Wouldn't that depend in large measure on the balance of forces in the new parliament, the ratios within the representation that the (partly) re-enfranchised Tamil people choose for themselves and the stance (realistic or otherwise) that these representatives choose to adopt?

I do note, as these signatories do not, that the incumbent pledged at his rally in Jaffna that the Northern Provicial Council will be held and the 13th amendment implemented. Clear and concrete, one should think. Of course its fulfilment will depend on the factors I have referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Yesterday in the Satana programme the chief spokesman for the JHU unveiled the current thinking of the Govt with regard to Presidential powers and the Constitution. No mention was made of the 17th amendment or 13th amendment. Instead a long winded scheme to appoint a powerless senate and another layer of equally powerless Janasabhas reporting to the Pardeshiya Sabhas. Good to give employment to another set of stooges. The JHU being seemingly the main architect of this cockeyed plan gives no confidence to the minorities.

Non-partisan group of concerned citizens on this issue of national concern? Dear God, read the list of names to me again, PLEASE!

U no the 1 about "u cn fool some pple 4 sme time but not all da pple all da time, me man!

Dear Padres and alter boys, do get back to the church and prepare 4 da Mass tomorrow be4 da day of final reckoning.
Ta 4 dat.

This is a very strong message that has been conveyed to the two main constants at this most critical Presidential Election after defeating the most ruthless terror group in the world.

I have to give credit to both candidates who have worked in unison and had a common strategy at the recently concluded war against he terrorists.It is known that the LTTE in the name of self rule for the Tamils brought about untold suffering on them.The Governments particularly from 1983 have tried to bring about a settlement of to this ethnic problem.

It is an accepted fact that the Tamils are still third class citizens who are discreminated when it comes to education specially university admissions employment in the Public Service etc.It is sad that even after the LTTE was defeated militarily the Police are known to harass the Tamil population in Colombo at check points etc.During this Presidential race the Police are known to visit condominiums specially in Wellawatte, Bambalapitiys Mount Lavania and Ratmalana areas and terrorise the Tamils specially after 12 midnight.

The Government should have appointed a Truth and Reconciliation Council consisting of leading citizens of this country and made a serious effort to find a permanent solution to the ethnic problem.Instead the Tamils are further demoralized as both candidates are violently trying to spread falsehoods about secret pacts to divide the country and to resurrect the LTTE.Ther are also vile rumors that the west specially the US Norway and Great Britian together with the EU are conspiring to destabalize Sri lanka.All these statements which have no strong evidence are mainly to gain political mileage.

I am strongly convinces that although we have defeated terrorism this country has gone deep into the mire as far as solving the ethnic problem where the minority races specially the tamils could live as equal citizens and contribute to economic and social development of Sri Lanka.

All the politicians in the south have invariably identified the majority race to win elections by arousing ethnic disharmony stating the the country is to be divided and there will be a separate state of Elam. Some of the social scientists in Sri Lanka are of the view that the Sinhalese who are in a majority fear that the Tamils will be supported by over 55 million Tamils.

It is ironic that rulers of this country since early 1960s the rulers of this country have not trusted the Tamils and brought them to the forefront in nation building. The Sinhalese have to go a long way to despel the belief that they are the superior race and all other minorities are not equal citizens.We have to learn from the United States where a African American became the President and now lives in the White House built by the African slaves in the past.

I would long to see a President or Head of State in Sri Lanka from the minority community and this will be the day that we can show that Sri lanka is undoubtly a plurastic state proud of its citizens.The fragmentation of the Sri Lankan society is mainly due to the selfish politicians as well ultra nationalists who are laymen as well as Buddhist monks.

Terrorism in Sri Lanka both in the North and South were nutured by disgruntled youth and the governments in power had to supress these uprisings with loss of lives and financial resources.The 30 year old civil war which was fought by the LTTE was mainly financed by the Tamil Diasporea.The governments specially from 1983 did not realize that the Tamils had to leave their motherland due to killings harassesment and other form of discrimination.

The hatred among the Tamils against the Sinhalese is still there and this government instead calling elections 2 years ahead should have appointed a truth and Reconciliation Council and had at least a bluprint on power sharing with the minorities.There is a great fear among the Tamils that if the President is defeated at the election on 26 January racial riots will erupt in the south as in July 1983.I stongly condemn divisive politics which has brought this country to such a unfortunate state.

Instead of mud slinging and character assassination and accusing each other about secret with Tamil parties as evident in the south the two contestants at this election should have formulated a effective policy of power sharing with the minority communities.

It is an accepted fact that the 1978 Constitution of Sri lanka has conferred on the President unlimited power without any checks and balances.Some law makers argue that the President cannot excercise his power with Parliament.However it is an accepted fact that the present incumbent has bought over the opposition law makers by offering them portfolios and other perks.This has caused a mokery to Parliamentary democracy.

