Gota’s Journey Had Its Humour 

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –April 24, 2015

Shyamon Jayasinghe

Oh! What an era we live in! Gotabaya Rajapaksa, most powerful sibling of the most powerful President Sri Lanka ever had, on a journey to the Bribery Commissioner’s Office! On the first of January this year did you, reader, ever imagine this journey? Even on the 8th of January Maitripala Sirisenahad no clue that Gota will have to make his way to the Bribery Commissioner’s Office under his watch as President. Maitri was hiding that fateful day in a secret place fearing that Mahinda Rajapaksa would have Gota’s men get him and his family. Everybody feared Gota.

Such are the insecurities of politics. The Buddha had said that everything emerges, stays for a while and passes away. But nothing passes away as astonishingly as political fortunes do. We are surprised when it happens; yet we soon get accustomed to the imagination that politicos, once ensconced in the seats of power, are hard to get rid of. More than us, the politician himself will least believe his glory will end. The delusion of permanence is both the driving force of politicians in power and their eventual death knell.

The Daily FT of 24th April 2015 carried a report of Gota’s journey which compels comment. I like to share this with my readers. A large crowd of protestors had assembled in the premises defying a previous court order. Rajapaksas are experts at jana ganga (rivers of people). They had mastered the mobilizing technique from the JVP. We saw it at election meetings. We saw it at Nugegoda. With ample financial resources at disposal and a well -organized local mob leadership such jana ganga simply happens. Poor Basil, now in person, didn’t have it organized for him-maybe due to his slight fall- out from the Rajapaksa mainstream. His nephew,Yoshitha, had reportedly castigated the uncle for being primarily responsible for his Dad’s fall from power. Yoshitha does not admit his own contribution.                                           Read More