Chandrika, Mahinda, Rats, And Our Future

By Jagath Asoka -January 2, 2014 

Dr. Jagath Asoka

It is possible to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa in the next presidential elections by appointing Chandrika Bandaranaike—Sri Lanka’s only female president, the daughter of two former prime ministers, the former leader of the SLFP—as the common candidate. There is another possibility: Chandrika can split not only the SLFP but also the other parties in the current UPFA and all the parties in the opposition and walk away with the members who are not happy with the current regime and with the current leaders of their parties and form a formidable opposition by making a new alliance; of course, she needs the help of the UNP, JVP, TNA, Sarath Fonseka, and everyone else who wants to defeat Mahinda; but she does not need total consensus, just  the support of the most influential members, because the others will follow them. I am sure even Sajith will join Chandrika if he can be the next prime minister. Ranil can be the next speaker, but I prefer a Muslim candidate. Wigneswaran can be our Chief Justice.

We all know that this regime is not going to last forever; sooner or later, it is going to collapse—that is the nature of everything, including Mahinda. Those who are currently in power will not only regurgitate what they have been eating and have taken by force, power, or conceit but also face severe punishments and imprisonments; some will even lose their civil rights and be expelled from parliament, and possibly lose their lives, lives of their spouses, children, siblings, and their zealous supporters. We are on a path to perdition, but we have the power to avoid this catastrophic deluge of blood, lost due to unimaginable violence, based on personal vendetta, and resolve this mess peacefully. The nature of politics, like everything else in life, is that nothing lasts forever: change is ineluctable, necessary, and often unpredictable. We need a strong leader, as well as a strong, disciplined, peace-loving, non-violent, incorruptible coalition to counterbalance the powers of Mahinda and avoid the bloodbath in the future due to this regime’s ineluctable death: it is just a matter of time.

It seems to me that the UNP—neither Ranil nor Sajith nor any other clown who thinks that he or she can defeat Mahinda—is not the party that is going to change this regime; the counterbalancing formidable force to Rajapaksa clan is going to emerge by splitting the current UPFA by Chandrika, or it can happen spontaneously, but not by Ranil or Sajith. Here is a statement that Chandrika made in September 2009, during her visit to Kerala, India: “I too care for my life. Even though the current government is a government of my party, I don’t feel safe. There is an overall lack of freedom and an atmosphere of fear prevails in the country. The basic rights of the people and media freedom are restricted in Sri Lanka.”

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