Lanka, ancient potholed macadamized roads were carpeted, new bridges were built, modern highways were being constructed. All this and a new airport and a harbor saw  Sri Lanka stepping into a new era of development and modernization. Buildings of different shapes and heights were being constructed for schools, hospitals, hotels, and homes.  

At the Bandaranayake International Airport,  huge planes carrying hundreds of tourists in their bellies were vomiting them out into sun and heat to be driven away to fleets of waiting for luxury coaches outside to take them to their Hotels.  Colombo was at last clean and tourists seem to enjoy the change. There were clean restaurants and eateries serving fresh food. The business was booming.  Service was brisk and efficient everywhere. The three-wheelers and cab drivers had a steady income. Super Markets were popping up in every town. The people were happy, satisfied and peaceful.

But yet there are those that grumbled ready to find fault. The opponents of the Government complained of a white van culture, lack of press freedom, dictatorship,  Impeachment of the Chief Justice seemed to them an interference into the judiciary.  The West liked developing countries left in poverty,  and dependent on their generosity. Therefore, the West which did not expect Sri Lanka to have ended terrorism and enter into a fast track development,  joined with the Tamil diaspora to encourage the Tamil Politicians in Sri Lanka to step up their demands for devolution of political power and territorial separation.  

The USA  which had changed tactics for regime change in developing countries has now resorted to NGO funded locals recruited for the purpose. Those in the West who have found a vocation in human rights are in International Forums backed by terrorist supporting Tamils in the diaspora, accusing  Sri Lanka Armed Forces of violation of human rights.

USA brought a resolution against the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. for violation of human rights and war crimes.

After eliminating terrorism, after 30 years of suffering, while at last Sri Lanka found peace and security , and the people regained their smiles,  the Government  of President Mahinda Rajapakse  had to face the Western forces backed by the Tamil Diaspora which had begun  to create new problems and dissension among communities, calling  for reconciliation measures.

Despite whatever accusations the interested parties in Colombo make against   President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government,  one cannot deny that President  Mahinda Rajapakse had the foresight  and a definite plan for the development of the country that no Presidents before him had.  It was appreciated by the masses of people who suffered most under terrorism whether they were in the North or in the south.  The virulent critics of Rajapakse and his government  came from among the English Educated  Colombians, with an  outlook and aspirations different from the ordinary mass of people outside

The President Mahinda Rajapakse who in 2014 had two more years for the end of his term of office, decided to call for a Presidential election two years before his term ended, probably because he thought that if he were to win,  he would have five full years to complete the projects he had planned. But that turned out to be an unfortunate decision.

His defeat at that Presidential election in January 2015 was assured by a plethora of foreign governments spending millions of Dollars with their secret service personnel working from within the country for the change of regime. After the defeat of President Mahinda Rajapakse, the US Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that the American State Department spent 585 million US Dollars to establish democracy in  Burma, Nigeria and Sri Lanka  (https://www.sott.net/article/334209-US-spent-585mn-on-promoting-democracy-worldwide-in-past-year-and-proud-of-it).

This shows how frightful was the involvement of the USA in the internal affairs of a sovereign state, for their own benefit and not at all for the establishment of Democracy. The proof of this comes from the ACSA, SOFA and MCC agreements the signing of which are demanded by the US State Department. The benefits of these agreements are for the USA Armed Forces. The stupid Minister Mangala Samaraweera is gullible to swallow whatever rope given by America.

These agreements presented to Ranil Wickramasinghe brings to mind the CFA Ranil Wickramasinghe signed with the terrorist leader Prabhakaran without even consulting the President of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.   The American Embassy has informed that the MCC agreement after being signed will be presented to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Of what use will it be debated in Parliament if it has already been signed by the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka?

The events that followed  after the election of  Maithripala Sirisena as the President  and his  unconstitutional swearing-in of Ranil Wickramasinghe the leader of the UNP as the Prime Minister , and setting up a 100 day government of the UNP and SLFP which they called the Yahapalanaya, was the beginning of the fall of a country that was secured  from terrorism  and developed to a middle income status, with a fast-developing economy.

