SL: Rajapaksa steps down

[Darmashkian]

I don't think there will be any major changes but still it's early to say.

Congratulations to the people of Sri Lanka for a smooth transition of power & for voting in power a new President

@Gibbs @Azizam @seradiel Could you please tell us What would be Sirisena;s position on ties with India??

& how it would be compared to Rajapakse?

 

[ashwamedh]

WOW, didn't know India had this great an influence on Sri Lankan Politics!
Hope things change in India's favor again!

 

[$@rJen]

congrats to Srisena and Lankans

Its said that new President likely to cooperate with India more that MR did.

Now all our TN people should keep their mouth shut without creating another problem in India's policy towards Sri lanka ..

Is that the end?..no more politics for MR anymore?

Yes no more poletics.. but all his family members are in the politics, he'll have a great influence... that's the reason he failed in this election... most of the powerful government positions were filled with his family it was heavily criticized by opposition and lankan public

 

[third eye]

Wow wasnt expecting this.
congrats to sri lankans for smooth transition of power.

This guy miscalculated big time when he called for snap polls.

 

[samv]

I still think Mahinda was and is a better choice for Sri Lanka (with all his flaws) and believe Maithripala is simply a puppet of Ranil and Chandrika (who have already have been in power and didn't do much at all). Maithri is soon to be converted into a figurehead, with power going to be centered in the hands of the leader of the UNP party Ranil Wickremasinghe. So even thought Maithri won, it is Ranil that people ought to be talking about.

Nevertheless it was great to see such a peaceful election and transition of power.

Basically, Ranil is the USA's pet in Sri Lanka. So we will soon see a very pro-US policy emerging from Sri Lanka that is very NGO friendly (sort of like the Congress party). The US will promote closer relations with India (whom they are trying to make into steadfast allies to counter China) and use Sri Lanka as a tool when they need to manipulate Pakistan. Ranil's family basically controls most of the private media in Sri Lanka, so you will not hear much criticism about his rule. He will now also control the state media, therefore the vast majority of the media in Sri Lanka will be under his control.

To people who are unfamiliar with Sri Lankan affairs, but are interested in it - Ranil Wickremasinghe is the man you should be reading about. He is the one who brought in Norway into the Sri Lankan conflict back in the day when the LTTE was around and was negotiating to hand over control of Sri Lankan land to the LTTE as part of a peace deal. He is an extremely pro-western politician and has membership in many western political organisations. It is no wonder that John Kerry is so happy over Maithripala Sirisena's victory.

When Ranil was Prime Minister from 2001-2004 he allowed Sri Lanka's airports to be used in the illegal torture and rendition of terror suspects by the USA.

In reality it is Ranil Wickremasinghe who has won Sri Lanka's election - Maithripala Sirisena was just a clever ploy to get votes from the masses because if Ranil had stood for election himself he would have lost terribly.

congrats to Srisena and Lankans

Its said that new President likely to cooperate with India more that MR did.

Now all our TN people should keep the

Yes, India should be able to manipulate the new Sri Lankan government quite well in comparison to the one under Rajapaksa. Although they pretended to be a united front for the election the new government is actually composed of many disparate elements with totally contradictory policies. Basically any divide and rule policy can be applied quite easily by any interested party.

 

[Azizam]

Congratulations to the people of Sri Lanka for a smooth transition of power & for voting in power a new President

@Gibbs @Azizam @seradiel Could you please tell us What would be Sirisena;s position on ties with India??

& how it would be compared to Rajapakse?

No idea about that yet. Samv is pro MR so I wouldn't entirely trust his word. We just have to wait and see.

 

[Iggy]

Man they announced the results very fast...

 

[HeinzG]

10 years of hard won victories and services seems just lost. I have lost faith in my country.

 

[Judge]

10 years of hard won victories and services seems just lost. I have lost faith in my country.

No leader can keep power forever regardless of how good s/he was. The electorate votes them out. This is natural.

 

[HeinzG]

No leader can keep power forever regardless of how good s/he was. The electorate votes them out. This is natural.

I see hidden danger lurking around. Maybe in the future it will rear it's ugly head. I fear we might be two late for that.

