His authoritarian tendencies, rigid attitude of political arrogance, nepotism, corruption, culture of impunity, lack of freedom of speech that invites death or physical assaults have made the Swan lovers sleepless, in addition to the worry as to what magic he may show closer to the election or will he leave if defeated.

On November 11th when the General met the president and told his desire of retiring from the army and entering politics, the latter did not wish him good luck. Instead said “Sarath you can always come back to me when your politics fails“. Will he? Never.

After the election campaign started too, the president said to reporters “Let Sarath campaign”, meaning that he need not bother about canvassing as he was dead sure of his own victory, taking the contest as David Vs Goliath.

Though the massive crowd in Kandy for the Swan gave his camp a shock, his people argued in negative that the crowd, like seeing a cine star, was to see a new face, a politically inexperienced war claimant.

One quipped if so with what experience a movie -TV heroine cum young pretty sexy model, who carries the name of Emperor Akbar’s court dancer with whom his son Saleem fell in love, was given UPFA nomination to contest the Southern Provincial Council election?

Can not she draw a large crowd in the betel platforms? Why was not she utilised to counter the Swan crowd instead of picking up people by buses, is a question to answer.

For those who do not know who this damsel is, she was the Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World of 2004 at the age of 17 and presently the brand ambassador for the international beauty product "Veet".

She served also as the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under a SLFP stalwart who is today behind the ex army chief’s campaign. Film world says this charming actress is well known to change her “loyalty” from “Royalty to Royalty“.

A local daily in its 14th January issue carried the below given news;

Hurried exit

“A political VIP's son had recently visited Tangalle way to promote his youth development programme. The young man, after his delivery, had invited questions from the 1,500 strong audience of girls and boys. We hear the questions were not too pleasant, especially one involving the young man's powerful father's relationship with a female actor type. The annoyed young man had made a hurried exit from the tuition class“.

Besides, when the betel camp realised that David was growing in strength day by day eating into the flesh of Goliath, to belittle David, a gigantic publicity campaign was unleashed which this country can’t still believe its own eyes or trust ears.

From radio to TV to Web sites to talk shows to blogs to newspapers, betel vendor or his associates make loud speeches minute to minute, not mainly bragging about their achievements but degrading SF as a future Idi Amin and the Swan is not white but black. Yes, the pot calling the kettle black.

Like a party paper, the Lake House papers give extreme prominence to the president's speeches and his men while absolutely nothing of the other contestants’ is mentioned except the vituperative attack on the Swan.

Though private media [including that are critical of the government], accepts government’s lavish advertisements, government media accepts nothing from the opposition camp. Here is a government, of the party people, by the party people and for the party people.

Few democratic webs are blocked while some false web sites like www. sfbalakaya.com are created to mislead Swan supporters. SMS sent from 94112512102 and BlackBerry, quoting Indian Viplay poll and Asia tribune.com poll that is a stooge of the president and many other bla.. bla are big nuisance to mobile users.

The government media, forgetting the fact that it is funded by the public not by any party, treats the presidential election as if it is like what Saddam Husain conducted as one horse race.

Any thing too much is no good. Such hyped publicity makes one to wonder who is David, who is Goliath. What is the source for money? It is said son finances father. Where did he find Alibaba’s cave?

The joke is, when 10 bags of lies and 10 bags of money were pushed from the sky to the ground, one bag of lies and one bag of money got spilled all over the world while other 18 fell in an abode next to Kollupitiya police station.

SLBC’s Muslim Service in Tamil language that is struggling for fund, while the government could bust Rs.3 billion on a disastrous Mihin Air venture, is fully used as a political mouth piece of the Blue party.

The reason is the revelation that the Muslim population is openly swimming with or swinging towards the Swan due to various unsolved past grievances and the newly created ones by the extremists sitting with the regime to which the leader paid scant attention.

The East seems to be in the forefront and it is said, that this is the region that will make the Swan to swim faster than the American swimmer Michael Fred Phelps, the Olympic champion. Few eastern Muslim ministers in the cabinet crossed the line of control to support the Swan.

