Give me a government I can work with

Why you should vote for PA

Last serious chance for peace

The people are fed up, they want a change: Ranil

A party to protect Sinhala rights

People want change - Tilvin Silva

WP: where promises run hollow

Southern province: return of terror spectre 

Give me a government I can work with

By Dushyantha Samarasinghe

A - I feel it is clearly necessary to hold an election free of violence. I have issued statements to the media regarding this. I do not endorse violence. Not only me, but everyone in the party is against violence.

President Kumaratunga

I am aware that there are few of our people who have a tendency towards such acts. That is only a very few. Similarly I have said in my statement that whoever comes to Parliament through violence will not be allowed to sit in the Cabinet.

This is the seventh election being held after our party came to power. Of the six elections held before except for the Wayamba election there were no problems. There may have been insignificant incidents. But there was no election violence.

I am against the culture of election violence. As far as possible I have prevented it personally. In 1994 my supporters in the Attanagalle and Gampaha districts wanted my permission to retaliate their attackers within 24 hours. I did not allow it. At every meeting I have announced that if anyone does something wrong, I will punish them. Finally we were able to stop the violence by transforming election committees into peace committees.

As I see it, the opposition has conjured up a non-existent violence knowing that they are going to lose. In 1994 the Parliamentary election lasted for 34 days. During that period police received an average of 45 complaints of election violence a day. During this election police have received an average of 24 complaints a day. This means that the number of election violence has been drastically reduced.

Mr. Anura Bandaranaike spread a story that we were involved in violence. I learnt that cutouts and furniture at his office had been damaged. On September 26 Horagolla had been made a high security zone as there was a function. However, when I made inquiries police confirmed that no complaint had been made over the alleged incident. Even when UNP candidate Gamini Gunaratne was asked to lodge a complaint he has not done so.

Q - There is a great deal of controversy regarding letters said to have been exchanged between you and Prabhakaran. What is the exact position?

A - The exchange of letters took place between August 1994 and April 1995. The LTTE took 5 1/2 years to release them. Halfway through the publicity work for the general election, they started releasing the letters. Immediately the UNP got hold of parts of the letters and started answering them.

I believe that Ranil Wickremesinghe would have been informed about the letters, because they are having secret talks. However, they have not used the letters which are detrimental to the interests of the LTTE. A section of the letters are not in Anton Balasingham's book. I have the complete file on this.and we will publicise them. 

Within nine days of coming to power I wanted to negotiate.while having a ceasefire. Our main objective was to stop the war and solve the North East conflict.

We first sent second level representatives to the North in order to create amity. By this we learnt what their demands were. We gave them everything they requested to improve their lifestyles. We released to them a large number of banned items. However, we did not release a single military item.

The LTTE wanted us to remove the Pooneryn camp and the Elephant Pass camp. I refused to do that. Although Prabhakaran was powerful in the North at the time, it was a part of our country. Therefore we did not agree to their demands. There was no response from Prabhakaran even when we wrote to him for the second time. Then he responded to the third letter.by saying that there could be no talks as long as the forces occupy the North. 

In December 1994 we appointed a committee including Minister G. L. Peiris. In August 1995 we prepared the draft to be presented to the people and called them for talks. 

Q -It is alleged that the expenditure incurred to maintain the incumbent President is more than what was spent on the three previous Presidents. Is this true?

A -I have already answered the allegations over the Rupavahini. Apart from being the fourth President in the country,I have to look after certain ministries. The other Presidents did not have ministries except the Buddha Sasana Ministry. President D. B. Wijetunga was the Finance Minister for about a year. But the Finance Ministry was handled by Mr. Paskaralingam.

That was the time during which Mr. Paskaralingam signed cheques and gave them to Prabhakaran. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the chairman of the Economic Advisory Committee which decided on privatisation. 

During the past six years I looked after the work of five ministries including the Defence Ministry and the Finance Ministry. The Buddha Sasana and Plan Implementation ministries were entrusted to other ministers.

When I came to power those who did not have a single ministry had 480 employees. I reduced that to 400 and entrusted the work of five ministries to the Presidential Secretariat. Rs 239 million has been set aside this year to pay me and the other employees.. Rs 5089 million has been set aside for the President's expenditure. We have reduced that by 300. Last May when the war situation deteriorated we reduced the budget allocations of the ministers. Accordingly about Rs. 35 million was reduced from the budget allocation of the Presidential Secretariat.