 

[Gibbs]

Congratulations to the people of Sri Lanka for a smooth transition of power & for voting in power a new President

@Gibbs @Azizam @seradiel Could you please tell us What would be Sirisena;s position on ties with India??

& how it would be compared to Rajapakse?

A more credible Indian perspective..

A leader falls: Why Sri Lanka ousted Mahinda Rajapaksa - Hindustan Times


Prashant Jha, Hindustan Times
Thursday's presidential election in Sri Lanka was arguably one of the most important in the country's history. And its outcome on Friday determined that the creeping authoritarianism of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family will not get institutionalised and further entrenched but called for opening up of the democratic political space.


The results show that Sri Lanka would not like to continue on its path of a centralised rule, belligerent majoritarian nationalism and monoculturalism but accept a degree of multiculturalism, recognition of minorities and allow entities other than Colombo's presidential palace to have a say in state affairs.

Sri Lankans did not want their country to continue being an international outlier, drawing flak from the West and human rights community for not addressing the issue of justice or rights and at least attempt to re-engage with universal democratic values.

The people have spoken - and what a verdict they have thrown up. After almost a decade of absolute rule, with a firm militarist orientation, Rajapaksa has been ousted.

He has now conceded defeat and left his palace. The new victor is the common Opposition candidate and a former health minister in Rajapaksa's government, Mithripala Sirisena.

Supporters hold up images of Mithripala Sirisena as they celebrate in the streets of Colombo after President Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat in the country's presidential elections on Friday. (AFP Photo)

How did Rajpaksa lose - a scenario few could have imagined till a few months ago? And what does it mean for the Sri Lankan polity as well as the subcontinent, especially India?

After a three-decade bloody civilian war, Sri Lanka yearned for peace and order when Rajapaksa arrived on the national centre-stage in the middle of the last decade. Peace talks had collapsed, military stalemate ensued, suicide bombings continued and the north and the east functioned almost independent of Colombo.

A unique set of circumstances helped Rajpaksa.

Post 9/11, there was no sympathy for the murderous LTTE internationally; the outfit was also wrecked by factionalism with key leaders turning into informers for Colombo; public support for the Tigers had dipped even in its stronghold areas and there was fatigue; the Sri Lankan military was well funded, well equipped and given a blank cheque to conduct operations and India shared critical intelligence. Rajapaksa won the war in 2009, though only after massive human rights violations - now documented well internationally.

Riding on this victory, Rajapaksa won the overwhelming support of the Sinhalese constituency in the next elections. The opposition was in disarray, with no political platform since they had chosen his former military chief as the common candidate. The Tamil and Muslim minorities were politically marginalised. The state remained firmly loyal to Rajapaksa and the results were a foregone conclusion.

But this is where Rajapaksa lost the plot. Instead of using his political strength to deepen Sri Lankan democracy and heal the wounds of the war, he decided to cater to his extremist Sinhalese base. Going against repeated advice by well wishers - including the Indian establishment - he refused to devolve power to Tamils. He treated the state as a family fiefdom, with all key positions handled by his brothers, alienating even party veterans.

Supporters of President Mahinda Rajapaksa celebrate following the close of polls in Colombo on Thursday, January 8, 2015. (AFP Photo)

Rajapaksa turned on any dissent by even Sinhalese media and civil society activists. He confronted the world on human rights violations - backed by China. It was the victor's arrogance but beneath what seemed like a complete grip on power, disenchantment was growing.

The Tamil minority remained upset - many innocents had been killed in the war and there was no justice; they were still treated as second class citizens. The last few years saw the assertion of Buddhist chauvinist groups, who now turned to attack Muslim minorities. What also happened was that many Sinhalese in the south now began to have aspirations besides peace and order. Livelihood concerns became critical; rural Sri Lanka was unhappy. And given its strong democratic tradition, voters did not like the ruling family's authoritarianism. It was time for change.

The fact that Rajapaksa has graciously conceded defeat is credit to him and Sri Lankan democracy. But the transition will be difficult. (AFP Photo)

Sirisena became the catalyst when he defected from the Rajapaksa government a few months ago. He was then appointed the common opposition candidate, backed by former president Chandrika Kumaratunga and former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe (who will once again take over as PM). Sirisena's Sinhalese credentials and anti-LTTE stance could not be doubted - he had after all been a part of the regime. So it was difficult for the family to portray him as anti-national. He was also careful to reiterate his commitment to security presence in north; Sirisena has also said the Rajapaksas will not have to face international trial.

