We did not wanted UNP to oppose the defense vote. But after hearing the UNP General Secretary at his ‘Defense Watch’ participation, we thought they would at least abstain. This thought became stronger, again when Hon. Ranga Bandara MP talked of 12,000 deaths and 12,000 injured in the security forces during the rule of present government. But instead UNP has joined the war chorus and playing side roles to the government with very little or small slogans, contradictory to each other. It is also calling the people to put it into power at elections after elections. Why should the people do that? When the UNP itself is endorsing the very lifeline of the very government it wants to defeat, questioned parliamentarian Mano Ganesan Leader of Democratic Peoples Front in a statement issued from his office. The statement further says,

It seems UNP’s strategy is ‘oppose the government on all other issues and support the government on the war efforts’. There are two positions here. One is, opposing all ‘other issues’. And the other is supporting the war. The government has failed in all other avenues. We need not to take the trouble of lecturing the people on these failures. People themselves are aware of the failures and blunders of the government. The government’s one and only survival avenue is war.

The UNP campaigns on ‘other failures and issues’ would be effective, only if they come coupled with a campaign against the fruitless war effort. Otherwise these campaigns are a simply waste of time. The biggest danger is that innocent Sinhala people are arriving at the decision of continuously supporting the government. This is because of the fact that the very opposition which wants to topple is approving the government’s war. Therefore unless and until the UNP and opposition challenges the fruitless war and exposes the true facets of war efforts of the government, nothing is going to change. The government will be sitting where it is now very prettily.

UNP is the party which brought in the 13th amendment paying heavy price. UNP amended the constitution against great internal and external pressures. Thus the provincial council system of power devolution. It is the political flag of the UNP. Whatever said and done, UNP, the so called ‘capitalized’ party had done progressively better than the so called ‘leftist’ parties in the subject of ‘devolution of power’ in the history of Sri Lanka. UNP is the single biggest party in the country. UNP is the party which brought independence to this country. UNP is the party which proposed real time peace in the recent history of this war torn country. UNP is the party which brought the one and only power devolution law through 13th amendment in the history of Sri Lanka. UNP should wake up to adders the challenges of the times of today. It has to tell the government to provide all the powers to the provincial councils listed in the 13th amendment including the land and police powers. It has to tell the government that need of the hour is not the war but winning the minds and hearts of the Tamil speaking people with a substantial package well beyond 13thamendment. It has to tell the government ‘very loudly’ not to antagonize the international community.