Five years ago, in the immediate aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, amateur radio helped revive emergency communications with some of the worst affected locations.

The decades old practice was hailed as the ‘low tech’ miracle that literally helped save lives. Where electricity and telephone services — both fixed and mobile — had been knocked down, amateur radio enthusiasts (or ‘radio hams’) restored the first communication links.

They were at the forefront of relief efforts, for example, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India, and in Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.

Within hours of the tsunami, a short wave radio link was established between the disaster management operation at the Prime Minister’s office in the capital Colombo and government offices in the stricken south.

“We went in because the District Secretaries office only had a satellite phone and communications was difficult,” recalled Victor Goonetilleke, then President of the Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL). The service was discontinued when other disrupted communications networks resumed.

As he later summed up: “When all else is dead, short wave is alive.”

Goonetilleke, one of the island’s best known radio hams (call sign: 4S7VK), reported at the time that “uncomplicated shortwave” radio saved the day. And it was accomplished by unpaid radio enthusiasts using nothing more than basic equipment and determination. The only cost to the state was providing food for volunteers operating round the clock.

Sir Arthur C Clarke, inventor of the communications satellite and long time resident of Sri Lanka, wrote in Wired magazine: “We might never know how many lives they saved and how many minds they put at ease, but we owe a debt to Marconi’s faithful followers.”

Sidelined and overlooked

Now, fast forward five years to the present. Notwithstanding their celebrated role after the tsunami, radio hams have been sidelined in Sri Lanka. Their very hobby is being frowned upon by the state on the grounds of…national security.

“As the applause died away, everything was forgotten,” Victor Goonetilleke recalled last week in an email interview. The only recognition in Sri Lanka was ‘a very appreciative letter’ from President Mahinda Rajapakse, who as Prime Minister at the time spearheaded the governmental response to the tsunami.

Encouragingly, however, the Radio Society received awards and accolades from Europe, Japan and India for their post-Tsunami work.

In the months following the mega-disaster, Sri Lanka passed a new disaster law and set up a new public institution mandated to coordinate disaster risk reduction and emergency responses.

“We have made presentations and participated in every disaster management seminar, but no follow up has taken place despite standing ovations at such seminars/meetings,” says a dejected Goonetilleke, who is currently secretary and disaster operations manager of the Radio Society.

The provisions for involving radio hams already exist. A disaster mitigation plan by the Telecom Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) some years ago listed the integration of amateurs in disaster recovery action.

Looking back, it seems like the public-spirited radio hams were given their 15 minutes of fame and then soundly ignored. Worse, the short-lived prominence may have attracted new bureaucratic hurdles.

For example, disaster communication equipment donated by foreign amateur radio groups was held up for two years pending clearance from the Customs and Ministry of Defence. These were released only after the ‘direct intervention’ of the Secretary to the President, says Goonetilleke.

The reason for such official hesitation was probably the long-drawn civil war in Sri Lanka, which intensified in 2006. Now, more than six months after the war ended in May 2009, the ‘temporary’ restrictions have not been lifted. Radio hams are both puzzled and frustrated by this.

“This is the irony,” says Goonetilleke. “Amateur Radio assisted and offered help — unasked — at tsunami time, and during the 30 year war, helped the security forces in many ways at a crucial time when our forces were caught unprepared and inadequately unequipped.”

He is emphatic that during the entire war, no amateur radio enthusiast was ever involved any violation. “Even their equipment, however meagre, (was) never robbed by terrorists.”

Poorly understood

One reason for this bureaucratic negativity may be simple ignorance of what amateur radio really is — reflecting the disturbingly low levels of media literacy in Sri Lanka.

In fact, ‘Marconi’s faithful followers’ have been indulging in their serious hobby for a full century. It relies on short waves, in the frequency range of 3,000 to 30,000 kHz, or 3 to 30 MHz. These waves propagate by bouncing off the ionosphere and the Earth’s surface, thus travelling long distances.

Today, an estimated six million worldwide engage in this pursuit for recreation, self-training or public service. It requires considerable knowledge, skill and time — the term “amateur” merely implies they are not in it for making money. It’s used in the same sense as an amateur athlete.

