UNP set for massive implosion

Lakshmi de SILVA

The UNP has deteriorated to the state of party that was defeated at almost all elections and has now become a defeatist group, SLFP General Secretary Agriculture and Mahaweli Development Minister Maithripala Sirisena said.

He said the UNP was a mighty political party started by political giants like D.S. Senanayke who was one of the leaders of the independence struggle and later by Dudley Senanayake the humanitarian and after that J.R. Jayewardene who succeeded in winning a five sixth majority in Parliament and Ranasinghe Premadasa who worked for the poor.

Addressing a UPFA press conference at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo, the Minister said the UNP had come down to such a level that it had to sign an agreement with the late terrorist leader Prabhakaran, a historic tragedy. Today after 62 years of its inception the party had become so desperate that it cannot find a Presidential candidate, the Minister said.

“The traditional UNP supporters are disappointed with the present leadership,” he said. In the coming days the party will disintegrate into several factions,” Minister Sirisena said.

The Minister said the other Opposition party, the JVP was acting without understanding the present political scenario though they supported President Rajapaksa during the last election to win the war against terrorists.

“But today their role was questionable,” he said.

Former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka who led the Army was also trapped in a political snare without being aware of politics and the teams that provided arms.

He has made the international arms suppliers and elements that provided resources and arms to Prabhakaran overjoyed over the happenings today.

They are also happy that the UNP and JVP too were in the same political platform, he noted.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election campaign has already taken off at 165 electorates where seminars had already been held and a clear practical policy declaration of the President to achieve rapid economic development in his next term is already being placed before the people, he said.

Referring to the attempt by certain forces to destabilize the country during the Budget 2007, he said those anti-national forces brought Euro and Dollars to topple the Government but President Rajapaksa faced all those attempts with courage and till the terrorists were finally defeated at Nandikadal lagoon, he provided leadership and support to the Armed Forces to liberate the country.