Then it became about Rs. 5,000 million. This balance was utilised for the country's development. I improved several institutions which came under my purview. Of the Rs. 5,000 million, Rs. 4,100 million is spent on the Rehabilitation and Development Authority of the North. The balance is spent on salaries, the Human Rights Commissions, Child Protection Authority and three or four institutions that carry out research.

Ranil Wickremesinghe said for 17 years Rs. 22,400 million was spent. That means about Rs. 1,000 million had been spent annually. After reducing the number of employees I have also increased the salaries of government servants. But my salary was not increased. I only get Rs. 25,000.

Q: The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has presented a five year plan to develop the country. They have been very critical of the PA manifesto. As the JVP says does it mislead the people?

A: Our manifesto carries a small excerpt taken from V 21 the statement on our vision, the projected work for the next 10 years. We did not base this statement on lies and falsehoods. It states what was achieved in the past six years. We have presented clearly the obstacles we faced, the resources we had and what we can do in the future. When looking at what we have already done we wonder whether the JVP will be able to do these things. 

Q: You are confident of a PA victory. If the PA wins what will be the first task to be undertaken by the new Cabinet ? Similarly, how would you solve the people's problems?

A :My first obligation will be to complete the tasks which had been neglected. Similarly we will activate our education program. 

For the past two years we were busy with election work. This is the fifth election being held during the past one and a half years. Although elections are essential to democracy, they are time consuming. The economic development during the past six years is noteworthy. But we have not properly developed the state sector. Through the Samurdhi program we wanted the younger generation to participate in the country's development process A large number of projects have been launched in the villages. We have a program of development work to be carried out by the Pradeshiya Sabhas, Provincial Councils and the Central government. If the youth are entrusted with the work, corruption can be reduced to a great extent.

Q :You say that Provincial Council , Parliamentary and Pradeshiya Sabha elections were a nuisance. Are you going to change this election system ? 

A: The preferential electoral system is destroying everyone. This is something that J. R. Jayewardene and Ranil Wickremesinghe introduced with the intention of staying in power forever. But it is harmful to democracy, the voters and those coming forward for election. There is a lot of in-fighting within the parties and between parties because of the preferential vote. 

This is common to all the political parties. In the old system the candidate's name and symbol appear on the ballot paper. Accordingly the candidate who gets the highest number of votes and the party which gets the highest number of seats in the districts will be selected on the ratio system. 

Q - There is an allegation that the number of MPs are to be increased. This will incur a lot of expenditure. What is your opinion on this ?

A -It will not be a massive increase. It will only be about 75 people more. I believe that there will be a 35 per cent increase. Many people like the new constitution. Similarly they would like to see a change in the electoral system. By this means even the minor parties will get a place. 

Q -The inclusion of Varadarajah Perumal in the national list has been criticised. Do you not think that he once tried to divide the country?

A -Varadarajah Perumal without asking for Eelam contested the first Provincial Council election conducted by the UNP and won. Therefore you cannot say he tried to divide the country. While Prabhakaran was trying to divide the country, Varadarajah rose against him by contesting on the EPRLF ticket. The PLOTE and other organisations also contested but only the EPRLF won the election.

Varadarajah Perumal has called Mr. Ranil Wickre-mesinghe for a debate. If Mr. Wickremesinghe agrees for a debate, we might get the answer.

The UNP government signed the Indo-Lanka Accord and held the election to devolve power under the 13th Amendment. After coming to power they took a different stand. Finally Mr. Perumal had to declare Eelam. This does not mean what they did was right. 

The LTTE tried to destroy Mr. Perumal and his supporters.If they were allowed to construct schools and roads, and give jobss to youth, Prabhakaran's killing spree could have been halted.

Mr. Perumal has not joined our party. He is in the PA like so many others, such as, Dinesh Gunawardane, the Communist Party, the Sama Samaja Party, The Mahajana Pakshaya, and the Ceylon Workers Congress.

We see him as a symbol of the devolution of power in this country. The UNP is accusing that Mr. Perumal is on our list. However, there is an LTTEr in the UNP's Jaffna list.

Q -What will you tell the people about the election ?

A- The people of this country have given me a mandate for seven years. . If I were to rule this country, I ask that I be given a government I can work with. That is a People's Alliance government.

