A Balance Restored Meeting Mahinda and Maithripala

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    remans a vbrant democracy and the race for the to" s"ot n the country s

    a rea! one. /hs was made "ossb!e by a sm"!e e"edent that I had been

    canvassn# ad nntum et ad nauseam the ntroducton of a vab!e

    O""oston canddate n "!ace of &an! )c'remesn#he.

    /he two canddates seem rou#h!y even!y "osed. /hus s a ba!ance restored.

    /hey are both stron# "ersona!tes, each n ther own dstnct ways.

    (ahnda &aja"a'sa

    One$on$one, (ahnda &aja"a'sa s #racous and #rounded. -s has been the

    case snce I rst 'new hm n 1999, our conversaton s n 3n#!sh.

    (ahndas s the cautous condence of a veteran he s not #un#$ho. 5e

    comes across as a &ea!st who has sensed the o"non currents for chan#e,

    but s re!yn# on hs achevement of rddn# the ct+enry of terrorsm and of

    vsb!y, tan#b!y m"rovn# the towns and countrysde throu#h e!ectrcty,

    roads and she!ter.

    Ironca!!y, for a former "ro#ressve, hs s a messa#e of conservatve

    modernsaton, or a messa#e that s "ro#ressve nsofar as the defence of

    natona! sovere#nty n the #!oba! South s a "ro#ressve cause and

    economc and matera! modernsaton s ntrnsca!!y, soco$hstorca!!y

    "ro#ressve. It s on the other hand, a conservatve messa#e n that I for

    one cannot dscern any further room for en!#htened structura! reform n

    the (ahnda &aja"a'sa trajectory and "roject, un!ess a thrd and na! term

    faces stron# "ressures from an O""oston$!ed %ar!ament.

    5e s drawn# on maturty and e"erence n a thousand batt!es, but s

    hamstrun# by hs c!an and sc!erotc "arty$state estab!shment. (ahnda

    &aja"a'sa w!! have to #ht and wn ths e!ecton on hs own "ersona!ty6he

    w!! have to romance, "ersuade, convnce and wn bac' the voter, by

    hmse!f and as hmse!f. /he m"resson I am !eft wth s that hs man

    concerns are natona! sovere#nty and the dan#ers of eventua! transfer of

    "ower to "ar!ament whch cou!d #ve a "roto$se"aratst "arty the veto over

    #overnmenta! formaton someday.I s"ea' stra#ht from the shou!der as I a!ways have wth hm6whch s why

    hs sb!n#s and ther croo'ed, thu##sh crones 7ushed me out of the

    System6and sncere!y wsh hm !uc'. )hat I rea!!y ho"e for s that f

    (ahnda wns narrow!y, he w!! be freed from hs fam!y o!#archy by the

    voters who w!! defeat the ru!n# coa!ton at the "ar!amentary e!ecton. I

    te!! hm that for hs sa'e I ho"e the voters w!!, just ths one !ast tme, o"t

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    for the %ar!amentary rather than "resdenta! channe! of chan#e.

    (ahnda &aja"a'sa s 8the on n )nter. I !eave wth no c!ear sense of

    whether he w!! wn or !ose, but wth the noton that even f he resonates

    enou#h wth the rura! voter to "u!! o: a wn, I am wtnessn# a scene n the

    nevtab!e cyc!e of the tra#c hero, whose tra#c 7aw has been hs nab!ty

    or unw!!n#ness to curb the #reedy ecesses of hs fam!y c!an. /he (athr

    rebe!!on s the e;uva!ent of the m"eachment that dama#ed %resdent

    %remadasa and the

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    #an#sta youn# "o!tcos n the %resdents cam"a#n. (athr"a!as s a

    (ovement wh!e (ahndas s a (achne. (athr s feedn# o: the ener#y of

    the (ovement ts stren#th and wea'ness ben# that t s "redomnant!y

    urban, educated, and "rofessona!. (ahnda has the cha!!en#e of

    transcendn# hs (achne wh!e re!yn# u"on t. (ahndas (achne s tse!f

    "erforated, "ermeab!e, not che7y because there are =*%ers n the System

    but because the cha!!en#er, (athr"a!a s a senor S>%er and has

    sym"athsers n ts ran's as &an! wou!d not have.

    (athr"a!a s a man wth a messa#e he w!! c!ean the "!ace u" save

    money and nvest t for the "ub!c benet by c!earn# out the croo's6the

    '!e"tocratc c!an. In that cause, I su""ort hm and sncere!y wsh hm !uc'.

    )n or !ose, I thn' a !eader has emer#ed whom we shou!d "rotect. 3ven f

    he narrow!y !oses the "resdenta! e!ecton, I ho"e to see hm !ead a

    coa!ton to vctory at the %ar!amentary one, and become our %rme

    (nster, ba!ancn# the %resdent.

    - !ar#er hstorca! ;ueston

    (athrs crt;ue resonates wth me but I cannot su""ress a !ar#er hstorca!

    ;ueston whch s essenta!!y ethca!, even mora! f we #ave two terms to

    ?&? and @A< who fa!ed to save us from terrorsm and dd not try hard

    enou#h to do so, shou!d we not #ve (ahnda a thrd term a!most as abonus for havn# acheved what these others dd notB Shou!d we reward

    dramatca!!y une;ua! "erformance e;ua!!y, wth two termsB Is t hstorca!!y

    far and just that (ahnda shou!d be sent home, havn# saved us from

    %rabha'aran, wh!e &an! )c'remesn#he shou!d be nsta!!ed as %rme

    (nster, havn# #enu7ected before %rabha'aranB

    If t were on!y (ahnda wthout hs ub;utous fam!y, I wou!d have no

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    hestaton n su""ortn# hm. Sm!ar!y f t were (athr"a!a wthout &an!

    and @handr'a, I wou!d have no hestaton n su""ortn# hm. /he rea!ty s

    that nether s the case. Aoth canddates, stron# and worthy men, are

    embedded n ther res"ectve reactonary matrces. I sha!! therefore reman

    a#nostc and e;udstant o"tn# for b"o!ar "ower$ba!ancn# and rsn#, as

    Isaac Deutscher recommended, 8audessus de !a me!ee C8above the fray.

    - (ovement has the ed#e over a (achne, but the batt!e n the e!ectora!

    arena w!! be, n the na! ana!yss, mano$a$mano, man to man. It s here

    that (ahnda may st!! have an ed#e. )hen I !eft /em"!e /rees after two

    hours and a bt, 3!vs was st!! n the bu!dn#.

    CDayan ?ayat!!e'a was Sr an'as %ermanent &e"resentatve to the =* n

    Eeneva from 200F$09, and unt! recent!y, -mbassador to >rance. 5e s the

    author of Gon# )ar, @o!d %eace @on7ct and @rss n Sr an'a, Hjtha

    a"a %ub!shers, 201J.

    Posted by Thavam

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