The talk of the town is, an eastern pole - vaulter, a minister in the provincial council, seeing the Swan tsunami and trying to perform back strokes, the betel vendor got him down and ‘gave tight’.

Do these people realise that there is no point in sticking to a sinking ship, even if it is a Titanic? Allah only knows. A stampede that was expected is blocked under threat. Example is a Marxist Muslim M.P.

When the Tamils of the East are concerned, after the clutch of the LTTE, they were under the splinter group headed by two former Tiger carders who won the provincial council election by fraud and intimidation.

Now the splinter group seems to have splintered as the CM sings mute though looks apparently with the regime. Further crossing of the Mayor of Batticaloa has given a fillip to the Swan flocks.

The Tamil National Alliance that still commands some credibility in the ’Home Land’ has awaken from the snooze and now got an assignment to feed the Swan.

With the TULF chief keeping mum, if the TNA entices Tamils to the booths in large numbers, while a reasonable slide in the estates is too noticeable, no doubt the minorities will emerge as the King makers and their voice will echo in the Himalayas.

This fact is well known to the betel camp. That is why many Santa Clauses are arriving in Palaly with bags full of goodies even in January. The saying is, ‘If It's Too Good To Be True...It's not True‘. The meaning is: trust nothing on it's face value. Nobody gives something away for nothing or a loss.

The large crowd gathered at the Dhuraippa stadium on the 10th January was, like in the south bused two persons per house with a subsidy of Rs.500.

This is the time for the Tamils to assert their rights. But the question is, how many of them are really registered and whether the Election Day in the North will mar with violence by the gun totting pro government Para military or the government forces will hamper the voters?

It is also rumored, in the East “Kokila Dushmantha Gunawardena” Director General of Wildlife Conservation and holder of diplomatic passport D1944260 who was arrested in London on the 18th September 2007 by the immigration authorities, is given the charge of rigging and troubling in the outskirts.

According to Bloomberg of the 19th, “Tamils may vote for Fonseka as they are seeking a regime change so that there is some space for them,” Navaratne Bandara, a professor of political science at the University of Peradeniya, said in a telephone interview from Sri Lanka.

“Fonseka is bound to give a run for the president’s money and it looks like it is going to be a tight fight.” Corruption is perceived to be “very high,” Bandara said.

Look at the cycle of fate. Here is a man who the LTTE could not assassinate but his own government is assassinating his character. A year ago he said that this country belongs to the Singhalese only. The UPFA camp now quotes his words to annoy the minorities.

Well, If a child, sitting on the lap of his/her mother, spits on the passer by, what should the mother do? In Asia the lady would immediately reprimand and in the West the Mum would say “Oh darling, do not do that. It is wrong“.

But his boss took couple of days to say it was the General’s personal opinion. In reality such government servants have no right to express their personal political opinion.

That way the minorities felt it was, His Master’s Voice. Today many commanders are on TV slanting the ex army chief. In politics a donkey succeeding a lion or a lion succeeding a donkey is common. Are we to be grateful to politicians? Why?

We never asked any one to enter politics. It was they who wanted our votes promising us the sun and moon. For the pilot who safely took us to the destination, for the post man who delivered our mail, are we grateful? No. They are paid to do that job.

That way politicians can not brag about fulfilled promises, because promises are to be kept only. If so do not we have the right to oust a politician who failed in many other promises?

They have no right to close any road and harass people citing their own security. They came to post with the knowledge that Lanka was not a bed of roses. The president in his 2005 manifest said he would go extra miles to make peace, nothing mentioned about fighting. SUN TZU ON ‘THE ART OF WAR’ said 2500 years ago, “To win without fight is the best”.

Finally, TNA’s support to Swan seemed to be cutting her feathers a bit in the South with racism. If the South, swayed by communal propaganda, elects a candidate, the danger is he will not be inclined to find a fair solution to the ethnic issues. This might once again pave way for another armed struggle or push the world community to favour Eelam cry.

Will the Swan Swim , Sink or be shot? Well, though the Swan is happily swimming about in the pond, forget not, in the bank there will be hunters to shoot the Swan with shot guns.