The Yahapalanaya Government of Ranil Wickramasinghe and UNP started off by the biggest Bond Scam- the robbery of the Central Bank by the government itself,  which had never been heard of before anywhere in the World. Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe had evidently planned it by conveniently appointing a citizen of Singapore Arjun Mahendran who was his school friend at Royal College Colombo and a  friend of his  Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake, as the Governor of the Central Bank. 

Despite the scandal that followed and the accusations and the call for the arrest of the perpetrators, another bond scam was repeated the following year. Committees and Commissions were appointed to inquire into the robberies but little happened thereafter to punish the thieves”, the first accused the ex-Governor of the Central Bank,  the Citizen of Singapore had fled the country.

After the general elections the SLFP of President Maithreepala Sirisena and the UNP and its alliance of political parties- the Yahapalanaya,  wanted to change all development projects started by the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Prime Minister set up a special police FCID under him to arrest and take into custody the former President, his family and his supporters for theft and corruption. 

It was a wild goose chase which even after an hour and a half years could not find a single theft or file a valid charge against any one of the previous government, accept harassing them continuously taking them to courts and then to prison and releasing them as the accusations were not substantiated. That had been the major pre-occupation of the Yahapalanaya government throughout the past four and a half years.

The Yahapalanaya believed that the USA and the West will support them financially for the development of the country instead of the Chinese on whose financial support Mahinda Rajapakse had depended on the development of the country. They severed connections with China first by stopping the work of the Colombo Port City financed by China. The Foundation stone laid by the President of China His Excellency Xi Jinping was remùoved and thrown away with the other debris. They renamed the site the Colombo Financial City”.

It was only later that they found to their deception and chagrin that America had other interests in Sri Lanka than financing any development projects.

Today four and a half years after Yahapalanaya,  Sri Lanka is economically at the brink of bankruptcy. There is a resurgence of different terrorism worse than what Sri Lanka had seen before, which President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse had led its Armed Forces to eliminated successfully in  May 2009. The people are poorer. The new harbor at Hambanthota has been given on a renewable 99-year lease to China, and the Hambanthota Airport is to be sold to India.

However, there is, at last, some hope to stop Ranil Wickramasinghe led Yahapaalanaya causing further damage to the country and the people by changing the President at the presidential election scheduled to be held on the 16 November 2019. 

Ranil Wickramasinghe was determined to contest the Presidential elections from UNP led alliance of several Political parties.  But  Ranil Wickramasinghe’s Presidential candidacy was vehemently protested within the party, and his deputy leader Sajith Premadasa has been put forward as the Presidential Candidate of the UNP led alliance.  Sajith Premadasa is a vociferous man. He carries the mantle of his s father’s criminal conduct to thwart a rising of Sinhala youth in the country. The people have not lost the memory of at least one member of the family  burnt or tortured by his men

Even though Sajith  has been able to draw crowds for his meetings he does not speak against any wrongs of his leader Ranil Wickramasinghe, and has not spoken a word against the Bond Scam, selling of the Hambantota Harbour, of ACSA, SOFA and MCC Agreements Ranil Wickramasinghe is seen determined to sign with USA,  for  480 million Dollars offered  by USA  for the signing of the  MCC.  Why does the USA pay 480 million dollars for signing the MCC, if it is not for their benefit?

Sajith Premadasa the Presidential Candidate of the UNP led alliance is submissive to Ranil Wickramasinghe,  his leader.  Ranil Wickramasinghe is a stubborn leader who would not like to play the second fiddle to anyone else and would continue his authoritative disastrous path even if Sajith Premadasa were to be elected President. , Ranil Wickramasinghe allowed Sajith Premadasa to contest the Presidential election on condition that he would be the Prime Minister with some of the executive powers of the President which he manipulated to transfer to the Prime Minister under  19^th Amendment to the Constitution.

Sajith Premadasa at his political meetings shouts to demonstrates his youthful vigour and promises numerous things which he could have done while being a Minister in the Cabinet of the Yahapalanaya government. Sajith Premadasa has apparently done nothing in the Government except constructing poor houses, for poor people. 

