The Swan supporters have arrived at a conclusion that the Swan is shot considering the Election Commissioner’s above recorded statement -not live as it used to be, and the events that took place from the day of the nomination and till the standoff by the government forces at a five star hotel where the general, opposition leader and few other allies had checked in on the election night for safety as they received life threat calls.

In November, as soon as the election commissioner announced the date of the presidential election, on the advice of the incumbent president, cut outs as high as 60 foot in size and other publicity materials that would generally take many days of preparation, immediately appeared on the streets of the Capital with the portrait of the president. How could this be possible in such a quick time?

It was evident that the decision on the election by the president was already made and kept in the Frigidaire to be served on his convenient or auspicious time. His asking the crowd in party conventions as to which election they wanted this or that were farce. Here was a Bernard Shaw’s man who was acting well on the [political] stage.

The first indication that the government was going off the track and would not play the game by rules was evident when the state announced that the event of submitting the nomination on 17th December could be covered only by the National television Rupavahini, not by any other private channels? Are we still following the free market policy or under the jack boots of the KGB in the USSR or Burma‘s junta Than Shwe, or in North Korea?

There were altogether 22 candidates but the government TV that had the monopoly, while chiefly focusing the camera on the UPFA candidate, never showed an icon of the General’s presence there, though other 20 unknown faces had their slot. In brief, the general was totally blacked out and his handing over the nomination was not seen by any. Is this MR’s demo-CRACY?

Soon violent attacks on the General’s office and his supporters in various parts of the island were unleashed. The Captain as usual made mere lip service, issuing order to the IGP to take action, for name sake.

Ancient kings would lose sleep if a crime was unresolved in the kingdom. Here the king kept snoring and few lives were lost before and after the election as no tangible action were taken on the culprits till now. The UPFA camp was law unto themselves. Misuse of government property and facility was rampant.

“Alarmed by Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s candidacy, President Rajapaksa and his followers are using and abusing all of the state’s resources to get the President reelected. The TV propaganda is deafening and the figures we are releasing today are worthy of the Burmese or North Korean regimes.”

This statement from the Paris based Reporters Without Borders which is a real barometer of the governments lop sided handling, was carried by a Sunday paper on the 24th instant.

Also it said that on January 18 and 19, of a total of 472 minutes and 5 seconds of news and current affairs air-time on Rupavahini and ITN, Gen. Fonseka and the other opposition candidates were granted only 7 minutes and 50 seconds, or 1.6 per cent, while the President, his government and his party were granted 465 minutes and 25 seconds.

According to RSF, on ITN one had to wait until the 7 p.m. Sinhalese-language news programme for coverage of opposition activity (Gen. Fonseka for 30 seconds, the UNP for 40 seconds and the JVP for 45 seconds), while President Rajapaksa got 3 minutes on the 9 a.m. programme, 2 minutes on the 10 a.m. programme, 4 minutes 45 seconds on the noon programme and 4 minutes 20 seconds on the Tamil-language programme at 6 p.m.

“The President and his allies have abused other state resources in the course of the campaign. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, for example, forced all mobile phone operators to send SMS messages signed by President Rajapaksa to all their clients, while soldiers have been seen putting up the President’s election posters,” RSF added.

This was a direct flouting of the January 15 Supreme Court ruling and also violates the constitution, above all its Seventh Amendment and Article 104 (b) empowering the electoral commission, the report further said.

Further, even after the Election Commissioner ordered the cut outs to be removed the president‘s cut outs were Omni present and guarded by police while the General’s disappeared.

And also after the campaign was over on the 23rd, radio and TV were endlessly carrying on president’s propaganda without any regard to the regulation. Even on the 26th morning SLBC’s Sinhala 91.20 FM had a talk show, gushing fire like a dragon against the Tigers, Tamils, Diaspora and Tamilnet. One wondered, while Tamilnet is blocked in Sri Lanka, how could they access?

“The Government meticulously planned to rig this election in the most undemocratic manner. It is evident from the results released that the incumbent President suffered a massive loss, but shown the world a totally different result by manipulating the same”.

Mangala Samaraweera, MP said in a press meet that he vehemently rejected the result of the Presidential Elections.

He said, it has been found that the Elections Secretariat was invaded by Presidential sibling Basil Rajapakse and his forces at around 3.00 am on the 27th January 2010 after erecting a chain-link barricade on the Parliament Road, which leads to the Secretariat. He then forced the Commissioner of Elections out of his seat and took control of all the affairs at the Secretariat thus starting to release the election results according to a pre-planned mechanism.”

The statement made by the Secretary of Defense to one state owned media a few days prior to the elections declaring that he would be the one who will issue orders on the 27th January irrespective of who wins the elections is a clear indication of the Government’s vindictive plan to rig the final tally of the election result.

Furthermore, the incumbent President at the last election rallies declared that he would be the “President” on the 27th January irrespective of any result. These are very clear indications of the pre-planned conspiracy.

As there was a great difficulty in rigging the poll at polling stations due to the ever vigilant electorate, the Rajapakse regime finally resorted to the above tactics, which are totally undemocratic and it is astonishing that the civilized world is keeping mum on the situation which is a replica of the Iranian elections said Mangala Samaraweera. There is a talk he may be arrested.

Look what SMS is being sent out:

------ SMS ------
From: +94777399679
Sent: Jan 28, 2010 16:54
Subject: Election is free & fair said...

Election is free & fair said Ranil; R Hakeem says opposition will "bow down to the clear mandate" but Mangala is still active with his rumor campaign, Be Aware!

The president told the nation that he was going for election in order to give a chance to the Tamil population who did not vote for decades. But how could bomb explosions take place on the election day in Jaffna and Vavunia after the defeat of the LTTE? Does not the government owe explanation to the people?

Also there are allegations that a lot of IDPs were systematically deprived of voting. The president has not expressed any concern. Let see how the government handles the soon expected parliament election in the North.

On top of every thing, the president who risked two years of presidency is now unscrupulously trying to extend his term to eight years. He in one of his final meetings declared, raising his both hands like Jesus Christ that “I will be the president on the 26th, 27th and 28th too and I will take oath when I want”.

This showed he was going to drag the country in to a legal tussle. But it is a known fact an executive prime minister or president who goes for election will terminate his present automatically.

Surprisingly, the defense ministry has sent out news that the general was to assassinate the President and his family along Galle road in Colombo or at the Lake house junction in Fort. Is the government’s con web still active even after election is over?.

The president and his family do not go on parade in one Chariot. He moves about closing roads and rarely goes to Lake House junction. How can one have access to his vehicle?

In the mean time, leader of the JVP, Somawanse Amarasinghe said in a press conference today that Defence Secretary and brother of the President, Gotabaya Rajapakse called him around 9.21 am from the mobile 077 – 3501626 which is defense secretary’s number, and threatened him with death but he told him that one dies only once.

“He then asked me if I had not lived abroad and I said yes, I have but so have you. He then said “ I will set your Lanka newspaper on fire – be warned”. The conversation was witnessed by the JVP leader’s driver and members of the staff, he said.

In conclusion, the Swan is shot. Truth is shot. Democracy is shot. Politicians’ conscience is shot. May God save the Democratic Socialistic Republic of Sri Lanka !