The excalation of violence unpresidented in the election history of Sri lanka over the past 60 years is mainly due to the absence of the independent Police Commission and the Elections commission.The blatent disregard to directiond from the Elections Commissioner by the print and electronic media and the Police is the violation of the Constitution of Sri lanka and theseentities should be punished by law whoever winds the election.

Protection of such undemoractic acts by government institutions and if pardoned by the rulers is a despicable act is a free society and such acts could be attributable to power hungry politicians.

In order to move this country forward by uniting all communities and achieve economic and social development the rulers should not create a fear phychosis among the minorities but to treat them as equal citizens and also see thst they love this country as their motherland. I do not think that the power hungry politicians in the south will ever be able to achieve this national integration if they do not remove this stigma and fear phychosis among all citizens of Sri Lanka whether they are from any corner of the country.

All law makers shoud promote to change this mind set of every one to think they are Sri Lankans and not Sinhalese ,Tamils Muslims,Burgers Moors etc.Law makers specially leaders should realize that by roaring like lions from political platforms stating they will trat all communities equally will not do but such statement should be proved by far reaching policies and by changing most of the dracodenian laws of this country such as Prevention of terrorism Act .

The rulers should also curb powers of the Police which has are harassing political opponents of the government and terrorising citizens who do not agree to the ruling party.It is so unfortunate that a law abiding citizen of Sri Lanka today is unable to excercise his or her franchise which is a basic tennet of the Human rights charter.
Finally i would advise all the law makers in Sri Lanka to seriously study an excellent book by John Richardson titled "Paradise Poisoned" .

It has a unbiased review to learn about Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka's civil wars from the 1970s .The causes for such uprisings which simmered since independence in 1947 are also elaborated.The major flaw of uniting a plurastic society in Sri Lanka since independence are greed for political power,divisive politics, selfishness of the politicans for both sides of tthe divide and driving a fear phychosis among the majority race the Sinhalese that Sri Lanka is the only country for them to live.

If the Chinese of the Malays or other races in the world though on these lines we would not have great nations like Chins Malaysia Singapore etc.The Bumiputra policy in Malayssia try to discriminate the Chinese but the country realized the divisive politics will not help and very effectively integrated all ethnic groups.

The situation in Singapore which has gone from the third world to the first also adopted such politices and has the fourth standard of living.If the Chinese did not migrate to US and other countries in Asia and Europe they will not be a world power today.

I must strongly emphasise that Sri lanka has failed to interegate our pluralistic society due to divisive politics, no respect for meritocracy but political patronage as well as race are the main criteria in giving government jobs,high level of corruption from the law makers down to the lower rungs of the government,interference with the judiciary,appointment of political stooges to the judiciary,wide ranging owers to the Armed Forces and the Police.

A serious trend followed byhe government at this election if to bring high officials of the Army to critize the main opponent of he President.Politicisation of the Armed Forces is not a very wise move as past history from other countries particularly in Myanmar had led to emergence of Military rule and anarchy.

Sri Lanka is at a very critical stage in the process of reconciliation with the minority and the action of the present rulers and other law makers alligned with them has created a dangerous situation wher defeat of terrorism will be put to the back burner.

The explosive speeches made by power hungry politicians will again ignite racial disharmony which would lead to another BlackJuly 1983!!!!

I smell a rat here. What is J C Weliamuna doing in this group?

THis is a bunch of guys who perhaps have not benefitted enough from the present government, wanting more of a share from whatever the next government is. Of course the manifestos are not history books or philisophy books. They are not written to apease people like you lot but the man in the street. It is basically a political will, nothing else and they do not expect anybody to take it seriously to put it bluntly. Dhanapala may be kicking himself for distancing from the government because his successor, the clever man Rajiva Wijesinghe has made the most of the situation. If ou ask anybody, who was the chaiman of peace office, do you think anybody will ever remember any other person who was there than Rajiva? Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne seems to have been lost out since CBK left as well, poor bloke. Anyway, what these guys are saying is pure rhetoric, what happens post-election will solely depend on the composition of the next parliament.

i wish this forum would continue after the p.e.i myself i have been working for
the the welfare,aspirations and rights of the minorities and ALSO FOR THE RURAL SINHALE VOLK.ranjit de mel. berlin

Your attempts at revival of the 1980s agenda on ethnic minority empowerment and the need to for another Constitution is quite frankly reflective of your inherent failure to understand that most developing and fast developed countries like China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam have a stratum of civil society which has gone past your type of divisive and eternally conflict-inducing pressures on the state executives.

The prosperity of these countries has been mainly due to their identification of the inherent nature of majority/minority and indigenous/colonially-imposed immigrant sectors and values of society. India has over 62 languages and many races, Cina has three main languages/dialects and numerous minority ethnic groups, Malaysia has three main vociferous ethnic groups of opposing polarities, Vietnam has 56 ethnic minorities and various dialects.

