Category Archives: Presidential elections

Deep Throats behind Blackening Campaigns: The Chinese Dragon and Gotabaya

Michael Roberts

A few days back I circulated the three recent THUPPAHI articles on China (see below) to a number of my friends and collective groups with this note:

  • “I attach three items on China in the international order today –vital reading for all personnel concerned with Sri Lanka’s relationships with the various forces engaged in the Indian Ocean.
  • Sometime back an Aussie friend who speaks Chinese told me

A = that the overwhelming body of Aussie writing on China is ideologically driven;

B= that this corpus of writing depends at times on leaks from “govt sources” which he believes emanate from a secret backroom body of boffins;

C = … with the intent of painting China as a demonic force and potential threat.

 Alexei Talimonov cartoons …..https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/China%20Dragon_19987

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Jayaweera’s Electoral Voting Breakdown by District

Rajeewa Jayaweera

http://sltravelerguide.blogspot.com/p/sri-lanka-district.html

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The Fundamental Oppositions: Lakshman Gunasekara challenges Jayaweera & Roberts

Email Memo from Lakshman F. B. Gunasekara, 5 November 2019 directed at 

Mike, …. You quote with approval one ‘Rajeewa’ as saying: “The final result proved without ambiguitythe disconnect between the small group of elitist city dwellers and the rural masses.” ………………………..And then you say:-  … “leads me to present a thesis** that this political tussle was an instance of the provinces ranged against metropolitan Colombo – that is, the rural vs the city (with a proviso excluding the rural Tamils and rural Muslims of east and north-west from this simplification).”

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Gotabaya’s Team overcomes the Odds

Rajeewa Jayaweera, in Island, 23 November 2019, with this title “GotabayaR prevails against all odds”

In the 2015 Presidential Elections in January 2015, Maithripala Sirisena defeated President Mahinda Rajapaksa by a majority of just under a half a million votes. It was in no small measure due to ethnic Tamil and Muslim communities voting for him in large numbers. 2019 was worse than in 2015. Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) received only 8% of the Northern vote, 24% of the Eastern ballot, and 18% of the total N&E vote. Mahinda Rajapaksa, in 2015, received 20% of the Northern vote, 26% of the Eastern ballot, and 24% from the N&E vote.

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A Debate on the Implications of Jayaweera’s Statistical Tabulation of the Presidential Voting Patterns

THESE are Email Exchanges amongst Personnel in the Rajeewa Jayaweera Circle — mostly hostile to the messy politics of the Yahapaalana Era, 2015-19 …. with highlighting emphasis being the imprint of The Editor, Thuppahi

A = Prithi Perera to the Jayaweera Circle, 21 November 2019

Thank you Rajeewa for the most useful tabulation. Much pains taking and time would have gone into it.

The following are my observations;

  1. Nearly 60%-70% of the Sinhala Majority Votes in the South were with GR and 80% -90% of the Tamil/Muslim Minority Votes in the North East of SL were with Sajith. This shows an obvious polarization of society in Sri Lanka, between the south and the north/east, between the Sinhala majority in the South and the Tamil/Muslim minorities in the North/East. The 30 year war where the wounds seem not to have healed as yet and the 21 April 2019 Easter Bombings have also given added strength to the anti Tamil/Islam lobbies. This can be adduced to be the reasons for the further accentuation of the extremist lobbies supporting the Rajapaksa dynastic politics. They seem to be successfully fanning these extremist elements during given periods, particularly when issues in economy and governance appear to go against them if and when they are in power, or when elections are in sight, if they are out of power. Anyone studying these patterns will find them to be more factual than fiction. Unfortunately, we also have some of the clergy making remarks that seem to encourage extremism, like in the case of Gnanasara Thera who has openly said that the BBS movement will be disbanded after the upcoming Parliamentary Elections in 2020 once victory is assured for the Rajapaksa’s.

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Statistical Breakdown of Presidential Votes by District

Rajeewa Jayaweera in Email Circular, 21 November 2019

Pix from https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/south-asia/2019/11/16/gunmen-fire-on-buses-carrying-muslim-sri-lankan-voters

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Keenan and ICG are Handmaidens for US Interests

Jean-Pierre Page[1]

You know off course that Keenan is a mercenary and his Crisis Group are a cover of the CIA dealing with strong US interests in Sri Lanka? The Crisis group is one of the richest and most powerful of the so-called NGOs. It is supported financially and officially by all western governments, various institutions and people like Soros (a well-known international crook, strong supporter and organiser of colour revolutions), the Carnegie and Rockefeller Foundation, the NED, and several transnational corporations among them BP, etc.

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Alan Keenan of the ICG comments on the Presidential Election Results in Sri Lanka

Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group, ….  deploying this title “Sri Lanka’s Presidential Election Brings Back a Polarising Wartime Figure”

Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s decisive victory in Sri Lanka’s presidential election reflects voters’ concerns over security, poor economic prospects and ineffective governance – but also indicates the country’s dangerous ethnic polarisation. Many worry that Rajapaksa, a Sinhalese nationalist, will energise anti-Muslim campaigning and further alienate the Tamil community.

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Gerald Peiris Forecast was Spot-On

A Note received from Gerald Peiris, Friday 15th November 2019 … 12.56 pm

Gota, I think is going to be a definite winner, despite all the anti-Rajapaksa propaganda, Al Jazeera being just one source of such viciousness. Throughout the campaign Gota maintained a sense of dignity and balance (vis-a-vis the subject of ethnic relations) and has provided hope for the future of the country replacing the widespread despair that prevailed earlier. Sajith has been so hopelessly bad in his platform performances, sounding more like an undergrad firebrand contesting at a university student council meeting, focusing (to an incredible extent) on the theme of what a great guy he is.

Regards, Gerry

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An Assessment: from Deep within Lanka … With and For Gota

Ivan Amarasinghe to Michael Roberts –a personal communique dated 15 November 2019 which I have taken the liberty to publicize …. deploying our common groundings at St. Aloysius and Ivan’s wide cosmopolitan experience

Over the last six weeks, I have been doing the rounds at all levels:  1. grass roots peasantry in Colombo and Galle,  2. Plantation Tamil sector in the Central and Southern provinces,  3. villages from Hikkaduwa, Galle, Akmeemana, Baddegama, Deniyaya, Akuressa, Weligama, Unawatuna, Habaraduwa and along the coast up to Hambantota, Beliattha communicating with local people; 4. the peripheral urban Sinhala Buddhist areas, 5. the inner Colombo Black-Whites; 6. Local MPs; 7. Governor of Southern Province (being my cousin who sided with MS in 2015!); doing the flood relief activities with him and the various Provincial and Local Council heads while staying in his official residence and being an “embedded” traveller in his official vehicles.

Ivan with the Catholic Bishop of Galle Revd Wickramasinghe, and Dr Ramesh Pathirana, and Malcolm Gunasekera

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