Why you should vote for PA

Last serious chance for peace

Q: What are your stakes at the Tuesday's elections ? 
A: The main contenders at this election are the PA and the UNP with the JVP being considered a third force. There is another force. They are the LTTE. They have killed several candidates and civilians. But the UNP has been campaigning in the east without problems. The fourth force is trying to sabotage election. There is a serious threat to our lives and democracy. 

Q: Do you think Tuesday's election is the last serious chance for peace? 
A: I believe that it is the last serious chance for peace. 

Q: The Prime Minister has said that the Norwegian peace initiative is over. Is it correct ? A: I don't think the PM put it that way.We have tried hard on political negotiations. It has not worked. The LTTE has kicked the chance for peace. They have played the fool with the Norwegians. The LTTE has not left any other option than concluding the war successfully. But we will not waver from solving the problems of the Tamils by introducing constitutional reforms. We will continue our efforts. There are only 5,000 LTTE members. There are so many Tamils against the violence. 

Q: Do you think that the Parliament would be made a constituent assembly after elections? 
A: If necessary, yes. 

Q: The Buddhist monks claim they have not been consulted on the constitutional reforms .Will you negotiate with them ? 
A: They were not neglected. The clergy too was silent after we introduced the constitutional reforms. I invited the monks on district basis. The Mahanayakes said they did not have sufficient meetings and went away. I was ready to meet the monks, but the UNP asked for more time. In the process we accepted lots of amendments proposed by the UNP. When I asked Ranil Wickremesinghe whether we could go ahead he said, 'I suppose we can go with it'. But so far they have not written to us and told why they did not support it. 

Q: Have your commanders advised you that a military solution was possible? 
A:Yes they have told that a military victory is possible. The LTTE has left us with no other option. Which other leader in the world has written to a leader of a terrorist organisation, except for me. While we were fighting the wars we kept telling the LTTE that we were willing for talks.. I didn't tell them to surrender or lay down arms. All that we asked was that bothsides should remain on their sides and we insisted on a time frame. 

Q: Would you be able to work with Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe as a Prime Minister ? 
A: Very difficult. 

Q: How can you overcome the opposition to the constitutional reforms? 
A: We are not scared of the opposition. The people will resolve it. We were technically obstructed in approving the constitution, not because the people obstructed it. We should be able to get through the constitution. Even otherwise we have other means. 

Q: What are the chances for future negotiations ? 
A: There might be a remote chance. 

Q: The Opposition leader has said that if he wins you could continue as President. 
A: How generous he is. Actually I can go on for seven years. But I have refused to take the additional year and will go only for six years. I have serious doubts that I could work with a UNP government. 

Q: There are allegations that the election has been marred by violence . How could you ensure a free and fair election? 
A: The government has held six elections in the past. Except for the Wayamaba election all the other elections have been fair. If you bring any evidence that there has been violence which could have affected the result of any election other than the Wayamaba election I will resign forthright. 

The people are fed up, they want a change: Ranil

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Q: You lost the Presidential elections and a series of elections before. Whether by fair means or foul. What makes you think this election will be any different? 
A:There is little point in harping on the past. That is what this Government does and it gets us nowhere. In the UNP we have had six years to look afresh at ourselves and our policies. The people have a choice between the old ways of running a country as demonstrated by the PA or a new way that gives hope for the future. We believe that they will vote for a change from the past. 
But every generation ultimately rebels against the old ways from within. We will do everything possible to make this a safe and fair poll. But we have noticed a sea of change in attitudes. I think the people are now determined to see that this sort of thing never happens again. The UNP is the only Party to put forward a series of proposals to make that happen. So I think whatever the provocation the people will show the grit and determination to overcome these challenges and vote for their future. 

