JHU says Jayawewa Maithri!

Wednesday, 3 December 2014 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Strikes 10-point agreement deal with common candidate Maithripala Sirisena
JHU okay with Ranil as PM in National Unity Government post-election
Won’t agree with TNA politics, but can work together on good governance: Ranawaka
JHU to boycott provincial councils and any other budgetary votes in parliament

JHU Leader Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera signs a 10-point agreement to officially endorse common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena

By Dharisha Bastians Officially endorsing common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena’s bid for the presidency, the monk led Jathika Hela Urumaya indicated yesterday that it would have no objections to UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe being appointed prime minister, provided he has the support of Parliament. The nationalist party, which has been a key member of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government for the past nine years, has vowed to defeat the incumbent and support his opposition challenger to usher in democratic and constitutional reforms. JHU Leader Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thero signed a 10-point agreement with Sirisena on Monday (1 December), to support the former Health Minister to bring restore democracy, good governance and rule of law, party General Secretary Champika Ranawaka told a news conference yesterday. “The agreement includes a brief political agenda for the first 100 days of Maithripala Sirisena’s presidency,” the former Minister told reporters at the Solis Hotel in Kotte. Henceforth, the JHU would act independent of the ruling UPFA coalition in Parliament, Ranawaka noted. Ranawaka said the agreement had included undertakings that clauses of the Sri Lankan Constitution recognising the foremost place of Buddhism will not be under negotiation. The pledge includes a provision to protect President Rajapaksa and his family and any security forces personnel from being taken before an international war crimes tribunal, the Minister who quit the President’s Cabinet last month added. The JHU has called for reforming the presidential system in a way that makes it more accountable to the people and curbing excessive power vested in the office, including the power to appoint an unlimited number of ministers, hold any number of ministerial portfolios, sole discretion in the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal and the power to dissolve Parliament on a whim. President Rajapaksa had promised to implement the JHU’s proposed reforms in his third term, he said. “We don’t believe his promises any more. He made the same promises in 2005 and 2010,” Ranawaka charged. Asked if the JHU would object to Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe being named prime minister in a Sirisena administration, Ranawaka explained that as soon as the opposition candidate is elected, a national unity Government would be formed within the existing parliament. Wickremesinghe would require the support of 113 MPs to be appointed prime minister in this scenario. “If the idea is that the national unity government should include a SLFP president and therefore a UNP prime minister to implement this limited 100 day political reforms, the JHU would not object to Ranil Wickremesinghe’s appointment,” he said. According to Ranawaka, even though the JHU did not agree with all the policies of the Tamil National Alliance, the Buddhist party was willing to work with the Tamil party on issues related to rule of law, democracy and good governance. Devolution, federalism and the provincial council system were not part of the agenda in this campaign, he insisted. “This program is not a Sinhala Buddhist program. It is about what the country and all communities need - cleaner Government,” Ranawaka said. JHU Chairman Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero said that several Buddhist organisations were claiming that President Rajapaksa had to be protected in order to protect Buddhism in Sri Lanka. “I ask these organisations how Buddhism was protected under this presidency, when we could not stop liquor shops operating on sacred land, when we failed to suspend Government plans to build large-scale gambling dens and casinos. Where was this Government’s ‘Mathata Thitha’ campaign when they were blocking the Tobacco bill?” he charged.

No secret pacts, transparency from the outset: Maithripala

Common Opposition Candidate Maithripala Sirisena has vowed that all pre-election pacts he signs with political parties and groups will be transparent and freely available to the public. “There will be no secret election agreements. Transparency will be a cornerstone of this election campaign from the very beginning,” Sirisena told reporters at the press conference organised to announce the JHU’s support for his candidacy. The Common Candidate and former health minister has made anti-corruption a major campaign issue in the battle for the presidency. “Countrywide there is a mud-posted campaign launched by the Government to assassinate my character and insult the Opposition,” Sirisena said. “How bankrupt is this Government that this is what their election campaign has come down to?” he charged. He said that in the past two weeks, a major political upheaval had taken place in the country. “Government intelligence reports claim 32,000 people attended our first rally in my hometown of Polonnaruwa,” Sirisena said.

Swan symbol for Sirisena

Common Opposition Candidate Maithripala Sirisena will contest under the swan symbol of the New Democratic Front. A group of lawyers yesterday deposited Sirisena’s election bond for the January presidential poll at the Elections Secretariat. Former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka also contested the 2010 presidential election under the swan symbol.