Radio hams use various transmission modes, including the Morse code, radioteletype, data and voice. Around the world, radio hams are licensed to operate two-way communications equipment using radio frequencies set aside for this purpose. This allocation is done nationally by telecommunications regulators (TRCSL in Sri Lanka) and globally by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Amateur radio is not to be confused with community radio, a localised method of broadcasting mostly using the FM band of the spectrum.

In this era of advanced communications systems, amateur radio remains an important part of emergency communications after disasters. Recent examples include terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre twin towers in New York September 2001, Hurricane Katarina in New Orleans in August 2005, and China’s Sichuan earthquake in May 2008.

One main reason for this appeal is its amazing simplicity: radio hams can mobilise quickly, improvising on antennas and power sources. Most of their equipment can be powered by a car battery. Even when batteries drain too low for voice, the last bit of power can support exchanges in the Morse code.

Perhaps the low tech, low key nature of amateur radio contributes to its image problem. The proven technology has few champions among development donors or humanitarian relief agencies. Most radio hams are too busy with their hobby in their spare time to do much ‘marketing’ for their pursuit.

Goonetilleke feels amateur radio is ‘worse off than ever’ since the Radio Society was established in 1950. The non-profit-making group now has 210 members, of whom 120 are amateur radio license holders.

He laments: “Today…the service is treated as a threat or hindrance by the defence authorities, not granting clearance for equipment (or) new licences for those who have passed.”

Other constraints include the high cost of equipment compounded by high customs duties and other tariffs. But even if these can be overcome with the generous support of foreign amateur radio clubs, security clearance remains a big challenge.

The amateur radio community in Sri Lanka is also not attracting enough young blood to keep it going, partly because obtaining an amateur radio license is a tedious process. There is also the appeal of newer, flashier technologies such as Internet, mobile phones and video games.

Radio hams keep springing to action in times of distress. But who will respond when amateur radio itself sends out an SOS?

Science writer Nalaka Gunawardene studies how communications technologies impact society, and has been calling for enhanced media literacy in Sri Lanka. He blogs at http://movingimages.wordpress.com

Similar Posts:

• Sri Lanka on tsunami alert after Indonesia quake (Updated)
• SMS news alerts during emergencies – The experience of JNW and the tsunami warning of 13th September 2007
• Voices of Reconciliation Radio – New Content
• The Lessons We Never Learn
• Groundviews Wins 2007 Award of Excellence in New Communications from Society for New Communications Research

Aachcharya writing from Jaffna

Two Tamil Dailies Thinakkural and Uthayan (Jaffna) carried yesterday a headline report of retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran’s opinion on whom the Tamils should vote for at Presidential elections. (Justice C. V Wigneswaran is a highly respected member of the Tamil intelligentsia and while on the Supreme Court was known to be extremely independent and forthright in his views. He was named by TNA as their nominee for membership in the Constitutional Council)

Though the report is filed in a manner as if though the newspapers contacted Justice Wigneswaran to get his response regarding rumours that some sections of the diaspora had contacted him about contesting at the presidential elections, the two reports are verbatim similar which probably means that Justice Wigneswaran himself wrote and sent the interview to be published to both these newspapers, on his own volition or possibly responding to a request from the TNA leadership.

In the interview he has said that certain individuals’ self centric actions (probably referring to Shivajilingam, Srikantha) have led to confusion among the Tamils. The following are translated excerpts from the ‘interview’:

“There is no point in voting for a Tamil candidate. Even if all Tamils vote for him we will achieve nothing. It is one of the two mainstream candidates who will win the elections. It will be the same if we boycott the elections. This will only display the desperate state of our politics or that we haven’t come to realise our democratic rights. So far Tamils have either voted for a Tamil candidate or boycotted presidential elections. This was to display the distinctiveness of the Tamil people’s politics. But now after the armed struggle has fallen silent this trend has to change. We have to be strategic. We have to see what we can get out of these two mainstream candidates. I am happy that the TNA is doing this. The TNA engaging in discussions with both candidates is productive. Tamil people should listen to the TNA leadership on this issue. The 22 parliamentarians speaking in different voices is no good. The TNA leadership should let the Tamil
people know of their decision soon. One thing is for sure if we vote for a Tamil candidate or boycott the election it would either mean alienating our democratic rights or supporting someone else [probably meaning voting for Shivajilingam being voting for MR]”.

