Sudath Gunasekara
9.6.2017.
1 Going for Presidential elections in 2015 while he could have gone on till end of 2017
2 Not sacking My3 immediately after he left to contest as the Common Candidate
3 Handing over the SLFP chairmanship to Maitripala Sirisen who has ceased to be a member of the SLFP with his leaving to contest as the Common candidate
4 Not forming a new political party after handing over the SLFP to MS and hanging over to a nebulous group called JO trusting fellows who contested later under his leadership when Maitripala Sirisena has already declared that he will not appoint MR as the Prime Minister even if gets a majority number of seats in Parliament at the August 2015 General Election and betrayed him by joining the Yahapalanaay for avarice and power hunger.
5 Keeping silent while the President and Ranil were violating the Constitution left and right: for eg appointment of the Prime Minister, sacking the CJ, appointment of the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Organizer Opposition, allowing the National Anthem to be sung in Tamil, appointing defeated candidate at the 2015 Elections as MPP and Ministers, appointing a Constitutional Assembly and a Committee to draft a new Constitution when they have not got a mandate from the public to do so to name only a few.
6 Keeping silent when the Government was supporting and co- sponsoring the UNCHR against the Sri Lankan Service personal and there by betraying the Sri Lankan forces and the sovereignty of the country
7 Adopting a lukewarm wait and see policy, without taking some concrete and meaningful action ,while this traitorous Government is violating the legitimate rights of the people nearly 6 million as it is, by postponing local Government elections, arresting and remanding Buddhist monks, who were the guardian deities of this nation, for flimsy issues while not taking any action against Tamil and Muslim politicians and Tamil Catholic priests like Joseph Rasappupulle, for violating the 6th Amendment and openly engaging in anti- government activities; when President Sirisena is giving the third place to Buddhism when he spoke at a meeting in Kurunegala recently where he mentioned Quran. the Bible, the Thripitaka and Bhagawat Geetha in that order, in spite of a thumping public mandate given by more than 5.8 million Sinhala Buddhist voters in this country for him to be brought back as the Prime Minister at the 2015 August elections.
Regarding the danger AND UNCERTAINTIES of going for early elections, I wrote a long letter to him on 20th of Dec 2014 and reminded him of the famous Sinhala adage’ that the bird in hand is worth more than ten in the bush. My first advice was not to go for EARLY Presidential Election until 2017
Among other main requests I made the following I could remember may be noted
Reduce the cabinet to at least to 25
Abolish the 13th Amendment and Provincial Councils along with the Rajiv/JR Accord of 1987
Ban all ethnic and religious political parties
Either sack or at least distance characters like Sarana Gunawardhana, Mervin silva, Duminda Silva. Muthhihettigama, Sarath ekanayaka and replace them with some educated decent men or women of character and dignity
Revise the cases of Sarath Fonsekaka and Shirani Bandaranayaka
Restore the Kandyan Peasantry department and the Kandyan Area Development Authority
Remove Proportional representation and go back to former electorate System
Listen to good advice by Mahanayaka Theros and depend on good counsel on matters of statecraft
I sent this letter directly to Lalith and requested him to bring this to the notice of the President
Apart from listen to my advice I did not get even an acknowledgement.
In my experience with few other leaders had I sent this kind of letter to President Premadasa, Lalith Etulathmudali or Mrs B Definitely they would have taken it seriously
But unfortunately for MR and the country at large it never happened.
Had MR at least postponed the Presidential Elections until 2017 Dec as I suggested, he would never have got humiliated like this and even today he would have been the President of this country loved by the majority and the current catastrophes may have never occurred?