With just 23 days to go for the Presidential Election, the campaigns of the two main contenders - President Mahinda Rajapaksa and retired General Sarath Fonseka - are hotting up.
Rajapaksa raised the number of rallies he will address from 32 to 40. This is on top of a string of smaller group meetings he addressed over buffet meals at 'Temple Trees'. This week, such small group meetings were extended to Anuradhapura. Quite clearly, there is a stepping up in the campaign by United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) leaders though a lack of focus continued. There is no doubt that this shoring up is the result of a significant swing in favour of Gen. Fonseka.
The state-run media, particularly television networks intensified personal attacks on the opposition's 'common candidate'. More is to follow when Parliament meets on Tuesday. Statements containing what are claimed to be his misdemeanours are to be made there. Of course, some of them relate to a period long before the four-star General miraculously escaped death from guerrilla hands twice and emerged as a war hero for giving the leadership to troops to victory. Others are said to relate to military deals allegedly involving a member of his family. CID detectives have started investigations into these alleged deals.
A Police source said a person who had reportedly worked in the family member's firm as an accountant was to be taken into custody on charges of submitting forged documents. The person concerned, however, had strongly denied the allegations. Police sources said he would be produced before a Magistrate. A string of ad hoc measures to reverse the swing were also hurriedly announced this week.
Campaign picks up
Besides the media and the new media (web sites, blogs), the Rajapaksa campaigners came up with a new idea. They made sure President Rajapaksa used another new medium, addressing every mobile phone owner on Friday, the day when 2010 dawned. It said "Kiwu paridi obata nidahas, nivahal ratak laba dunnemi. Idiri anagathaya sarwapprakrayenma wasanawantha weywa; Subha Nava Wasarak Weva; Mahinda Rajapaksa. (As promised, I delivered a free and sovereign country. Wish all the very best for the future. Happy New Year: Mahinda Rajapaksa). No other candidates enjoyed the privilege nor could mobile phone subscribers respond to that message. All network operators were asked to relay the SMS raising questions if they were forced to break any election laws in the process.
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| Gen. Sarath Fonseka and JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe at the Nallur Kovil yesterday. N. Parameshwaran |
On Tuesday, the price of petrol was reduced by Rs 15 a litre. The next day, the lending rates for three agricultural credit schemes for the farming community were lowered. Troops who found their property loans restored by state banks were told that their pensions would be enhanced to 85 per cent of their salaries. More such measures aimed at "further lessening the burdens on the people," a Government source said, were now under consideration.
Throughout this week, Gen. Fonseka drew fairly large crowds at meetings he addressed, among other areas, in Homagama, Hatton, Kegalle, Kundasale, Badulla, Balangoda and Kantale. At these meetings he continued to offer wage increases. At first, he said, wages of state sector employees would be raised by Rs 10,000. This week, he told a polls rally in Hatton that wages of plantation workers would be increased upto Rs 10,125. At present plantation workers earn an average monthly wage of between Rs 6,500 and Rs 7,000.
The Common Minimum Programme (CMP), setting out the main policy objectives of Gen. Fonseka is to be released next week, his office promises. It will contain a broader outline of his policy objectives. How did Gen. Fonseka announce wage increases in the absence of a policy statement wherein the subject had to be agreed upon by the Opposition parties that are backing him. The answer came this week in the form of a document circulated by Gen. Fonseka's campaign staff. It listed the losses sustained by the Government in various deals. A few highlights;
- Hedging deal by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Losses to Sri Lanka Rs 230 billion.
- Losses to Sri Lankan Airlines from 2007 to 2008 - Rs 10 billion.
- Losses to Mihin Air for 2007-2008 Rs 4 billion.
- Initial cost for feasibility study for the abandoned Wirawila Airport - Rs 500 million.
- The purchase of MiG 27 fighter jets from Ukraine - Rs 400 million more than the published price.
- VAT scam - Loss to the country Rs 35 billion
- Hambantota man made safari park Rs 1.6 billlion when the Yala National Park is closeby.
- Uma Oya project - Enhanced cost Rs 28 billion. Two reservoirs built have an extent of only 50 acres. The Victoria project has an extent of 7,500 acres.
The document says that the total of wasted or "robbed" money amounts to Rs 430.3 billion. "What can we do with this money?" the document notes and provides many answers. Some of them: Increase all monthly salary of State officers for a year, pay deposits of Golden Key depositors, Sakviti depositors, double pensions, reduce the price of milk powder for a year, to give Rs 2,000 to Samurdhi beneficiaries for a year and provide fertilizer at a subsidised rate to farmers. It says these would only cost Rs 290.2 billion and still leave a balance of Rs 140.1 billion. Yet, there is an unanswered question. It would be difficult to recover most of the money that has been robbed or wasted.
More support
But there was more to bolster his position.
