‘Lanka stands poised upon a razor’s edge’ – Karu J calls for a united opposition
Source of News: Ada Derana
Thanks to the present administration, Sri Lanka stands poised upon a razor’s edge. This regime has silenced dissent with brutality and violence, divided the opposition and depleted our numbers through coercion and extortion, says a statement issued by United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya.
The Gampaha district Parliamentarian appeals to his ‘friends and colleagues, Somawansa Amarasinghe, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, R. Sampanthan, Rauff Hakeem, Mano Ganesan, Wickremabahu Karunaratne and all those in government ranks who can no longer condone the tactics of the present regime, to get together as a strong opposition against the government.
The statement in full:
I believe that the time is opportune for all Sri Lanka’s political forces who are opposed to the tyrannical course the present regime has set for this country to come together to preserve the future of this nation. That Sri Lanka is in the midst of a crisis is now well understood, by politician and public alike. The euphoria of the war victory can no longer overshadow the grave economic peril, the lawlessness and obvious power hunger of a single family — all direct results of unfettered, unchecked governance of today.
We may no longer be a nation at war, but we continue to struggle against the forces of hatred and discord, which threaten a hard won peace. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of gross mismanagement on the part of our rulers. Our health and education systems — the cornerstones of social life are in the doldrums. Our apparel, porcelain and other critical industries are under siege by the removal of the EU’s GSP Plus concession, thanks to the high-handed, pigheaded attitudes of this regime, which believes it is beyond reproach and that Sri Lanka stands alone in the world, with no obligation to adhere to the accepted norms of civilized conduct towards her citizenry.
Students are dying at the hands of law enforcement, media organisations are being torched, international organisations are being laid siege to, infants and toddlers are dying from mosquito borne diseases, the cost of living escalates on a daily basis, and still the government continues to do as it pleases, assured of no repercussions or consequences. That is the collective failure of the political opposition and by this grave omission, we the opposition have failed the people of this country.
Sri Lankans continue to put up with the sins of this regime, because they lack a credible alternative. They are tired of being divided, tired of pseudo ideological walls and partisan roadblocks, tired of being stirred into hatred and suspicion of their fellow citizens. Sri Lanka needs direction; the people of this country desperately need to believe in their leaders once again. I call upon my fellow members of opposition to join together in shedding our differences, letting go of old wars and seemingly insurmountable separate ideologies, in order to unite and emerge stronger than ever against a common and ruthless enemy.
This will not be an UNP agenda or a JVP agenda, or a TNA agenda, but a truly Sri Lankan agenda and one which will, through the defeat of this regime’s policies usher in a better day for our nation. I believe that together, we can stall this government’s juggernaut, put an end to their tactics of repression and lead the people of this country to fight for the kind of peace and prosperity they truly deserve.
Thanks to the present administration, Sri Lanka stands poised upon a razor’s edge. This regime has silenced dissent with brutality and violence, divided the opposition and depleted our numbers through coercion and extortion, and placed our beloved country in an unenviable position in the world from which it will be difficult to extract ourselves.
The only way to fight against this is to unite, against all odds and on behalf of the people we serve. Our show of unity will undoubtedly stir the silent majority, that section of our people who only needed to see true and credible leadership to rise up against the injustices of this regime, and with the people’s power we can march towards the defeat of this present dictatorial government and have a brighter political future. I believe that as we stand at the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. In order to provide our people with the wake up call they so desperately need, overwhelmed as they are by government propaganda, we must rise first. Throughout history, our leaders have shown us that it is only unity that results in victory.
Our failure lies in the fact that for too long, we have been divided over the things that hardly matter in the grand scheme of things.
And so, to my friends and colleagues, Mr. Somawansa Amarasinghe, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, Mr. Sampanthan, Mr. Hakeem, Mr. Ganesan, Mr. Wickremabahu Karunaratne and all those in government ranks who can no longer condone the tactics of the present regime, I make this appeal. This is our moment. Let us choose hope over fear, unity of purpose over discord. If we do this, the people of Sri Lanka will trust us to lead them to a better day. As we face a future with no war, let us fight to free the General who liberated us from the clutches of terrorism, work towards economic development that would filter down to the people, and regain our position as a just and civilised member of the world community.
Fear, suspicion, intolerance and lack of respect for human life have no place in this Land of the Buddha. Let us join hands to take back Sri Lanka.
Ada Derana
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what happened to this Guy , He should support to the president,with others, if government doing illegal things need to discuss and solve, not like this campaign majority not accept at all.
Karu J is one of the original UNP rebels who broke away with GL and others to join the UPFA. He then returned to UNP fold. One wonders how much he was paid with imperial West money ofcourse. He is a distasteful and disgusting politician. Could we trust the country’s future in the hand’s of such corrupt stupid buffalos? How can UNP solve the country’s problems and set it on course to economic prosperity when UNP cannot solve its own internal leadership issues! My advise to KJ is first solve your own internal problems within the party to prove yourself worthy of people’s trust before you attempt to solve the country’s problems. If KJ has an ounce of patriotism left in his blood he would be singing the praises of this government for having rid the country of the LTTE and set it on fast-track on the road to economic boom.