Q: Would you agree that rigging can bring about victory (to the PA) only if the count is a close one. So in the least, would you not agree that the election is a toss up between the PA and the UNP? 
A:Yes it is between the UNP and the PA parties but I do not think this election will be close. As I said earlier, we have noticed a sea of change in attitudes. 
We are making a special plea to people in the final stages of this campaign. If they want an end to economic decline and high prices, if they want an intelligent solution to the war and if they want a change to the way politicians treat them then they should vote for the UNP. 
You know there are a lot of people who havenít voted in the past elections because of their mistrust of politicians and the political climate of violence and intimidation. If we are ever to get the right change then we need those people to vote for their futures. So just to make sure we are asking every UNPer to persuade a friend who didnít vote before to go with them and make sure of a UNP victory. We will only be able to carry out our programme if we have such a clear majority. And that the smaller parties will play a role in the Post-election Cabinet forming process? 
Letís win the election first. But we have made it clear that a UNP Government will ask all Members of Parliament regardless of political affiliation to play their part in our programme of renewal for our country. That will mean spending less time telling people what to do and more time listening to the people and acting upon their concerns. 
As Prime Minister I hope any Member of Parliament will feel free to talk to me about the concerns of the people they represent. The old ways have to go and we have to seek a more democratic future. As I said in the start of this interview the new economic climate in the world requires politicians to co-operate and work together. 

Q: Will the President have an advantage in such a situation being the incumbent? 
A: I think the President will be obliged to face the reality of the situation. If she does not then she will be going against the wishes of the people. 
For my part I have always acted responsibly and will always do so. We do not believe it is necessary for the UNP and the President to come into conflict. 
But ultimately if she wonít work with us and it leads to a constitutional crisis then the people may have to decide. The President keeps telling us that she wants an end to the Executive Presidency. We shall give her the opportunity to prove that she means what she says. If she does not then again the people will decide. 
In short the President will be left few options but to listen to the people. 

Q: What is the UNP offering this election, which it did not offer at the Presidential election. Whatís the difference? 
A: In the Presidential election we painted the picture of a new Sri Lanka. In the 1960ís we were ahead of many South East Asian nations and today we are way behind. It was clear that we had missed out. In the 1960ís we started to lose out to Singapore and Korea. 
Then in the 1990ís to Dubai. I want to create a Sri Lanka that will overtake these countries. Well we had a chance to listen to the people during that election and to refine our manifesto. Some people felt that our revolutionary proposals would leave them behind. 
So we have put forward proposals to support those people as we go through the necessary changes. It wasnít easy to work out how to find the money to do this but we have now done that without jeopardising our programme of re-construction. That is one big difference. 
The other big difference is that we have an economy that has worsened considerably in just a few short months. So again we have had to revise our thinking on how we tackle that. 
We will have to move much faster and take some risks in our economic programme but the talks we have had with a wide range of people both local businessmen and international agencies make us confident that we can achieve our aims. 
In the ultimate analysis economic underdevelopment is a state of mind which can only be unlocked with sound leadership and a clear vision. 
That is the major difference between us and the PA parties and that has become more apparent since the Presidential election. 

Q: Despite all the failings of this Government to tackle the northern war, the cost of living, corruption why is it that the UNP has not been able to capture the imagination of the voter? A: Well I think that Tuesday will decide whether we have captured their imagination or not. But we have found it difficult. Frankly, after six years of broken promises people are cynical about the promises of politicians. They are tired of lies and they canít see their lives getting any better. 
Add to that the confrontational nature of this election system, even between candidates of the same party, has added to the disillusionment of the people. 
I stress again that the Sri Lankan people are cynical about their politicians. I think we have reached a watershed. 
Whoever is elected this time will have to change their ways from the past. I am conscious of that and I want to embrace that revolution in the minds of the people. If the politicians donít understand that and change then ultimately it could lead to the people losing confidence not just in the politicians but also in the political system. 

Q: Were the UNP to win more seats than the PA, could you still have a situation where the President will form a coalition Government with other parties? 
A:That isnít going to happen. But just to take your hypothetical question for one moment. This President is capable of doing most things. But if I were to give her one piece of advice it would be never to disregard the wishes of the people. 
They are no longer in the mood to be ignored by the politicians. As I indicated earlier I will act responsibly and in the best interests of the nation and I think the people will want her to act equally responsibly. 

