Player of main role in SL’s ‘Rainbow Revolution’ turns sixty..!

(Lanka-e-News- 08June.2015, 11.30PM) Many think and say ,   the main role in the ‘rainbow revolution’ of 8 th January 2015 in Sri Lanka was played by one of the leaders , namely , Maithripala Sirisena , Ranil Wickremesinhghe , Chandrika Kumaratunge , Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera , but according to the writer of this article, on the contrary  it is the elections commissioner who should be given that credit.

This is  because , the dastardly traitorous master  plan of the Rajapakse regime to retain power after the defeat at last elections was foiled by Mahinda Deshapriya , the elections commissioner while the aforementioned leaders and  even the field marshals were at a loss, and did not have any plan to counter that plot. 

On the night of the elections the Rajapakses got ready , not just to  try a game of fun and frolic ,and  it is not that the former army commander and the IGP also did  not get ready for that traitorous game .  The army commander secretly was arranging to assemble the forces in Colombo , while the IGP had made all arrangements  to withdraw the police force that was providing security to the people and hand over the security coverage in Colombo to the forces.

Nevertheless , they had one hurdle -  to  fulfill one condition if they were to make a success of their conspiracy, that is , in case Mahinda Rajapakse lost at the election , to make the elections commissioner to announce that Mahinda  won by even 10 votes. In this connection the Elections commissioner was under severe pressure from various quarters.

Let me reveal one example illustrating the conspiratorial moves  which revolved around  the crucial decision pertaining to  date of receipt of nominations .Before  the date of receiving nominations , Mahinda Rajapakse tried to halt the presidential elections and postpone it when he realized that his opponent is Maithripala Sirisena who he never expected . Mahinda’s plan was to block the elections commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya from coming to office on the nominations day.

However , on the day prior to the day of nominations ,Deshapriya as though he  had intuitive powers and foresight ,before  leaving office after finishing his work at midnight , performed another task  before he was to depart with his STF security detail, that was ,in case  Deshapriya was unable to come to office the following day by any chance , that is the day he had to receive nominations ,he left  a letter signed by him so that it will secretly reach the secretary, in which letter he entrusted his duties to his next in command .In other words , this was to remove the barrier that would have militated  against holding elections  in the event  the elections commissioner was  killed that night.

Similarly on the day before the elections, Deshapriya  made an intriguing announcement   aimed at  dispelling  the fears and doubts in the minds of  the people , and also to demoralize and de activate  the brutal and corrupt Rajapakses and their followers who were getting ready to use force and violence .At the  media briefing prior to  elections , when a journalist questioned Mahinda Deshapriya , will orders be given to shoot below the knees of those who try to cast votes forcibly at polling centers ? Deshapriya replied , ‘ why below knees , even the head can be blown out.’ A huge publicity was given to this announcement by the electronic media .

What was  not published by the media was the second  question and the answer given by the elections commissioner. Can you exactly shoot to the head ? was the next question asked by the journalist. ‘Tell them to come to cast bogus votes. Then you can see whether the shooting will be exactly done to the head or the chest ‘ was the second bold answer of the elections commissioner.

As far as the writer’s knowledge goes , the second question and answer were not published by the media.  However the first answer somehow  disenchanted and disrupted the lackeys and cronies of the Rajapakse regime. 

The impact of the commissioner’s statements were  so strong that when a pro Rajapakse politico had told his henchmen about casting  bogus votes , they have replied ‘the elections commissioner has given orders to shoot . Hence if you would insure us in a sum of Rs. 5 million each , we would cast bogus votes.’ It was the  Elections commissioner’s pro people  announcement with true patriotic fervor that  truly frightened the mischief making deceit prone  pro Rajapakses. 

A Sri Lankan abroad told the  writer then , ‘ no matter what , the statement of the elections commissioner is not appropriate .’ But that was the very statement that turned  most appropriate later to defeat the Rajapakse regime and that truly hit them . By that time , Maithripala Sirisena had addressed over 150 election meetings. Yet , according to the writer’s analysis , it is the tough announcement of the Elections commissioner ‘why below the knees , even the head can be blown off’ was what decisively influenced the minds of the voters. If the second announcement  of his that was not published by the media too was reported  , it can be imagined to what high value the Rajapakse scoundrels and stooges would have raised their insurance cover they demanded to cast  bogus votes.

