Gotabhaya Rajapakse is making false allegations against me

February 4th, 2008

by Mano Ganesan

I bet my head if Gotabaya Rajapakse proves any of his ‘LTTE link’ allegations against me. He has got his facts, if any mixed-up and he is in the state of confusion. It is because he is speaking out of vengeance. The Vengeance is over our Civil Monitoring Commission’s human rights campaign against abductions, extortions and extra-judicial killings and also reflection of the government’s anger that I did not follow the ’silence for perk’ paths of ministers Thondaman and Chandrasekaran

Gotabaya’s random accusations lack clarity and credibility. I totally deny all his sick references to me as falsehood, sinister and defamatory. Gotabaya is not a member of parliament. He never comes to the parliament and not heard or seen me in the house. I tell him to check up with his own ministers before pinning me of with LTTE label. I am confident many SLFP ministers will vouch for me.

The parliament of Sri Lanka knows that I am not an LTTEer. I don’t have the necessity or the right to speak or act for the LTTE. I do not have to shy away from the fact of my meeting with LTTE. I have met LTTE political department activists during the CFA period in open. Many other Tamil, Muslim, Sinhala politicians too have met LTTE for discussions at that time. Some of them are now in the Mahinda Rajapakse government as cabinet ministers and senior officials. LTTE is terrorizing the Lankan society. So is the Mahinda Rajapakse regime. But LTTE being the symbol of Tamil national struggle and violent responder to the decades old Sri Lankan state terrorist oppression are undeniable facts. I am not a lone rider but equiped with my party. My party is not subordinate to any block. I have my agreements and disagreements with LTTE as I have with many southern parties. So I may not need character certificates from anybody.

My prime issues with the government are the blunt abuses human rights and culture of impunity. I am at the forefront in taking the human rights issues to the international community and UN. Gotabaya should understand that I got the clue for this from his brother president HE Mahinda Rajapakse. What I am doing today was what Mahinda R did in 1989. I stand against both LTTE terrorism and state terrorism.

I stand for a United Lanka within which the numerically smaller nationalities and minorities have their rightful sovereign share. I stand for genuine devolution of political power. Is it terrorism to call upon the elected government to behave as the government of the day for all the peoples? Is it terrorism to identify unresolved ETHNIC ISSUE as the supreme root cause for the ruthless war and terrorism, human rights violations, impunity, political assassinations, media slaughter, international isolation, failing state syndrome, inflation, CoL and all?

Is it terrorism to struggle democratically for genuine political power division to avoid the division of the country? Is it terrorism to seek share and stake in the soverreignty and ruling right to the Tamil speaking peoples? Is it terrorism to demand the government to address the ethnic issue without any further delay? Is it terrorism to expose the ‘false dawn’ in the name of latest APRC report on 13th amendment?

Let Gotabaya, a state employee claim superior powers over the cabinet of ministers. That is for the cabinet to worry about. I do not care and declare no issue with that. But I am a member of parliament for Colombo district elected by the superior people of Sri Lanka in a democratic election. My presence in the parliament of Sri Lanka is protected by the Honorable Speaker who is the superior institutional custodian of the most supreme legislature in the country. I am also leader of a political party recognized by the institution of the commissioner of elections.

The honorable learned judges of the court of appeal have told the IGP ‘to protect member of parliament who is already elected before considering protecting candidates standing for election in the east’. If there is a disagreement, the AG can go to the Superior Court. I and millions of Lankans today believe that it is the Judiciary which is keeping this failing state from falling apart when the Executive is autocrat, Legislature is weak and Media is under killer intimidation. All above institutions derive authority from the constitution of Sri Lanka . I believe nobody has superiority over the constitution.

Gotabaya refuses to protect me on false imagination. On one hand he says I am linked to LTTE. And immediately he contradicts himself and says I am targeted by LTTE. What is this ‘LTTE link’ story? His own government has been accused of this ‘LTTE link’ by the right hand and left hand of the Mahinda Rajapakse presidential campaign. That is Mangala and Sripathi. It is accused that after this government assumed power large sum of state money was transferred to some suspected LTTE company.

Immediately before the presidential elections, Gota’s other brother Basil and minister Jeyaraj met me and requested me to arrange a link with LTTE and offered favors to me if Mahinda is elected. But I refused to do that because I have no such link with LTTE. What should be noted is that I did not go to Rajapakse house but they came to my place. Minister Jeyaraj has accepted this visit on record. But I am not telling that they made contact with LTTE or transferred money. I know there was an attempt. I do not speak wildly without credible information.

Gotabaya accuses late Maheswaran now. He says that he dealt with LTTE and earned their wrath. I don’t want to talk about a dead man. It is not an honorable thing to do. But the fact of Maheswaran running ships between Colombo and Jaffna is a well known fact. He himself has said that and had referred to Rajapakses as his good friends. It is in the hansard.

All the opportunities and contracts in this government are given only to henchmen. Nepotism and Favoritism are order of the state. Under these circumstances how come an opposition TAMIL MP permitted to run a business venture that is also very security wise strategically crucial? Who in the defense establishment authorized this? Who else are the partners in this venture?

Who else are the profiteers? What is the volume of the business in figures? Assuming If LTTE received commissions who are the other bigwigs received commissions and side kicks? What are the amounts of commissions? Why the innocent poor people of Jaffna are made to pay prices 300 to 500% higher than Colombo? Is it linked to the closure of A9? Is it a military decision or business decision?

What happened to those alleged findings of ‘aircraft parts’ in those ships? Why that Gotabaya, the defense secretary waited this ship business to go without any hindrances for over one year? Does he want the people to believe that he came to know this ‘LTTE deal’ only after the killing of Maheswaran?

The nation needs answers to these questions. These will also help to find who killed Maheswaran. The people of Sri Lanka and opposition legislatures are not so naive and fool to believe that Maheswaran did everything on his own. The logical conclusion is that poor Maheswaran has been used by high-ups in the government. Maheswaran may be an UNPer. But UNP did not run the ship business. It is very unfair to put all the blame on Maheswaran, a dead man now and call him a traitor.

Mano Ganesan is not Maheswaran. Maheswaran had his friends inside the government and may be in the LTTE. It is very unfair and cruel to put me in the same lot and set stage for my kill. I am not a member of the government. My party is aligned with opposition UNP. United National Party is the single biggest party in the country. I believe in the alliance leadership of Ranil Wickramasinghe. As at today he is the only national leader who is recognized by all sections of the Sri Lankan society. With him now me, Rauf and Mangala are standing together. There are more to come. This is democracy. I will not trade in my principles for the provision of security and perks. I am seeking security because I am a stake holder in the state of Sri Lanka although not part of the government. Gotabaya should understand the differences between the terms and conditions of the state and the government.

Gotabaya says they have to protect Douglas and Anandasankaree. Yes, it is correct. I endorse that point. Let them be given the maximum security. Anandasankaree is not a parliamentarian. There are many more non parliamentarians are given state security. Media has listed those names. No matter, let police give security to them. I have no issue on that. But government cannot reduce and refuse state security to opposition politicians who are also under threat. As parliamentarians we risk our lives and we have priority over others. Gotabaya cannot lecture that Ranil Wickramasinghe cannot seek state security while criticizing the government. Ranil W is the Leader of Opposition in the parliament of Sri Lanka. He is privileged to receive all state patronage under the constitution. Gotabaya should understand the sprit of parliamentary democracy. (ENDS)

This is an open response by Mano Ganesan to Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse who stated in a recent media interview that the WPF leader was linked to the LTTE and therefore needed no state security.

Entry Filed under: transCurrents Commentary