|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 6 March 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Politics | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
| General Elections -2004: UNP on the defensive Top political campaign managers of the Freedom Alliance, at their daily review, expressed satisfaction that the FA campaign had kept the UNP on the defensive, while according to reports being received, Alliance campaigners and candidates in the districts were consolidating their positions. Alliance strategists thought G. L. Peiris' questions directed at the Freedom Alliance were reminiscent of the opposition in Parliament questioning the government. The questions were indicative of the UNP's front liners mindset, of being in the opposition already. They thought it best that G. L. is kept ignored, giving him the opportunity of repeating the questions ad nauseum until April Fools Day! According to journalists attending the weekly Cabinet Press Briefing conducted by G. L. Peiris, he looked down in the dumps and as a scribe put it "seemed already to have accepted defeat". Meanwhile, Tamil political sources said though one cannot read into the killing of UNP's Batticaloa district candidate Sinnathamby Suntharampillai on Monday allegedly by the LTTE, any cessation of relations of the Tigers with the UNP, it was nevertheless the first signal of a tiger vote of no confidence on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The selection of a UNP candidate, according to Tamil political sources, as the target of the killing was the response to the Prime Minister's opening campaign speech in Kandy, alleging that electing the Freedom Alliance will lead to war, whereas top LTTEers had already stated that they will negotiate with any government that comes to power. LTTEers were reportedly unhappy that the UNP leader's reference to war, coming as it did from a man who signed the MoU on behalf of Sri Lanka, would give seriously credible 'wrong signals' of the LTTE to the international community, that the LTTE was getting ready for war, these sources pointed out. Suntharampillai had, according to police sources, declined additional security, fearing undue exposure of his identity. The US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher on Tuesday condemned the Suntharampillai killing and urged the Tigers to act responsibly. The US spokesman also called on the LTTE to renounce terrorism, including political assassinations and to comply with the MoU it signed. However, UNF General Secretary Senarath Kapukotuwa in a media release on the killing had attempted to sling mud at the President, without any objective assessment. The UNF was losing credibility by making irresponsible politically motivated statements, a spokesman for the Freedom Alliance commented yesterday. What the UNP delivered... According to an assessment by FA Polls Watch What the UNP delivered was A Country, : Entangled in a web of unbridled corruption : With a staggering cost of living : Amidst Floppy management of unceasing strikes : Without any peace dividend in real terms to the ordinary citizen : Where the LTTE and the Tamils were abandoned by the UNP at the border of separatism : Where the PM refused to carry forward the peace talks, abdicating the country's governance What more, would they have DELIVERED but for the timely DIS-ENTANGLING! By The Watcher |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