He also refers in the interview to how the Upcountry Tamil leadership and the Muslims have used the ballot effectively in the past. Tamils have no option now but to take up this weapon he says. He also says that if the Tamils stand united we can decide which way the majority goes in the parliament at the next general election. He concludes: “Our differences will aid them. Our unity will aid us”

The Jaffna Uthayan which has for now long supported a vote for SF has written an editorial overjoyed with Wigneswaran’s public stance on the issue and have insisted other community leaders also come out publicly with a similar stance.

The All Ceylon Tamil Congress met in Jaffna yesterday to decide on whom to support and on Kajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s insistence they have voted on a resolution to boycott the elections. Former MP Vinyagamoorthy who is the President of the ACTC is not happy with the decision (he wants to use the vote to de-seat MR) but has gone with the resolution not wanting to challenge Ponnambalam. 4 MPs attached to the TNA are supposedly favouring a boycott – Kajendrakumar, Pathmini Sithamaparanathan, Solaman Cyril, and Kajendran, all being Jaffna MPs. They all are in Jaffna these days. They met with the Jaffna Bishop yesterday.

Earlier Shivajilingam also claimed support from seven TNA MPs for a Tamil candidate. One is not sure how many of these TNA MPs will support Shivajilingam as the Tamil candidate though. MP Shivashkthi Ananthan has come out accusing Shivajilingam of receiving money from Mahinda Rajapaksha to contest the elections.

I suspect that the TNA leadership (R. Sampanthan, Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran and Selvam Adaikalanathan) might come out and ask the Tamil people to vote for “regime change” without naming Sarath Fonseka. In short the call will be for Tamils to cast a silent vote in favour of SF. One will have to wait and see how many Tamils feel like voting. I suspect that the voting numbers in the North will be small – small that they will not be able to influence the national vote significantly. The way Eastern Tamils vote is also very unclear. Pillayan is unlikely to come out strongly for MR or to inspire people to vote for SF. Karuna’s influence (unless he stuffs ballot boxes) is also not clear. For the Tamils to be the deciders in the election (like they could have been in the last) they have to vote as a whole to one candidate and the Sinhala votes to both candidates should be almost equal. I doubt whether the challenger to the incumbent can muster that many Sinhala votes to equal the incumbent’s or that the Tamils will vote significantly to one candidate despite their being a disguised call from the TNA to vote for Sarath Fonseka.

And finally what can a vote for SF achieve at all for the Tamil people? Tamil people’s ‘active engagement in national politics’- what will it lead to? Will SF devolve powers, dismantle the High Security Zones, repeal the PTA, revoke Emergency, resettle IDPs in places of their choice? Has he promised any of these? Or has MR promised any of these concretely? (Dayan Jayatilleka might say all of these are stupid/unintelligent demands. For him there is only one thing that will be intelligent for the Tamil people to do: Vote for MR.). Both candidates know well that making concrete promises on any of these will mean betraying the Sinhala nation. The TNA knows very well that none of them would even promise any of these or might just pay lip service to some of them. Hence my prediction that they will call for a silent vote.

Justice Wigneswaran is deeply anxious and nervous in his call for unity. It is going to be very difficult to bring TNA under one umbrella again. And that’s why, like the state of Muslims politics today, Tamils can never be King or Queen makers. The days of Ashroff and Thondaman are gone. And unless there is a change in the way South does politics even if you are a King maker, the Tamils will be disappointed once again as they were when their King maker Chelvanayagam was disappointed when the B-C and D-C pact were dishonoured.

Similar Posts:

• The Tamil Population and the Politics of Boycotts and Non Participation
• Wasted vote!
• Elections in the East
• Are alliances the key in Sri Lanka’s up-coming Presidential election?
• Presidential hopefuls and escape-routes for the ‘hopeless’

Over 6 decades of independence and universal adult franchise and SL has reached probably the lowest points of its political life.

Listening, reading and drawing inferences from what’s coming out and not coming out of the 2 main camps in the presidential foray; I cannot help but come to the conclusion that the people of SL has the unenviable choice of electing either the biggest swindler in the country’s history or the most decorated military dunderhead in the country.

So far, the sitting president has made the earth shattering declaration that he will not accept campaign contributions from Prabakaran’s parents and has admitted that he may have made a few errors of judgment in appointing one or two people during his presidency. Was he talking about one or two per day; per week; or per month; I wonder. The main contender, in a moment of extremely poor judgment, blurted that the president’s brother ordered the execution of some LTTE top brass when they were in the process of surrendering to the SL Army. Then, realizing the consequences of his words, the contender tried to back track by saying that he found out through some journalists after the end of the war that an illegal order was given by Defense Secretary to one of the commanding officers but, “….This illegal order was however not carried out at ground level.  I take full responsibility for what happened on the ground.”

