Give Mahinda An Army? Can’t Joint Opposition Stop Joking? 

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –May 5, 2016

Shyamon Jayasinghe

I tell you, these guys in the self-styled Joint Opposition (JO) are plain crazy. Imagine an opposition demanding full-scale military security to their electorally defeated leader to enable the latter to go round the country at will and pleasure with the sole and concentrated purpose of undermining the government! Scores of military men and policemen hanging around him from Dondra to Point Pedro and buckets of money as attendant expenses for fuel and salaries and overtime? All this day in and day out? At taxpayers’ expense? That is simply outrageous.

I scaled the history of governments world over in order to see if anything like this privilege had been granted to a fallen leader. “Nope,” is my answer.

Mahinda is testing his luck in a context where he and his family are under scrutiny for various alleged misdeeds and serious frauds. Any decent statesman will lie low and gladly submit himself and his kith and kin for examination in order to clear his and their names. That’s the most appropriate thing for him to do. On the other hand, Mahinda Rajapaksa wants all investigations stopped. Does he recommend such a privilege to ordinary private citizens? Giving up the lawful and civil course, Mahinda Rajapaksa is organising a revolt against the yahapalana government. Bring down the government and crush the investigations!The strategy is “attack as the best form of defence.” In the unlikely event that the government will crumble all investigations will come to a halt. And if he gets back sufficient domination in a kind of counter revolution all government leaders would probably be safely under lock and key; if not missing altogether.

Mahinda’s ruling record was developing into such brutality. With the 18th Amendment under his sleeve what couldn’t he have done? Mahinda Rajapaksa as President never listened to anyone but himself and never thought of anyone but himself and his. I am reminded of Trujillo, the Columbian dictator, who figures in the novel tilted “The Feast of the Goat,” written by Nobel Laureate, Mario Vargas Llosa. When Mahinda jailed Sarath Fonseka and when he sacked the Chief Justice he showed his true character.

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