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Message: <blockquote data-quote="541100" data-source="post: 18623662" data-attributes="member: 494281">අයියෝ සල්ලි... වෙල්කම් ටු ඉන්ටනෙට්.. There seems to be lack of clarity about President Maithripala Sirisena’s  position on the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)-led United People’s  Freedom Alliance (UPFA)’s move to provide former President Mahinda  Rajapaksa with a ticket to contest in the August 17 parliamentary polls.   Ever since the UPFA general secretary Susil Premajayantha’s statement  was made public on Friday last, announcing the nomination of Mr.  Rajapaksa, silence has been the response of the President. This was not  the case on earlier occasions, when the President’s office promptly  denied reports in sections of the press about a possible meeting between  the two leaders and the former President being fielded as the candidate  for the post of Prime Minister.   But, the absence of any emphatic reaction from Mr. Sirisena need not be  construed as a sign of his approval for Mr. Rajapaksa’s nomination. On  Saturday and Sunday, at two separate events, the President struck a  different note. In Matara in the southern part of the country, Mr.  Sirisena, who defeated Mr. Rajapaksa in the presidential election in  January, said he would not allow “family rule, corruption and the reign  of terror” to return, all of which charges were used by the opposition  in the Presidential election against the then Rajapakasa regime. The  next day in Colombo, he praised the family of Chandrika Bandaranaike  Kumaratunga, another former President and a critic of Mr. Rajapaksa.   On Mr. Sirisena’s silence, Dilan Perera, SLFP spokesperson, emphasises  that there is “no confusion.” Referring to Mr. Premajayantha’s  statement, he says the statement has mentioned that the decision was  made after consulting and meeting Mr. Sirisena. He is hopeful that Mr.  Rajapaksa and Mr. Sirisena can work together hereafter, given the fact  that they had been members of the SLFP for over 40 years.   When asked for reaction to the criticism that Mr. Sirisena has let down  the spirit of the January mandate, Gayantha Karunatileka, United  National Party (UNP) functionary and Minister for Mass Media, replies  that “it is too early to comment” as the President has not yet made any  statement.   Muttukrishna Saravanathan, founder of the Point Pedro Institute of  Development, a body engaged in social science research, says the  nomination of Mr. Rajapaksa could be an opportunity for people to  “debunk the Rajapaksa mystique” again and ensure the “longevity of the  silent positive change” that took place in January. A political  commentator from Jaffna, who wishes to remain anonymous, explains that  Mr. Sirisena has demonstrated that he is different from Mr. Rajapaksa by  seeking to accommodate him, an act that the former President did not do  with regard to his rival in the 2010 presidental election, Sarath  Foenseka.</blockquote>

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