Two key stalwarts of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) - Ramiah Yogarajan, its National Organiser, and Murugan Satchithanandan, Deputy Minister of Education - quit their party. They joined the United National Party (UNP) and announced they would support Gen. Fonseka. The move showed clear signs that the political party representing the largest segment of the plantation workers in the hill country, was split in the middle. More crossovers of senior CWC members are in the offing, Yogarajan told the Sunday Times.
He was bitterly critical of CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman. "He has failed miserably to win anything for plantation workers. He travels around with armed escorts in luxury vehicles. He has six of them including a Chrysler. However, the children of poor plantation workers have to walk miles and miles. Nothing has been done for them," he said.
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| President Mahinda Rajapaksa with Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake at a rally in Kalutara yesterday. Pic by Gemunu Wellage |
Yogarajan is a long-standing member of the CWC and joined it when the late Savumyamoorthy Thondaman, the legendary plantation trade union leader, held sway. He first entered the Western Provincial Council. In 1994, he unsuccessfully contested parliamentary elections but was later appointed as a National List MP.
Yogarajan said there were strong indications that the CWC was losing support among its members and the public. In the provincial elections for Sabaragamuwa and Uva, not one member from the CWC was elected.
"Though we have five members in Parliament, at the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Elections some 15,000 CWC members could not vote. They did not receive their Identity Cards on time. Our leadership failed miserably to resolve this," he said.
Yogarajan added, "The current leadership and his followers are not worried about plantation workers or their voters. They only need their luxuries. They always demand things needed for them."
He charged that Thondaman did not have the courage to demand from the Government various benefits for the people. "I have been impressed by Gen. Fonseka. He can address Tamil grievances which the Government is not willing to resolve," he added.
Two parliamentarians from the National Unity Alliance (NUA) led by Minister Ferial Ashraff also want to cross over. They are now talking to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem to join his party ranks. One of them is from the Trincomalee district and the other from Batticaloa district. As this continued, UPFA leaders were still trying to persuade them to remain within the Government.
The cause for Yogarajan's exit was a row with his leader Thondaman. The former had been invited for the launch of SLFP (Mahajana Wing) leader Mangala Samaraweera's website Dare to Dream. Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva was the chief guest at the event, which Yogarajan attended. Thereafter, Thondaman had initiated a disciplinary inquiry against him. He had explained it was personal considerations than political that prompted him to attend. When S.B. Dissanayake was in the United National Party (UNP), Yogarajan had attended a book launch he had arranged. Hence, he felt there was nothing wrong in taking part in Samaraweera's event.
Thereafter, Yogarajan made contact with UNP leader Ranil Wickemesinghe and former UNP chairman Malik Samarawickrema. A deal for the duo to cross over was reached on Christmas day.
Earlier, Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, rushed to the Bandarawela residence of Yogarajan's ally, Murugan Satchithanandan, when the news of a possible crossover spread. "Don't take any hasty decisions. President Rajapaksa is sure to win the election. So have patience and discuss any issue with him. If you want another Ministry, tell him that," said de Silva. Satchithanandan did not relent. De Silva later brought this to the attention of Rajapaksa.
Satchithanandan was not responding to phone calls made by Rajapaksa. An officer at the Bandarawela Police Station was asked to travel to his residence, initiate a call to 'Temple Trees' and ask Satchithanandan to speak to Rajapaksa. He spoke. Rajapaksa asked him to travel to Colombo for a discussion where problems could be resolved. In the meantime, Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa spoke with Yogarajan in Colombo.
"We have no problems with you or the Government. Our problem is with party leader Thondaman who is doing politics like doing business," he told Basil. Yojarajan said even after it was known that he and his colleague were to quit the party, Thondaman did not speak to them. It was Muthu Sivalingam who had tried to patch up differences.
TNA decision soon
The rumbling in the CWC is not the only issue to disturb a minority political party. Besides the proposed crossover of two Deputy Ministers from the NUA, the TNA is also facing an internal crisis.
Whilst one of its members, K. Sivajilingam is already a Presidential candidate, a group of moderates including G.G. Ponnambalam jnr. have decided to remain non-committal. However, a larger component led by TNA leader, Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, have wrapped up a deal to support Gen. Fonseka. Though Sampanthan and his colleagues held another meeting with President Rajapaksa, who is trying to woo them back, the TNA remained poised to announce their support to the main opposition's 'common candidate' in the coming weeks.
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| Satchithananthan and Yogarajan with UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe after their crossover. Pic by Lakshman Gunathilake |
Another unexpected event was the death of Periyasamy Chandrasekeran, leader of the Upcountry People's Front, after a brief illness. The death came amidst reports that his party was due to begin talks with Gen. Fonseka to support his campaign. On Friday, the late UPF leader's wife, Shanthi Devi Chandrasekeran, was unanimously elected as the new President. A party source said the leaders would meet after Chandrasekeran's funeral at the UC grounds in Talawakele tomorrow. That was to decide on the UPF's stance on the presidential election and to make a formal announcement.
