Jehan Perera (JP) writing under above title in The Island of April 6 ahead of the general election held on April 8 tries to paint a picture of Sri Lanka where democracy and freedom no longer exist. He goes on a tour to the interior, to the southern villages along with a 'professor' on the eve of the election, where he encounters people, who are afraid to express their true feelings.

This is what JP says: 'We met with people in their homes and places of work and heard them say that the government was popular on account of its policies and what they did for the benefit of the people. The President was mentioned as the greatest strength of the government, who touched the roots of the people's culture'.

A 'community leader' is brought into the scene then, who 'cautioned us not to believe all that we had just heard'. 'People we spoke to were either self-interested or afraid, and did not express their true thoughts. The reality was one of extreme suffering by those who were poor , as the cost of living had increased far beyond their income. But, they did not wish to speak as someone could report them to those in power, and this would be to their detriment'.

The 'professor' comes in last, with his expert opinion. 'The government will use its power to win by hook or by crook. It is as if the government was headed by a king who is destined to rule the country. This is a far cry from the democracy that Sri Lanka is said to have inherited'.

JP uses two actors (probably imaginary) to say what he intends to say, that there is no democracy and human rights in our country and the people vote for the government out of fear. When he says that, 'people did not wish to speak as someone could report them to those in power', it is inferred that the government employ 'secret agents' to spy upon the people.

This is JP’s pre-election analysis, to be digested by gullible voters as well as his international benefactors. Now that the election had concluded with 4.5 million voters inclusive of 80 per cent of our population classified as rural poor voting emphatically with the government, can he still insist on his hackneyed theory that there is no democracy in our country , or does he still believe that 4.5 million people had voted 'out of fear"?

JP also says that Retd. Gen. Sarath Fonseka (SF) 'languishes in prison in conditions detrimental to his health'. In the first place, it has to be made clear that, SF is not 'imprisoned', but detained at the Navy headquarters, as there are conspiracy and other charges against him. Specialists who examined SF had found that he is virtually in the same health condition as he was on the first day of his detention and he is kept under constant medical supervision.

It is not possible that JP is unaware of these facts. Then, why is he propagating all these lies? It is a known fact that the Western powers are out to destabilise our government because our President refused to bow down to their pressure to stop the war on the LTTE. Stories of the denial of free voting and political rights in our country will be sweet music in the ears of Western powers to step up action for the economic strangulation of our country by suspension of WB loans and the GSP+ facility. In a recent press briefing Minister Dulles Alahapperuma had requested national and international forces to honour the people’s mandate received by the government that had increased from 57 per cent in the Presidential election two months ago, to 60.4 per cent the recent General Election. But, such attempts to gather support from a wider spectrum for national development will be negated by this talk of denial of democratic rights propagated by JP.

JP, being the Director of his internationally funded National Peace Council, is naturally obliged to please his Western NGO pay masters and hence his move to project falsehood to discredit the government at the time of an election. He should realise that these lies may be believed by his Western do-gooders, but will be rejected with contempt by the people of this country.