The elections monitors told the writer , during  the previous elections in the past,  on the day of voting a large number of tiny propaganda cards with the cross and number are strewn in and around the polling centers , but  during this election no such cards or  papers were seen at a majority of the polling centers. The reason for this is , not that those cards were not printed but , rather  their  toughies who expected to cast bogus votes  could not be found on the night previous to  the day of elections. It was simply because the elections commissioner posed tough and stood strong  for and on behalf of  the people.

Let us get  back to the night of the rainbow revolution .

The Rajapakses had need to fulfill  one condition to make a success of their military conspiracy. That is, if Mahinda loses elections truly , then an announcement was to be made through   the elections commissioner that he won (even by ten votes), and thereafter deploy the forces. 

If that fails ,  Daya Ratnayake and some military leaders getting  on to the roads were to  materialize. However not one soldier or the elections commissioner was ready to get on to the road on behalf of the defeated individual. 

The Rajapakses however could not succeed in announcing through Deshapriya that Mahinda won by ten votes at least. In any event since  Deshapriya  has still not made an official statement regarding the undue pressures that were brought to bear on him or how he averted them , we shall also  remain silent . Anyway , the truth is , the rainbow  revolution began then and there .

Interestingly ,when Deshapriya was asked about his lenient attitude during the mini elections held by the Rajapakses ,  a close friend of Deshapriya related an intriguing story : ‘ Those are mini elections .  I have confidence that Mahinda Deshapriya’s conduct will not be the same when it comes to crucial elections. Yet don’t relent or relax when exerting pressures on him, because that is what can provide him the necessary escape. ‘ When he was questioned on what this ‘ escape’ means , he explained  , ‘yakko , until the time of final battle arrives ,it  is staying  away from  the Rajapakses’

The final battle – that is , the conspiracy of the Rajapakses deploying the forces aimed at overturning the victory of the common presidential candidate. If that was to be defeated , though various proposals were made in order to foil the conspiracies  , the opposition did not have sound concrete plans to overpower them.

In the circumstances if the elections commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya had even by accident acted partially in favor of the ‘jilmart’ (perfidious activities)  of the conspirators , even now the forces would be surrounding our houses including yours and mine, and even been  inside. Maithripala Sirisena also disclosed well ahead that he and his family would be  six feet underground. 

The singer who said  ‘ could have even killed and been in power’ may  have been made  the second singer who sang  ‘ayubowewa’ , and  would have been pampered and decorated  so much so , a road not in Maharagama but in front of presidential palace itself , would have been named after her . If that had happened , today  we shall be  talking not about the rainbow revolution but about the victory of the destructive meteorite that hit the heads of the people .

You may be wondering why we are suddenly writing about this elections commissioner by the name of Mahinda Deshapriya who was primarily responsible to make the rainbow  revolution a reality . The reason for this write up is : today (06 th June) is his 60 th birthday , and as any other government servant the time has arrived for him to go on retirement.
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Though the elections commissioner has to retire today , after the  19 th amendment , the independent commissions have become active again , and until they are duly appointed , the present commissioner cannot retire. Hence , Mahinda Deshapriya shall not be retiring though he has reached the age of 60 . In the circumstances until the Constitutional council comes into being and the elections commission is appointed his sublime services to the Sri Lankan people will continue, and he will be an adornment to  the public service . 

Based on reliable sources   , the present elections commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya is to be appointed as the commissioner or Director General of the proposed independent elections commission

Long live Mahinda Deshapriya , the elections commissioner of rectitude and integrity who made the invincible rainbow revolution in Sri Lanka a reality !

It is he and he alone  in that revolution played the role of  the silent wind (not the lofty sails) that moves the ship.

By Wimal Dheerasekera
Translated by Jeff

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by     (2015-06-08 20:39:44)