What?! Dear General, are you saying that the white flag waving LTTE cadres were not killed or are you saying that the white flag waving LTTE personnel were killed by the Army in the last days of the war? Or, are you saying that if these LTTE personnel were killed, they were killed by the Army and they were not carrying white flags? Also, if I recall correctly Sarath Fonseka in one of the interviews given to the Daily Mirror said that he was in China during this period. In the statement backtracking on his accusations of the Defense Secretary ordering the execution of Pulidevan, Ramesh and Nadeshan, Sarath Fonseka says that he was in touch with the commanders on ground and he was fully aware of what was happening in those fateful hours. Then, how come he only gets to know about the Defense Secretary’s directive to Brig Shevendra Silva through journalists? Looks like Fonseka has learned a thing or two about speaking from both sides of the mouth in the short period as a civilian.

One wonders whether the General has any political advisors or whether he is advising himself.

The chief contender also leveled a bevy of accusations against the incumbent and his family with regard to corruption and hoarding coffers at the expense of the country. This is no small amount – we are talking about the colossal theft of our money. At least if you follow the contender’s accusations, we won’t have to fret too long about political leaders stealing from the country because at this rate there won’t be much left to steal. I sincerely hope that Fonseka will be able to document these allegations and if elected prosecute everyone involved to the full extent of the law. Also, now that the war crimes issue has propped its ugly head again, the President and his brother will have to forego on some of that frequent flyer miles or risk getting free accommodation in The Hague. Or, will there be another retraction?

The government has been quick to jump on Fonseka’s accusations about the murder of LTTE cadres. Various ministers and other apparatchiks have shown different levels of indignation at Fonseka for tarnishing the country’s image and possibly getting into another war crimes imbroglio with the UN. The Media Minister has also declared that the reasons given by Fonseka when he tendered his resignation were not valid. Then why was the resignation accepted by the President? I am sure if Fonseka didn’t become a candidate the reasons would have been quite acceptable. The Media Minister also is on record as saying that one of the reasons for Fonseka’s resignation was the government’s rejection of his request to purchase approximately $200 million in military stocks from China and to increase Army’s numbers to 100,000. Get this – apparently the government rejected Fonseka’s requests because the government’s priority was to resettle the IDP’s as soon as possible. Yeah, right. Resettling the IDP’s became a priority for this regime only after the presidential election was confirmed. Prior to that the Rajapakse regime had two priorities; to end the war and hang on to power. The two priorities go hand in glove because once the war was won, it was most unlikely that the opposition would be able to beat the incumbent in an election if the election was held fairly soon after the victory.

On another front, the GoSL also continues it’s less than elegant tap dance with the international community. When the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Summary or Arbitrary Executions called for an explanation from the government in the aftermath of Fonseka’s comments, a letter written to the UN on behalf of the GOSL (we surmise) by the Secretary of Ministry for Human Rights was held back by the government. Most embarrassing to the GoSL and the author of the letter, the contents of the letter were already in the hands of the local media.  Then the other Professor showing his pique at losing GSP concessions from the EU, threatened to initiate legal actions against the EU. Really smart move to waste millions in legal fees when you know the chances of getting the EU to back track is pretty close to zilch. Thankfully, someone figured that it would not be a very smart move and backed down from the stance. Foreign policy brinkmanship and lack of focus continues to haunt and damage the country’s vital interests.

A government ever prepared to deal with any criticism of the Rajapakse brothers/family has been caught unprepared and off-guard over and over in the field of foreign relations. This lack of preparedness and the inability/unwillingness to grasp the intricacies of international relations displays a callous disregard for what is in the best interest of the country. The price for these follies will be borne by the average Sri Lankan.

Not much in the way of reducing the cost of living, how to tackle the ever increasing debt burden placed on the people or bringing down the price of chicken. Yes, the President is seeking a mandate to carry out his development plan. It’s good to hear that he has a plan and we hope his plan takes into account areas outside the Hambantota district. Let’s hear the details. Let’s hear how the General is going to tackle the rampant corruption and nepotism that has pervaded just about all sectors of the country.