UNP, JVP and other ragamuffin minority parties are only power hungry working to imperial West agenda with largesse from them. How else can JVP and SF’s new party survive without funding from USA and the imperial West? Were they in power the country would again be torn in shreds working to yankee agenda. LTTE diaspora will be given a power base in Sri Lanka again, North and East will be merged again to form the Eelam State they fought for under VP. The progress mother lanka is making on fast-track will be immediately stopped. All our assets, like the Hamabntota port etc will be sold off cheaply to the imperial West. Eventually, LTTE who are back in power in the North and East will extend their power to the whole of SL. Their will be a blood bath of Sinhalese. Under the new LTTE, SL will then be merged with Tamil Nadu to form an empire for the so-called Tamil Nation. India will be decimated into autonomous states with the help of Tamil Nadu militarily and with the help of imperial West. This is the hidden agenda of the imperial West to break-up India into autonomous states to prevent it from becoming a superpower.
The imperial West is furious that Mahinda Rajapaksa government has strongly opposed aligning with them and has steered on a course of fast-track development with the aid of China, Russia, Iran, Lybia and other friendly countries opposed to imperial West domination of the world. SL is no longer under the heel of imperial West. The future is now bright for SL. It will be definitely the Star of Asia in the not too distant future. This is not to the liking of neo-colonial imperial West. They will put obstacles in the way of Lanka’s progress by way of cutting-off GSP+ etc. This is no obstacle to us as we can effectively surmount it by providing quality goods the West cannot be without.
UNP, JVP, TNA and SF can go and jump into a well. Their efforts to de-stablise the country according to Imperial West agenda will not be tolerated. They will be put down and will face justice. Traitors and collaborators who supported imperial West and the LTTE in their heyday will eventually be rounded-up and given their come-uppance, when the right time and day comes. MR is giving them some more rope to eventually hang themselves.
Instead of confrontational politics, isn’t it high time UNP proved itself to be patriotic by joing hands with the MR government in solving crucial problems facing the country to give our people a better future with quality of life?
To begin with, I suggest that UNP join hands with the government in devising effective eradication programmes for dengue threat that has gripped the country. It is shameful that UNP resorts to criticise and laugh at government efforts to solve this problem. I suggest that UNP, JVP, TNA and other minority parties prove their patriotic mettle by a country wide campaign at their expense to educate the public on effective measures to rid the country of dengue mosquito and its breeding grounds. Every opposition MP and local councillor need to join hands in a concerted effort to combat dengue. Let leaflets be printed and distributed on house to house visits by the opposition MPs and local councillors to educate the public on how to eradicate dengue mosiquito. Every household must clean up its garden and environment of dengue breeding grounds. Get rid of the containers in the garden and environs that collect rain water to breed dengue. All mosquito larvae to be buried in a hole by emptying the containers with mosquito larvae into the hole and covering with earth. It is said that dengue larvae can survive for about a year without water and then breed again on contact with water. Hence the need to bury the larvae in a hole. Let mosquito coils be developed with a mixture of maduru-thala and kohomba leaves which is said to be effective against mosquitoes. Let the public be educated to rub on their face, neck, arms and legs a handcream with a few drops of concentrated citronella oil mixed to drive off mosquitoes. Eating mangos with a glass of milk daily is also said to be effective to boost body’s natural resistance against dengue virus even if bitten. There must be other such effective methods to protect themselves which could all be printed in a leaflet in all three languages and distributed to the public in a hard campaign from door to door. Would the UNP and opposition parties make this genuine effort at their cost instead of empty rhetoric and sound bytes criticising the efforts of the government to destroy dengue as it destroyed the LTTE? Where is your patriotism and care about the public good? Furthermore, let the UNP and the opposition parties make a concerted effort in their electorates to clean up the drains, sewers etc and not allow rubbish to be dumped by antisocial elements on the road sides. Let all the rivers and streams and canals also be cleaned of rubbish dumped in these waterways by antisocial elements. Let there be shramadana every weekend with all local councillors, MPs and the general public joining hands in a concerted effort to fight this dengue and mosquito problem. The opposition parties can then win the hearts and minds of the people in this practical way by genuine social minded hard work instead of sitting on their backsides in their airconditioned homes and offices enjoying all creasture comforts and food.
The government cannot fight this dengue threat without a concerted effort of all the people, including the opposition parties, as one nation.
Karu are you not ashame ? You have joined to the government once and that time you told Mahinda Rajapaksa is the best and now you return to UNP and tell another thing . Which one we have to belive? dear karu your are not a hiru any more .