But his promise to abolish executive presidency won him the support of the more liberal elements of Sinhala society. Tamil and Muslim outfits recognised that even though Sirisena had not firmly committed to their rights, their primary contradiction was with Rajapaksa for now. Removing him would open the democratic space. And so it was that a wide coalition came around to supporting the opposition candidate. Friday's verdict is a culmination of that.

It is a moment of jubilation for all democrats - Sri Lanka has just shown the power of elections to effect regime change peacefully; it has shown that politics is not static, that voters cannot be taken for granted; that divisive politics has its limitations; that one family cannot become a substitute for institutions; and that a united opposition fighting a free and fair election can turn the tables in a complex fragmented polity. This will open up the polity and free space for democratic activism.

The fact that Rajapaksa has graciously conceded defeat is credit to him and Sri Lankan democracy. But the transition will be difficult. Sirisena and Wickremasinghe will have to cobble together a government. They will have to meet their promise of abolishing the executive presidency. In the medium term, they will have to reconcile conflicting demands of their Sinhala base and Tamil and Muslim aspirations.

They will be constantly looking over their shoulder as Rajapaksa will call any concession as sell out to Tamil separatism. Rajapaksa got over 45% vote and will remain a strong force. Parliamentary arithmetic is also in his favour till the next parliamentary polls. But what is politics if not the art of managing contradictions - and Sirisena will be tested on that.

Many people will be smiling in Delhi today. India has long told Rajapaksa to use his stature to address Tamil aspirations within a united Sri Lanka. Sources say this was a message that Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed when Rajapaksa attended his swearing-in ceremony.

He was encouraged to do this before the elections. Rajapaksa has been obstinate. And as a political and strategic buffer, he has played up the China card to force Delhi to dilute its pressure. India will have no blank cheque in Sri Lanka - but the structural change opens up possibilities. India now has friendly governments in all of South Asia's smaller countries (leaving aside Pakistan which is a different equation). This will help Modi'a neighbourhood policy too.

But that comes later. For now, celebrate the return of a vibrant democracy to an intimate neighbour.

 

[samv]

Sirisena's Sinhalese credentials and anti-LTTE stance could not be doubted - he had after all been a part of the regime. So it was difficult for the family to portray him as anti-national. He was also careful to reiterate his commitment to security presence in north; Sirisena has also said the Rajapaksas will not have to face international trial

This is why he was used by Ranil + Chandrika as their presidential candidate. If either Ranil or Chandrika had stood as the presidential candidate they would have lost heavily, especially among the majority Sinhalese. That is, he was a decoy:

His "reiteration of his commitment to security presence in the north" was only done when after an alleged pact to remove them was released to the public.

Under Ranil's administration previously, LTTE leaders were given free helicopter flights and treated at the best Colombo Hospitals.

The new Sri Lankan government is ripe for manipulation by the west (namely USA and Britain) as well as India if need be. They are basically a hodge podge of different parties. Sri Lanka has changed from a being politically stable with a strong leader to being politcally instable with a weak government.

The "good thing" is that because the west has now managed to install its puppet in power (Ranil Wickremasinghe) you will hear less about "human rights abuses" and "war crimes."

 

[jha]

The fall of Mahinda - The Hindu

 

[Green Arrow]

Mahinda was the best president for SL. It is quite surprising to see him getting defeated.

 

[Azizam]

Mahinda was the best president for SL. It is quite surprising to see him getting defeated.

After being elected for the second term, he started to be corrupted and authoritarian. His children in particular started openly displaying their luxurious lifestyle which angered most people in Sri Lanka. His previous election campaign was also ridiculously unintelligent. For instance, he invited the Bollywood actor - Salman Khan for his election campaign which badly backfired on him and I believe it was an idea of his oldest son - Namal Rajapaksha. Besides, any leader who keeps absolute power for too long eventually ends up as a menace to the nation. Mahinda had his two terms and as a responsible leader, he shouldn't have tried to change the constitution to rule over a third term. My opinion is that, it was his children and some family members that put him in this situation.