Somehow when Sarath Fonseka talks about eradicating corruption, he sounds more believable than when the President talks about his development plans. With his military background and the lack of political baggage Fonseka probably will have the will to take on the people who have been robbing the country blind. But the big issue is whether he has the smarts to say (or not say) and the sense to do what is needed to win the election. He needs to discard that military boot from his mouth and weigh the consequences of his statements before making another faux pas like the white flag waving LTTE leadership. Fonseka needs to get his arithmetic in order if he is to pull the election off. He seems oblivious to all the advantages of incumbency and the fragmented nature of the opposition that is supporting him. Fonseka’s best argument for a change at the top is the urgent need to end the rampant corruption, nepotism and cronyism that has engulfed the nation since the incumbent came into power. However, Fonseka will have to come out and provide some details of these activities to the electorate. He seems to think that he doesn’t owe the public any details because, after all, the message is coming from Sarath Fonseka. Well, do as I say and believe what I say may work in the controlled atmosphere of the military, but it will not work in a presidential election. And once an election is lost; nobody will care how or who lost the election because the winner will get all the spoils.

Wake up Mr.Fonseka and smell the coffee. You had to work hard to defeat the LTTE, you will have to work even harder to defeat the sitting president on January 26, 2010.

Similar Posts:

• Sarath Fonseka and the Role of the Opposition: Will Sanity Prevail?
• Presidential hopefuls and escape-routes for the ‘hopeless’
• Visualising key speeches and submissions of Sarath Fonseka
• Is post-war Sri Lanka at grave risk of a “Fat Tail” failure?
• A response to Kusal Perera on political honesty and questioning Sarath Fonseka

The SLPC Chairperson, Hudson Samarasinghe, is using vulgar telecasts and thereby contributing to the degeneration of language and public discourse within the country. The rudest forms of language used to refer to persons and the manner in which people are referred to publically are those which are considered in the language as most unacceptable. Such telecasts which last for hours are aired every day and the resultant adverse impact on the public discourse and the mentalities of person is enormous. This particularly has an adverse effect on young children who would use the language habits that they learned in the school by watching such public discourse. The language that is use is such that angry people use when they are quarrelling and is not the type of language that is used in civilised discourse.

The same type of degeneration is caused by the language of the Minister, Mervyn Silva who uses similar language even in parliament. It is the language of street thugs and is not suitable for any kind of public discourse. In public interviews telecast over the television a similar type of behaviour is exhibited by such politicians.

Meanwhile in the streets the dealing of illegal drugs is rampant and this is spreading into all parts of the country. There are no effective strategies to deal with the widespread distribution of drugs which once again affects the younger generation in particular in the most adverse ways. In much of such activities the connivance of the law enforcement agencies has been provided through the politicians and their influence in the government.

The electoral process is beset with ongoing violence. The accusation of the government’s abuse of resources and propaganda means are made endlessly. However, there is no attempt at all in any way to minimise or to undo the electoral violence. Everywhere the expectation is of the enormous odds that are created for the opposition political campaign and the possible use of fraudulent forms of voting in every possible form.

Throughout the country there is a cry against corruption of every form. The accusation of massive corruption involving the leadership of the government has been made in every corner and there has been no attempt by the government to deny any of the allegations. On the other hand there is no possibility of investigation into the massive forms of corruption that has spread all over. Not only is there corruption the likelihood of the spread of this corruption in every possible form has become the general expectation.

Making all this possible there is a complete state of lawlessness in the country and there is no agency that is capable of enforcement of the law. The powerful influence from the government works to subjugate the policing system and the police hierarchy is perceived by the public to be in complete subordination to the regime. No policemen are capable of taking appropriate action according to the law because of the repercussions they would face as a consequence.

Obtaining redress from the courts is marred by the absence of any form of protection for witnesses. Violence against witnesses has become part of the legal structure. Faith in agencies such as the Attorney General’s Department has been lost completely.

While the struggle in many nations is to overcome their limitations and to improve the civilised practices within their countries in Sri Lanka today it is a journey towards lawlessness and the abandonment of every possible convention that is known to civilisation. The political regime in power is doing everything in its power to ‘uncivilise’ the nation.

