“Justice will be served for the murdered Shanta Dodamgoda…’Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe came to Kahawatte to pay his last respects to Mr. Shantha Dodamgoda in Kahawatte, who was shot dead by a mob including former Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara while he was there to contribute to the preparation of the stage for a presidential election campaign rally. The Prime Minister told the Dodamgoda family that justice would be done for the life of Mr. Shanta Dodamgoda who was brutally killed. 12.01.2015 Dinamina
During the presidential election period, the UNP parties were intimidated by not allowing or setting up an office for the common candidate. The local politicians told the prime minister that the alliance stalwarts worked. The Prime Minister said that the thug politics was ended by people’s power and that the law will be implemented against those who engaged in illegal activities…’
Ranil’s promise
Ranil made this promise in front of the Nivithigala Shanta Dodamgoda family when he became the Prime Minister in 2015. Today Ranil is the President and he has given the post of state minister to Premalal Jayasekara, who was accused of murdering Shanta Dodamgoda and later acquitted. If it is so , it was the Rajapaksas who should have given him the position of Minister of State. It was for the suicidele battle in 2015 campained for the victory of Mahinda. But the Rajapaksa did not do justice to Premalal.
Perhaps Gotabhaya may have said that a person who has been sentenced to death cannot be appointed as minister. Although he was later freed from the death penalty, Gota may have been reluctant to give him a state minister ship because he was in prison because he was afraid of the accusations against Gota that he brought him to the parliament while he was in prison. The Rajapakse family including Mahinda and Basil must have told Ranil to show Ranil what Gota was afraid to do and for him do and show it in reality. So Ranil forgot , Shanta Dodamgoda and his family and justice has been done for Premalal on behalf of the Rajapaksa family.
Does this mean that Ranil has forgotten the UNP…?’
Seeing this, Ranilists think that Ranil took the presidency to save the U.N.P. Ranilist civil organizations think that Ranil took the presidency to carry out major reforms.
Sobitha Thero’s campaign for a free and fair society is the main among the civil organizations that think in that manner. Sobitha Thero created this movement to abolish the executive presidential system and bring democracy to the country. After the 2015 General Election, Sobitha Thero said a month before his death that he condemned with disgust , that Maithripala appointed as National List MPs the defeated candidates. It is an insult to democracy.
Approving Sobitha Thero’s statement, the then Prime Minister Ranil UNP working committee passed a resolution saying that the defeated U.N.P. candidates will not be given the position of National List Member of Parliament. Finally, Ranil himself lost 2020 and came from the national list of U.N.P. Sobitha Thero said that defeated candidates should not be appointed to Parliament from the national list. If Sobitha Thero was living when a defeated candidate came to the Parliament and became the Prime Minister and President, he would surely have gone to the streets.
Sobitha thero’s promise
By now, Sobitha Thera has passed away. But the free and fair social movement, which claimed to be carrying Sobitha Thera’s flag, did not say a word about this. This movement for a free and fair society made a fatal statement as soon as Ranil became the President. That statement is that Ranil has promised his organization that he would enact the 19th constitution amendment within a week or two and transfer the executive powers to the parliament and go to a parliamentary general election. To empower Ranil towards this objective the movement for a free and fair society urged the opposition to join to form a all-party government. This statement was made at a meeting of the Free and Fair Social Movement held in Galle.
Did the members of the opposition swallowed this rope of that campaign and became ministers, if that is so how scary it is…?’
The best opportunity to form an all-party government was when Gotabaya went abroad without resigning from the presidency. The protesters demanded that Prime Minister Ranil should step down as well as President Gota. After Gotabhaya fled the country, when the Speaker called the party leaders, the party leaders unanimously said that the President and the Prime Minister should resign.
Prime Minister Ranil was also there. TNA, who attended the meeting, said that he promised to resign from the post of Prime Minister. MP Sumanthiran and Muslim Congress MP Rauf Hakeem said. After a while, the Prime Minister’s media unit said that Ranil would step down from the post of Prime Minister after the formation of an all-party government, but not before that.
All party government
If Ranil resigned at that time, the acting president would be the speaker. If that was the case, a new president and a new prime minister would have been appointed and an all-party government would have been formed with the agreement of all the parties in the parliament under the leadership of the speaker.
It was Ranil who prevented it. He made a deal with the Rajapaksa’s to get the presidency and was hugging the prime minister’s chair.
Why didn’t the movement for a free and fair society and other civil organizations ask Ranil to step down and form an all-party government…?’
Without saying that, they kept their mouth shut until Ranil became the president and now raising the voice that opposition disrupted the fromation of a all-party government. To strengthen Rajapakses and to sacrifice SJB membeer’s of parliament to Ranil this free and fair social movement, the members worked hard day and night. Today, if Sobitha Thero was among the living, he would have died seeing this unholy effort of these civil organizations including the social movement for a free and fair society attempting to justify Rajapaksa Ranil atrocities . Now Ranil wants to dance this dance in front of the international community in disguise.
Ranil’s Meeting with Samantha
Ranil told Samantha Power that he was working with Karu Jayasuriya and Victor Ivan to form Janasabha, National Assembly, to promote Karu, Victor, and the Rajapakse brand. Samantha Power gave a news conference that evening to say civil organisations must fight for political reforms. She stated it’s inconceivable that Free and Fair Society, which fought for reforms under the Rajapaksa era, would hire Ranil, who protects the Rajapaksas today.
Harin is tallented to sing on the political stage. He was afraid to contest the 2020 general election. That is fear of loosing. He was afraid to go to the electorate he represented. He feared people will throw stones at him. However, he got a National List Membership from Sajith and got the Gampaha Wattala Constituency instead of Badulla district which he represented. He then critisised Gotabhaya he claimed ‘sir fail’ and verbally attacked Gotabaya. to the point of falling. This when many feared to criticize Gota. Finally, he suggested to Sajith that ‘let’s get the prime minister ship under Gota’.
Sajith said that he cannot become prime minister under Gota who is being requested by strugglers to ‘go home’. Then he mocked at Sajith of a song by Anton Jones. It is the song called ‘Love and fear and that is the name of the boat’. Today, not only the Hareens, but also civil alliances including the movement for a free and fair society are riding in this boat named ‘Aasai Bayai’. There are a few verses in that song. The lyrics of that song could be changed little bit and can sung to mock Sajith and Hareen.
‘ Aasai bayai Ei Bottuwe namai
Yali noma ennata giya gamanai
Diya Rakusai gaga mada Kaputai
Jeewitha gananak biligaththai …”
By Upul Joseph Fernando