Yet all these countries are prospering mainly because the upper strata of educated civic leaders do not wish to be petty conscience-stricken people funded by foreign agents. The minorities are not herded around psychologically or otherwise on this ethnic un-empowerment storyline. Therefore these societies and in turn the countries divert their energies and resources for development purposes and not petty and never-ceasing social demands that the state as a whole will never be able to solve or agree to.

These persons who call themselves "non-partisan", therefore, are the cause of our peoples' unending under-development and strife. Please think about these fundamental facts.

Unless they as well as you, stop harping on these so called "needs" the country as a whole and all our people will forever be in strife and imposed sense of being 2nd and 3rd class citizens. We as Sri Lankans want to live together and sort our own lives. Please seek another vocation or arena for your interests and livelihoods.

Your attempts at revival of the 1980s agenda on ethnic minority empowerment and the need for another Constitution is quite frankly reflective of your inherent failure to understand that most developing and fast developed countries like China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam have a stratum of civil society which has gone past your type of divisive and eternally conflict-inducing pressures on the state executives. The prosperity of these countries has been mainly due to their identification of the inherent nature of majority/minority and indigenous/colonially-imposed immigrant sectors and values of society. India has over 62 languages and many races, China has three main languages/dialects and numerous minority ethnic groups, Malaysia has three main vociferous ethnic groups of opposing polarities, Vietnam has 56 ethnic minorities and various dialects. Yet all these countries are prospering mainly because the upper strata of educated civic leaders do not wish to be petty conscience-stricken people funded by foreign agents. The minorities are not herded around psychologically or otherwise on this ethnic un-empowerment storyline. Therefore these societies and in turn the countries divert their energies and resources for development purposes and not petty and never-ceasing social demands that the state as a whole will never be able to solve or agree to. These persons who call themselves "non-partisan", therefore, are the cause of our peoples' unending under-development and strife. Please think about these fundamental facts.

1.No one should take Jayantha Dhanapala, a guy who was closely associated with two tyrants, seriously.
2.The incumbent,if he was really serious about the 13th amendment, should have repeated the pledge again in Galle,Hambantota,Matara,Monaragala,Galgamuwa,Ambanpola, Kurunagala,Kandy and Colombo.
3.Yet again it is rather pathetic to see Prof.Dayan Jayatilleka referring to the disfranchised as re-enfranchised.He should be talking about the disenfranchisement of Tamils caused by the current regime.
Cheers,
Siva.

The practice has not shown any serious interest in implementing the 13th amendment. Didn't the incumbent recently state that the incumbent has a solution that will be totally different from all of the solutions implemented or suggested so far? So, I have not seen or heard any clear or concrete solution yet from either of the main candidates.

Please let me voice my support to the appeal. I do believe that it is of critical imoprtance to emphasize the concerns outlined in the appeal and support it, at this point in time.

Wimal Rankaduwa

his promise to the nation. That is the eradication of terrorism from Sri Lanka. Now, he has vision and mission to develop the country. That is ONE COUNTRY, ONE NATION & ONE FLAG.

Colonial masters’ favorite method of ruling is “Divide & Rule”. All other colonial countries, especially, Sri Lanka is still suffering from this “divide & rule” method. Our distinguish scholars & professionals, who molded from western education, still think and advice to follow 200 or more years old method to follow! What a funny advice!!!

The Island of Sri Lanka is ONE COUNTRY. All inhabitants are ONE NATION called Sri Lankans and they respect ONE FLAG that is Sri Lankan flag. To achieve this goal, MR administration has already started from school level. Now, many school children learn three languages (Singhalese, Tamil & English) as well as four major religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam & Christianity). Hence, do we need special attention to treat certain group of religious or linguistic minority? The concept of one country, one nation will eradicate this menace in the past. Our future generation is fully equipped with three languages and four religions. There are no more majority or minority! We are children of mother Sri Lana. ONE COUNTRY, ONE NATION AND ONE FLAG!

Election manifesto is series of proposals and promises which will never come to true. Here, we have a vision and mission; that is ONE COUNTRY, ONE NATION AND ONE FLAG! To achieve this goal, all our distinguish scholars and professional can contribute with their expertise knowledge and experiences in all over the world. Then Sri Lanka will be “pearl of the Indian ocean” again.

My dear fellow Sri Lankans, please decide future of our beloved mother Lanka.

Persons of the calibre of Bishop de Chikera,Ms.Sithie Thiruchelvam,Ms.Manouri Muthetuwegama,Mr.Justice Vigneswaran,Mr.Godfrey Gunatilleke and Dr.Deepika Udugama SHARING A FORUM with men like Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala,Prof.Arjuna Aluwihara and Archbishop Oswald Gomis?
What is in store for us next?
Cheese and Chaulk?
Milk and Vinegar?
Rice and Sand?
Freedom of Speech and the Current Regime?
Have a good day,
Douglas de Silva

Hello CW,
Mr.J.C.Weliamuna does belong to this group and any other group in Sri Lanka that is interested in human rights.
His record is second to none.
If you have any doubts,please talk to the guys at FMM and TISL.
Cheers,
Siva.