Q: Tell us directly please - what is the UNP's policy towards the LTTE and the war effort? 
A: Given recent PA allegations I want to start off by saying that we have not struck a deal with the LTTE. We are not in alliance with them and we have not passed documents between us. This propaganda is merely a device by the Government to win the election by falsehoods and innuendo. 
OK. To answer your question first it is to de-escalate the current conflict. Second it means re-training and re-equipping our armed forces so that they can fight the war properly. 
Then it is to seek the views of all parties with an interest in solving the war. And that means getting all the people ivolved as well as the clergy and the people. 
Then it means getting the LTTE to the negotiating table. Why you may ask? Because no war anywhere in the world has been solved by armed conflict alone. Ultimately negotiation has been needed at some point. So let us start approaching this conflict with an intelligent plan rather than throwing more and more resources which simply result in a to and fro swapping of territory. 
Then we shall set up a time limited Interim Council to start re-building the lives of the many thousands of people in the north and east caught up in this conflict who have no wish to be at war. 
Finally to negotiate a peace settlement and a change in the constitution which is lasting and fair to all our peoples. We will do this only after the deepest consultation as I have already stated. 
I say this again because I want to make it clear that we will only get a lasting peace if we can take everyone with us. 

Sihala Urumaya

A party to protect Sinhala rights

Sihala Urumaya is today 169 days old. Ever since its formation it has been the target of vilification by the State owned media and self-styled liberals. This studied campaign of vilification is centred upon the ridiculous allegation that Sihala Urumaya is a racist party that caters only to the interests of the Sinhala Buddhists.

Sihala Urumaya makes no bones about the fact that it is a Sinhalese nationalist party committed to preventing the erosion of the rights of the Sinhala as well as restoring the lost rights of the Sinhalese, while ensuring to all citizens of this country, equal rights in every parts of her territory regardless of race, caste, or religious belief.

The need for a party with such objectives arose because of the contemptible conduct of the two major parties in betraying the rights and interests of the Sinhalese and shamelessly pandering to the minorities on the supposed basis that each of them has an assured block vote of the Sinhalese which will never change whatever they might do to the Sinhalese, and that the key to gaining power lies in garnering the minority vote. In these circumstances there has been a steady erosion of the rights of the Sinhalese requiring a viable party to restore them to a position of equality with the minorities.

It is pertinent at this stage to set out some examples of the inequalities suffered by the Sinhalese.

The Sinhalese residents of Weli-oya have been at the receiving end of artillery and mortar fire from the LTTE ever since November 1999 and had to flee to insanitary and over-crowded refugee camps. They could only go back to their villages if bunkers were built for their protection. The total cost of constructing the 612 bunkers necessary for the purpose is 7.5 million rupees. Not one cent was expended by the government for this purpose. The government which could or would not furnish even one cent to build bunkers to save the lives of thousands of Sinhalese, expended over 30 million rupees out of the funds of the Ministry of Rehabilitation in 1998 and 1999 to construct new buildings for Tamil and Muslim schools alone in the North Western Province which has not been the subject of terror attacks. No complaint or even a passing reference to this gross injustice to the Sinhalese was ever made by the UNP.

The government is in the process of constructing a harbour at Oluvila at a tremendous cost at the behest of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. There being not even a trace of a natural harbour at Oluvila, the entire project is as monstrous a wastage of public funds, at least 74% of which are funds of the Sinhalese, as would be the construction of an airport on the top of Sigiriya!! The entire purpose of this utterly nonsensical and equally wasteful exercise is to provide employment for Muslims. One has yet to hear any significant protest about this outrage from the UNP.

The Sinhalese never wanted a federal state or a devolution of power, but the Tamil separatist parties did. Both the government and the UNP are now committed to converting this country into a federal state. Landlessness is rife in the South and the greatest availability of land for settlement is in the Northern and Eastern provinces. According to the government's devolution proposals which were accepted by the UNP, priority in the distribution of state land in any Region would be given to residents of the district and then to the residents of the Region. This provision would necessarily and effectively disqualify any Sinhalese from the overcrowded Southern districts from getting any State land regardless of his need.

Indian Tamil estate workers who are resident on estates and the Sinhalese workers on the same estates who travel to work from their humble hovels do the identical work and are paid identical wages. However the Indian Tamil resident workers are entitled to a host of employment benefits to which the Sinhalese workers are not. Neither the UNP nor the PA has ever protested against this discriminatory treatment of the Sinhalese or made any attempt to do justice to them.

In these circumstances are not the Sinhalese even at this late stage, entitled to a party that is committed to rectifying such injustices and to preventing such injustices from being perpetrated on the Sinhalese in the future?

