For colombo, a lesson from Egypt - When troops go marching into business

Never, ever let the military into business ventures, money making, town and country planning, or development projects; never let the military have control over civilian life in general and most emphatically so if there is money involved. That’s the hard lesson Egypt’s second revolution is teaching the world. It’s not a new lesson; the threat to public when the military is let out of the barracks and allowed to dabble in money and business has been driven home by many terrible bloodbaths spread over many years.
It is a prominent and diabolical threat in this country at this time. A grave menace has been hanging over the City of Colombo and several adjacent municipalities and urban councils, though thankfully the government’s script may have been blunted by its rout in the CMC elections. The Defence Ministry has been re-titled defence and urban planning, hoping to pull the wool over the public eye and allow this establishment to own land, enter the construction industry and participate in business ventures. The recent nationalization of some 35 or 38 business enterprises may see some of them placed directly or indirectly under military management. None of this bodes well; when the army smells cash, the people taste blood – their own, a la Egypt.