Do you know the best thing Ranil did as president…?’
This is the story told by a native Ranil opponent to a Ranil supporter.
‘What is that…?’ Ranil a loyalist, asked.
Ranil rival said, ‘has taken the hell out of Sri Lankan media…”
‘Why do you say that…?” Ranil, a loyalist, asked.
“Did you see there was a Veritas Research opinion poll in the media last week…?” asked Ranil’s rival.
‘saw it. The media exaggerated that people’s trust in Ranil’s government has increased by 7% compared to Gotabaya’s government…’ Ranil, loyal, said it arrogantly.
That’s what I am saying. According to the Veritas Opinion Poll, 90% of the people of the country have no confidence in Ranil’s government. 97% did not have confidence in Gota’s government. That means only 3% have faith in Gota’s government. Ranil made it 10%. But 90% still don’t like Ranil’s government… Ranil’s opponent said with a laugh.
‘If 90% don’t like it, the government will stand still. But in the media, it was said that the 3% have become 7%…’ Ranil loyal said with his eyes raised.
How can Ranil use the media to hide the fact that 90% do not like the government and show only 7% of the 10% who like it…? Now Ranil is the protector of Rajapaksa. Ranil said that all these media are Rajapaksa’s protectors. Now that Ranil has become the Rajapaksa’s protector, the media has proved the story that they are the Rajapaksa’s protectors and they have protected him… Ranil’s opponent gave a harsh analysis.
The story is true. Those days, Ranil called the media the protectors of the Rajapaksa.
This is the story Ranil told about Derana Media Network on 18.12.2016 at Sirikotha.
‘Derana has started this nonsense now.” What they are doing is protecting Rajapaksa. If they protect Rajapaksa like that, we can tell them how they stole…’
This is the story Ranil told about the ‘Daily Mirror” on the same day.
‘Everyone in the Daily Mirror newspaper is tagged to Rajapaksa. I ask the journalists of that newspaper whether they will join our new journey or not. Please tell me. Without writing lies…’
Below is Ranil’s speech on 12.04.2007 about Lankadeepa paper.
Lankadeepa newspaper also published fake news today. India is going to destroy the LTTE’s air power. I am asking if the Lanka Deepa editor he is writing this lie because of the ticket given to him by Rajapaksa to go to China….’
Ranil did not blame the ‘Hiru’. But Mangala held a press conference at the Ministry of Finance on May 17, 2019 and said that the government will not give media ads to Hiru and Derana, which incite racism to bring Rajapaksa back to power.
Now those media who blamed Ranil and Mangala behaved like lions now when Ranil became the President behave like tamed kittens. This is why they hide the veritas openion which said 90% dislike of the government and said 10% like the government and projected it as a big victory to the government. It shows that Ranil get his work done better than Mahinda did.
These media fell in love with Ranil after Sajith and UNP MPs left the UNP and formed Samagi Jana Balawegaya. At that moment Ranil became isolated. Then this media thought that if Ranil left politics, Sajith would become stronger and attack the Rajapaksa. This media thought that Ranil should be promoted to strengthen the Rajapaksa and prevent Sajith and Samagi Jana Balavega becoming strong. When Ranil came to the parliament from the national list, this very same media praised Ranil. When Ranil became the Prime Minister and later the President, they thought that Ranil would protect us like he is protecting the Rajapaksa’s now.
Last week, when Sajith and the leaders of the union strugglers, including the vanguards, gathered together in Colombo for the first time against Ranil’s government, the media began to tremble. All these media published a big news without saying that Sajith who came to the meeting but published news about Sajith was booed and chased away with the intention of discrediting both Sajiht and the struggle.
When Sajith brought the public to Colombo against Gotabhaya, this media did not show that public wave and made a big news that Sajith did not allow other party leaders to speak. This time, he made big news and spread the word that Sajith was booed. But what the media does not know is that the public does not accept what the media is saying today. If it were not so, a public struggle against the Rajapaksa family would not have arisen. Even these media did not know until this public struggle arose. They were singing praises to the Rajapaksas and counting down the days until Sajith and Sajabaya would be destroyed. The Rajapaksa family had to go home after the struggle.
They breathed a sigh of relief when Ranil became the Prime Minister and President to protect the Rajapaksa. When Ranil suppressed the struggle, the people involved in the struggle were labelled as drug addicts, ganja addicts, and thieves. Now Sajith, Vanguards, SLFP, the Dullas-GL Teams, trade unions, and mass organizations have come forward to revive the struggle. Ranil, the Rajapaksas and this media fear Sajith as the country’s opposition leader because by supporting this struggle, it will get national and international recognition. They want to brand the activists as terrorists. Ranil bites his teeth to separate Sajith from the struggle. That’s why the news is saying “boo” to Sajith. Julie Chung, the American ambassador to this country, who sent tweets against the suppression of the struggle, caused trouble for Ranil’s government and this media. Pro-government social media ridiculed her tweets, and a fake Twitter account was opened in her name to separate her from the struggle. But she tweeted last week about the struggle .
It was not only Rajapaksa who were sent home by the struggle. The struggle also exposed these media. But if the newsmakers in these media think that they can raise Ranil by creating news God help Ranil.
By Upul Joseph Fernando