A resolute stand against injustices being perpetrated upon the Sinhalese is not racism. We see racism as being a policy of conferring on the members of one race rights or privileges to which members of other races are not entitled, or to impose on members of some races disabilities to which members of another race are not subjected. The only parties which have propounded such heinous racist policies are the Tamil separatist parties such as the TULF etc. which are founded on the perverted policy that the Northern and Eastern provinces are the exclusive homeland of the Tamils to the exclusion of all others, and in particular, the Sinhalese and that no Sinhalese should be allotted any state land in any land settlement scheme in those provinces. Sihala Urumaya has no such outrageous policy. Sihala Urumaya believes that no part of this country is the exclusive homeland of any particular race and that the entire country is equally the homeland of all her citizens.Sihala Urum-aya believes that one must use in the governance of the country the minimum standards of prudence which one adopts in one's personal life-so that just as much as a sick person would seek medical attention from the doctor most capable of curing his ailment regardless of his race, caste or religion, so also in the governance of the country, merit and not race, caste, religion or political affiliation should be the sole criterion for selection whether for a job or any other matter. 

Equality among all citizens is one of the fundamental tenets of the policy of Sihala Urumaya . Having said that I must also add that whereas Sihala Urum-aya believes in total equality among individual citizens, it is also the policy of Sihala Urumaya that where the demands of a community are concerned, such as, for example where the Tamil community puts forward a demand and the Sinhalese community puts forward a demand that is inconsistent with such demand of the Tamil community, the will of the Sinhalese must prevail, for 12 or 18 % can never be equal to 74% and minoritarianism can never be just or equitable. We have little doubt that no democratic State would permit the wishes of a minority to prevail over those of the majority.Sihala Urumaya has this to say to the minorities. Unlike the UNP and the PA we are frank and open and hide nothing from you. We act with consummate transparency regardless of whether we will or will not gain votes thereby. We are wedded to the truth and will never seek to gain votes or power by deception. With us you know exactly where you stand. Do you know where you stand with the UNP or the PA which seek to worm their way into your confidence with dishonest and self-serving protestations of their concern for you? As you can see these parties, whose membership is predominantly Sinhalese have repeatedly betrayed their own race. When it was so easy for them to betray their own race how easy will it be for them to betray other races such as yours? Have you not seen how they repeatedly shifted their positions on the questions of the war and devolution? Do you not recall how the UNP having agreed to support the Government's devolution proposals of October 1997, suddenly back-tracked and opposed the proposed Constitution upon seeing the public protests against it which were organized mainly by the Maha Sangha and Sihala Urumaya? Do you not recall how the government which always said that the solution to the war lies in negotiation and not military means, and castigated Sihala Urumaya and its forebears for saying that the only means of restoring peace was to crush the LTTE militarily, and even had repeated discussions with the Norwegian Government about having talks with the Tigers, thereafter stated in their manifesto for the forthcoming election that it is the policy of the PA to destroy the LTTE completely by military means? Do these undeniable facts not prove that the guiding star of the policy of the PA and the UNP is naked expediency and not conviction or commitment?

It is the divisive politics of the separatist Tamil parties and their forebears which have brought about the sorry situation where there were communal riots, when Tamils were unpardonably attacked by Sinhalese thugs and hooligans. This is clearly established by the fact that there were no similar communal riots aimed at the Muslims because until the advent of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the Muslim political leaders did not indulge in divisive politics of these separatist parties. You have to suffer the inconvenience and at times the indignity of being checked at check points and in house-to-house searches and are unable to visit your homes, your kith and kin in the North and East only because of the terrorism of the LTTE which was the creation of these parties. How then can you even think of voting for any of these Tamil separatist parties? If Prabhakaran has his way, would you choose to live under his rule in the North or East or to live among us, your Sinhala brethren? The answer is obvious. Do you want to continue to live under the proven dishonest rule of the PA or the UNP with whom you do not know and never will know where you stand or under the rule of a party that is a party of commitment with which you know exactly where you stand? The only such party is Sihala Urum-aya. It is true that we cannot reasonably expect to form a government at this election, but it is a certainty that Sihala Urumaya will win a sufficient number of seats to exert considerable influence on the government. The probabilities are that we will, this time, have a 'hung Parliament' which would collapse within 12 to 18 months. At the general election that will follow such fall, Sihala Urumaya will be sufficiently organised and in a position to gain victory and give this country a good and honest government for the first time in many, many years.We seek your support in this noble endeavour.

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