India and the US helped us fight our war on terror, through crucial political support and intelligence sharing. From mid 2006 to May 2009, Indian intelligence information was essential for our Navy to intercept and sink the LTTE resupply vessels, while US political support and nod of ascent was necessary for all the weapons supplies we received from Israel and Pakistan, two significant US military aid recipients.

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Sri Lanka’s post war politics followed a predictable script with the war winning president using the popular fervor of the war victory to bring forward by two years the date of a presidential election,  securing a second term, a two thirds majority in parliament and removing any restrictions on his ability to keep seeking presidential office indefinitely.

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January 2010 election, the best presidential election ever

The State media called the President’s oaths taking ceremony, simple, dignified and elegant. Undoubtedly the latter two it certainly was, while the former was debatable. However, it would be churlish for anyone to begrudge Mahinda Rajapakse his moment in the sun or us Sri Lankans a celebration of our democratic choice for president.

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President Mahinda Rajapakse is, as this article is penned, in China on an official working visit, participating in a trade fair, an investor fair and also bi lateral discussions with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.  China is Sri Lanka’s new best friend, rapidly beating out giant neighbor India. President Rajapakse personally manages these two key relationships for Sri Lanka, with his Commonwealth games closing ceremony diplomacy with India and investment promotion and working visits to China, being the most recent.

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14th October 2010.

The Mahinda Chinthanaya is not just an election manifesto in the old tradition of such documents, the “Chinthanaya” seeks to be much more, it holds the promise of being to Sri Lanka what the “little red book” was to Mao’s China, the guidebook to public policy if not to quite to life.

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