Similar Posts:

• The vicious cycle that is eating away Sri Lanka’s healthcare: The Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC), the Ministry of Health and the Treasury
• Let’s stop corruption in Sri Lanka!
• Corruption in Sri Lanka: Interview with J.C. Weliamuna
• Understanding electoral results in Sri Lanka: Beyond winners and losers
• Dealing with law and order as an issue of the Presidential elections

[Editors note: This article responds to key points raised by several noted commentators on the author's previous article here.]

There’s one important lesson to be learnt from the presidential campaign so far: It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Mahinda-Regime is determined to hang on to power by hook or by crook. Ominous signs of thuggery against all opposition are widespread; the state-media’s shamelessly transparent propaganda is making a mockery of all journalistic principles. Over one and a half million Tamils have been deprived of their right to vote.

The obvious truth is: forces of the establishment, including the military leadership, have ganged-up to defend the regime. Newly appointed military leaders have a vested interest in doing this. They probably think that a Fonseka-victory might lead to ruthless exposures of corruption and other sensitive issues related to the war.

Thus, the Rajapaksa-brothers and the newly appointed military leaders have a ‘life-and-death’ interest to make sure Sarath Fonseka is defeated. The implication is: there won’t be ‘free & fare’ elections. Rajapaksa’s victory, in this sense, is a foregone conclusion.

If Sarath Fonseka, by any chance, miraculously defeats Mahinda Rajapaksa despite possible acts of  ‘ballot-box stuffing’ and other electoral frauds, then the chances of the military leaders coming forward to defend the regime is very real indeed. [Those who’ve been arguing that Sarath Fonseka’s intention is to form a military rule should get their brains examined.]

It is important to realize that this election is unprecedented in every sense. Irrespective of the result it’ll leave an equally divided society between progressive and reactionary forces. I’ll not be surprised if the post-election ‘Mahinda-rule’ ends up as a virtual ‘military-junta’.

This has clear implications: already escalating anti-democratic methods to suppress all opposition may reach unprecedented heights. Free-media will suffer most within this setup.

In such a context, the Tamil majority will perceive the so-called ’13-Amendment’ solution as a non-starter. And the separatist Tamil leaders’ arguments for reviving Tiger-politics are likely to become more appealing to the Tamil people. It’ll be the duty of all socialists to prevent this happening, because the future of Tamils lies in a common struggle for socialism, not in a separate state-let.

[Also, since Mahinda-regime is capitalist to the hilt guided by ‘trickle-down economics,’ it won’t be able to defend the poor masses against rising living costs. Considering the global economic climate, and the rising pressure in the west for economic sanctions against Mahinda-regime’s human rights record, the economic repercussions could become much worse than many anticipate at present. Nobody expects the cosmetic measures to control rising prices during the election-period to continue for long.]

The trillion dollar questions are: Can we expect the Tamil nationalists, the Left parties and the mainstream opposition to be conscious of these eventualities? Do they have any idea how to respond to militaristic political developments? I think, the truth is Sarath Fonseka, the JVP, the Tamil nationalists, Wickramabahu, Wije Dias, Mangala Samaraweera or Ranil Wickramasinghe will be helpless in such a situation.

There’s only one force which can effectively challenge a ruthless state-machine of this kind: the labour movement, the trade unions, or more generally: the working class. A General Strike backed by the student movement will have to come forward and defend Sri Lanka’s democracy and peoples’ living standards. That’s the most effective non-violent way to challenge the capitalist regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa that violates the democratic rights of the masses.

A relentless campaign within the unions and the student movement to prepare for this eventuality should be the main focus of all progressive political parties in the coming period. They should not remain blinkered by electoral activities alone. Tamil nationalists’ sectarian politics and Left parties’ factionalism and propagandist politics should end. They should mobilize their vote-bases to back Sarath Fonseka in his electoral campaign against Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, a united front to defend democracy and living standards should become the central aim of all progressive forces. Earnest campaigns to politically prepare the labour movement for an inevitable general strike must be the primary focus of all socialists.

Similar Posts:

• Presidential hopefuls and escape-routes for the ‘hopeless’
• Sarath Fonseka and the Role of the Opposition: Will Sanity Prevail?
• Why should Tamil speaking communities give critical support to Sarath Fonseka?
• An Unprecedented Presidential Election and the Future of Sri Lankan Democracy
• A response to Kusal Perera on political honesty and questioning Sarath Fonseka