The TNA  of the Tamil politicians has presented a  very racist and separatist 13 point demand as a condition to support the  Presidential Candidate Sajith Premadasa. But Sajith Premadasa has still not stated whether he accepts the 13 points or reject them. He is a deceptive candidate the large crowds at his meetings are no guarantee that they will all vote for him. The danger with Sajith Premadasa is that if he becomes the President it would again be Ranil Wickramasinghe with Paskaralingam and Charitha Ratwatte who will be running the Government, with Ranil as the Prime Minister.

When Sri Lanka was battered by terrorism and everybody around, foreign diplomats and Ministers of foreign Governments said that the terrorists were a strong-armed force and advised that there was no military solution to terrorism,  but a political settlement. But fortunately in 2005 at that decisive time in the history of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse was elected the  President. He turned out to be the savior – the legendary Diyasena. Mahinda Rajapaksa was a determined politician who had one thought at that time. It was to do or die. He wanted to end terrorism for good.

Today Sri Lanka is facing a different type of terrorism and the people are desperate having lost confidence in the government and seeing no immediate solution to their suffering. The situation is as it was in  2005. It was then a miracle that Mahinda Rajapakse was elected President. If he had not been elected President in 2005, we would still have terrorism and perhaps the country territorially divided and Communities separated.

Today nearly  15 years after the election of Mahinda Rajapakse as the President in 2005, Sri Lanka is again facing a situation worse than it was in 2005.  The country has lost everything it had achieved since the elimination of terrorism in May 2009.  The economy is in shatters. The development projects are grinding to a halt. The country is being forced to enter into doubtful agreements dividing the country selling its sovereignty to the USA for 480 million dollars and deprive the future generation of its ancient motherland as it had been for over 2600 years, its culture, its identity, and its valued heritage.

But as it was 15 years ago, today nearly  15 years after 2005,   once again to save the country from the  dangers it is facing , and rescue it from slipping into  disappearance Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has been presented  as a Presidential Candidate by  the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna to challenge the evil and wrench our country from the jaws of disaster,  and bring back its losing shine and glory , to place it  back among  the people who hold it sacred.    . 

Gotabhaya Rajapakse had given his youth to the service in the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. He walked the rough soil in rain or sunshine. He was a fearless worrier who faced the ruthless terrorists face to face. He walked besides death as his companion, to win a war against terrorism to save the country from being divided.  He fought to eliminate the enemies of the country to bring peace and security to everyone-  Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim. 

Gotabhaya Rajapakse did not run away from the battlefield, but retired and lived with civilians and worked with foreigners. He came back to organize and coordinate the three Armed Forces the Army, Navy and Air Force as the Defence Secretary. He stood beside the President and worked alongside the Armed Forces to allow the respective Commanders to conduct the war with the soldiers of the Army, sailors of the Navy and the airmen of the Airforce,  to conduct a successful war to eliminate terrorism.

Gotabhaya Rajapakse has experience in the battlefield as much in the administration. He has a sharp intellect. He organized the Army personnel for their life after the war. They were trained in different fields,  as farmers to run farms, to help in natural disasters, cope with serious accidents. He got them trained in construction work, road building, landscaping, beautifying towns, parks, and gardens. He was able to get together specialists in different professions and knew how to work them, and prepare them to serve the country and successfully organize and complete projects.

Sajith Premadasa talks as he is a politician, but has not experienced real life. Sajith Premadasa talks to amuse people. He makes promises as if he had never been in the Government.  What he now promises to the people from the stage could have been done when he was a Minister in the Government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. Even as a politician we have not seen him participating in debates in the Parliament.

Gotabhaya Rajapakse is not a politician but a man loaded with experience. He is not an empty vessel that makes a noise, but a person who knows what he is doing, where he is going and what is expected of him.

Gotabhaya is the most qualified and the most suitable Presidential Candidate who when elected will glorify the Office of President as no office can glorify him.  Sri Lanka is fortunate to have a man like Gotabhaya Rajapakse to lead the Country, protect the country and the people and bring peace and security and have a nation of smiling satisfied people.