A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, June 23, 2018
Yahapalanaya: Comedy continues!
By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana-June 22, 2018, 10:16 pm
When I wrote ‘Raigamaya and Gampolaya’ just before the last local
government elections (The Island, 5 February), I thought it was
impossible for the state of affairs to get much worse. I am proved
wrong; well, things have got worse and the comedy continues. Sorry, I
should call it a tragi-comedy, with apologies to the populace that has
to tighten belts, regularly, with no hope in sight, witnessing
helplessly ramping corruption destroying the country, while politicians
get enriched. Admittedly, no political script writer, even with an avid
sense of humour, could have imagined such a farcical story as the
unfolding Yahapalana saga. But, what is happening to our country is
absolutely tragic.
Yahapalana mob does not care, busy feathering its own nest; the two
leaders are at each other, undercutting and scheming to win the next
presidential election, a post they vowed to abolish at the feet of
Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero. In a way, the Venerable Thera was
fortunate to depart to a better place, before his heart was fully broken
by the antics of those he empowered. He is dead and gone but even death
has not spared him of political manoeuvring. He would have turned 76
and definitely lived much longer had he not got involved in politics, on
29th May. To commemorate this birth anniversary, a ceremony had been
held, but I simply cannot understand why this is done after someone is
DEAD. Birth ends in death and, after that, if any, it is sensible to
remember on the day of death; but that is another story. Our ‘great’
President gate-crashed, by his own admission, but it looks as if the
‘forgetful’ former Finance Minister was invited. "Prez lambasts UNP,
warns of further revelations" was the main headline in ‘The Island of 31
May. He promised to do everything he had failed to do in the last three
years and blamed the ‘other-half’ for all the failings. If you believe
in an afterlife, as death would not dim the determination of a great
being, Venerable Sobitha should have appeared from a ‘higher plane’ and
told him, then and there, "Sirisena! Enough is enough, call off the
bluff!!"
After the miserable showing in the local government elections, His
Excellency planned his greatest ‘coup’; a no-confidence motion to oust
the Prime Minister, he himself appointed, unconstitutionally. He was
sure of success as there were enough UNPers ready to stab the aging and
‘never-winning’ leader in the back. Stage for the show-down was set,
when TNA, ‘minority opposition’ declared they would abstain. Sensing
danger, interested parties, including the USA and terrorist rump went
into overdrive, as the fall of their man would lead to dampers on their
project. ‘Bosses’ instructed TNA to vote against and everyone, including
the President, got cold feet when he changed his instructions. His
flock was allowed to vote as they wished, resulting in a further
division of the SLFP; so, Rani survived, yet again!
Not to be outdone, the UNP taught the President a lesson by catching his
Chief-of-Staff in the act of accepting a bribe. Pretty smart operation
that was and wish there were many, so that the country would be rid of
corruption. But the UNP is not interested in the country, any longer,
but simply carries on with Dicky’s dictum: ‘Catch the corrupt only if
they hurt us’.
Then comes the revelations about the millions gifted by Perpetual to
(Dis) Honourable Members of Parliament who added provisos to the COPE
report. Which side leaked the information, no one seems to be sure but
it does not matter, as allegations are flying across the Chamber of The
House, showing what a bunch of hypocrite’s rule over us. The usually
sedate Speaker got up from a slumber, to plead with his colleagues not
to throw mud at each other, without realising that they are simply doing
what is natural to them.
An addendum is needed to my article ‘Ranil’s Watergate’ (The Island, 2
April) considering what has transpired since. The President’s attempt to
bury parts of the report in the secrecy of the National Archives is a
cover-up too. Surely, his secretary would not have done this without
HE’s instructions and the Secretary’s claim that blacked-out portions
will be sent to the Parliament on the basis of the Attorney General’s
advice is nothing short of putting the honour of public servants at
stake.
It is pretty obvious that the bond scams, and the cover-up by Ranil, and
the subsequent cover-up of the report, by Maithri, make it the
‘Yahapalana Watergate’.
In this scenario, it is not surprising that there is a vast amount of
correspondence in ‘The Island’ with various suggestions, as to how we
can get out of the mess. Of course, there are repeated pleas from NGO
lackeys for reinvigorating the Yahapalana project, some misquoting, may
be through ignorance or even may be deliberate, from Buddhist concepts.
Some go to the opposite of looking for fresh faces. It is wonderful, if
it can be done but it is an impossible task. Though we mock and blame
politicians, it is no easy task which needs much experience. We cannot
have a distinguished personality from a different field, simply because
s/he is honourable. By trying to learn on the job, much harm can be
done.
Considering all this, the suggestion by Prof N A De S Amaratunga seems
most practical: ‘MR must learn from past mistakes’ (The Island, 18
June). True, there are accusations of corruption; very true, MR made
mistakes. Who does not? Which politician does not? Those who heap praise
on Lee Kuan Yew forget, very conveniently, that he was a dictator who
suppressed any opposition, mercilessly. We need a politician with a
proven track record who can deliver and MR fits the bill, provided he
has learned from past mistakes. The voters punished him for his mistakes
and he has paid for his sins but the question is ‘Has he learned from
past mistakes?’. Hope he has, for the sake of the future of our
Motherland.
We are still under threat from international do-gooders. Unpatriotic
politicians of ours, co-sponsored UNHRC resolutions against us, at the
behest of the USA. Even when lifelines were thrown at us they
disregarded. Lord Naseby’s sterling efforts were met with ridicule by
our foreign ministry. After all this, what has happened? On 19th June,
Nikki Hayley, the US envoy to the UN, said UNHRC was a "hypocritical"
body that "makes a mockery of human rights". In announcing the
withdrawal of the USA from UNHRC she said "it was a cesspool of
political bias" How true! Some of us have been telling this for a long
time, Nikki!
The USA pushed us to the cesspool. Our then Foreign Minister, must be a
lover of cesspools, volunteered to jump. Now the USA is running from the
cesspool but we are drowning in it. Yahapalanaya pushed us there and we
need someone to save us!