By Friday evening, news reached UPFA leaders that Opposition parties were already making overtures to seek UPF 's support for Gen. Fonseka. The matter became the subject of discussion at the weekly Cabinet meeting, postponed from Wednesday to Friday evening at 'Temple Trees'. Ministers decided that tomorrow's funeral of the late Chandrasekeran should be televised live. Ministers opined it would send a good signal to plantation workers that the Government cared for them. Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa also moved in to talk to UPF leaders and prevent any deal being struck with the Opposition parties.
Even the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), which still has a smaller vote base in the Jaffna peninsula, is undecided. Its leader, V. Anandasangaree, who has remained a staunch supporter of the Government has placed a set of 15 proposals before both President Rajapaksa and Gen. Fonseka. In a statement that appeared to be non committal, Anandasangaree pleaded "…. with every voter to pressurise the candidate of his or her choice"…. to "accept the proposals."
Anandasangaree has been critical of the manner in which he was treated by the Government at the recently concluded Northern local council elections. He complained bitterly at the way Minister Douglas Devananda, leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), was given preference over him, and remarked "they (the Government) killed the temple cow" referring to the support
he gave as a former MP for Kilinochchi against the LTTE and what he thought was a great betrayal. Devananda's supporters, of course, argue that they have made tremendous sacrifices themselves by challenging the LTTE.
The TULF proposals include a demand to follow the Indian model as an alternative to the federal system, the dismantling of high security zones and handing over to next of kin 10,000 youth now held as terrorist suspects. The TULF has called the 'Spring of the North' (Uthuru Vasanthaya) a mockery. It has warned that "the presence of armed groups and their conduct disturb the peaceful life of the civilians. Action should be taken to relieve them of the weapons they are in possession of."
The reference was clearly to cadres of the EPDP. Anandasangaree too had blamed Devananda for the defeat of TULF candidates at the Jaffna elections. Interesting enough, Devananda now faces another challenge of his own. This was after Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (alias Karuna) was appointed Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLF) organiser in the North. The move meant there would be friction between the EPDP and the Karuna-led SLFP at a future general election.
UPFA leaders, however, denied there was a swing in favour of Gen. Fonseka. Non-cabinet Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena told a news conference that Rajapaksa had extensive support in rural areas. This had been revealed in a survey conducted by the Government Department of Information. He said Rajapaksa would be a certain winner and added that a second phase of the survey would get under way from today until January 10.
Maithripala Sirisena, General Secretary of the SLFP, the largest constituent of the UPFA, said the "Fonseka campaign is a bankrupt one." He added: "a person with a war mentality like Fonseka can never achieve political victory. He says he will clean up the garbage in the Government. How can he do that when he is on top of the biggest heap of garbage? Most corruption is in the UNP. It is the party that introduced the worst kind of corrupt practices to politics in this country". Declared Sirisena, "the President will definitely get more than 65 percent of the vote." (His Q & A appears on Page 12)
On Friday night, Gen. (retd.) Fonseka made his first address to the nation on Rupavahini's Eye Channel under provisions of the Presidential Elections Law. He re-iterated his claim that the greater credit for the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas should go to the armed forces and not to politicians. He said that Rajapaksa had declared in his Mahinda Chinthanaya (for November 2005 Presidential elections) that he would talk to late LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, to achieve a negotiated settlement.
Gen. Fonseka said it was he who, as Commander of the Army, had forecast last year that he would not leave the separatist war to any successor. He had also said he would ensure Prabhakaran did not have his annual Maveerar Day (Great Heroes Day) speech in 2009. He had accomplished those two tasks.
In a New Year message Gen. Fonseka called for volunteers to campaign for him. He also sought their help to recruit more volunteers from their neighbourhood, "signing up for our manifesto updates, Facebook updates, e-mail and mobile alerts."
His co-spokesperson, JVP's Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said his party's campaign at the grassroots level was yielding results. "There is more support for Gen. Fonseka in the rural areas. This will increase as our campaign intensifies next week," he said.
However, Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who is one of those in the forefront of the UPFA campaign, said, "there can be no doubt President Rajapaksa will be the winner." He has won freedom from fear for the people, he declared.
The two main candidates begin the New Year wooing the northern voters. Gen. Fonseka was there yesterday, accompanied by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. There, they visited the Nallur kovil and met Bishop Thomas Saundaranayagam and gave him their plans for the reconstruction of the North. While the candidate met university students and businessmen at the Udayan newspaper's guest house, Wickremesinghe went to Karainagar to participate in ceremonies connected with the anniversary of the death of UNP MP T. Maheswaran who was killed on New Year's Day in 2008. President Rajapaksa will visit the north next weekend in what is now fast becoming a contest where every vote would count.
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