Mahanayakas Chickened Out.

Who Wouldn’t?

By Helasingha Bandara

Message

(February 20, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) At a decisive moment the Mahanayakas announced that they were calling a general assembly of all monks to discuss the erosion of democracy and the decline of therule of law in Sri Lanka. The next moment they announced that the meeting is indefinitely postponed as they could not guarantee the safety of those who attend the meeting. The momentary elation of the people for the Mahanayakas’ commitment to safeguard the people’s right to freedom instantly vanished but the decision to postpone the meeting has inculcated a deeper sense of frustration and helplessness among the populace. It is pretty obvious that the Monks have been told that state terrorism would be unleashed to sabotage the event if it goes a head. If the Mahanayakas have chickened out, what about the powerless ordinary citizens of Sri Lanka? Would there be anybody coming forward to protest against the government’s campaign of terror, intimidation , mafia tactics and the abuse of state resources in order to win the general election?

Betrayals

Throughout Sri Lanka history, from Vibhishana to Pilimathalawa, there had been many betrayers and we are well known for monumental betrayals. Thirty thousand young people were killed during the UNP reign of terror as a result of the betrayals of the neighbours who had petty grudges against each other. Even when the country was almost unified in the attempt to eradicate LTTE terrorism we saw some military officers and others providing intelligence to the LTTE for money. Indeed money can buy everything in Sri Lanka because of the widespread poverty in the country. Divide and rule has been the cliché attached to British rule but the recent history of Sri Lanka has ample evidence that the cliché is more applicable in Sri Lanka than anywhere else. It has been easier for the politicians to develop a politico worshiping culture among the poverty stricken people. Those who have power offer little perks to their supporters while discriminating against others. By doing this, politicians hook the voters. On the expectation of a relatively larger perk people can be manipulated to do everything the politicians dictate. The prime example can be that the government at present is using people, including monks, to go against each other irrespective whether the course is just or not. Mahanayakas have unanimously agreed that the Government has to be advised against the erosion of democracy and the decline of the rule of law. The government has induced some other monks and some party henchmen to sabotage the meeting intended to discuss a grave issue of the hour. A unified protest against any evil in this country is almost impossible because of the traditional betraying nature of the people and the poverty among them.

Shameless politics

Political propaganda of all parties is full of lies. There is no shame on these politicos to construct lies, spread false rumours and deceive people. Can this deceiving continue forever? The signs are in the affirmative. Even though people know the truth they are divided in such a manner that they cannot risk the party affiliations. Voting for constructive policies in Sri Lanka is a thing in the past and the new trend is the individualistic materialism. The politicos know that they can keep winning if they empower a section of the population marginally over the other section.

The General

People still love their General. The manner in which the General has been treated by this Government has appalled even the UPFA supporters. The General elections are a perfect opportunity for the public to express their anger quietly. Unfortunately people have a dilemma as to whom to vote against the ruling coalition. The opposition is headed by the UNP. People do not want to vote for the UNP. A common front led by the General was a feasible answer. Unfortunately, the power hungry politicians cannot even hold on to the alliance that they made only recently.

International Reaction

The Government managed to ignore international criticism during the war against the LTTE. Although there was some outcry about the human rights violations and war crimes the whole world quietly expected the LTTE to be vanquished. The LTTE was known to be the most ruthless terrorist organisation and the massacres that the LTTE carried out among the unarmed civilians were the most abhorrent in the modern history. In this regard, it was not difficult to justify action against such a ruthless organisation by a legitimate government. The case in point now is a different matter. There is no war to justify extra judicial killings, disappearances and unlawful arrests, detentions and so on. The Government believes that it can frame anyone who opposes it. In the global village news spreads fast and concealing the truth has become more difficult. Therefore, the Government’s outcry that we should ignore the ‘international conspiracy to pressurise us’ on our human rights record would not bear the same results as in the past.

The future

The Rajapakshas and the rest of the spineless ‘yes’ politicians of the UPFA want a two third majority at the forthcoming general election to change the constitution. It is doubtful as to whether the proposed changes to the constitution are intended to uplift the living standard of the masses or to stabilise the Rajapaksha family rule for the foreseeable future. Premadasa had one brain to construct his tyrannical reign that created a sense of fear among everyone within a very short time but came to an end thanks to the LTTE. Brains are many in the Rajapaksha family. Indeed the family is a perfect combination of necessary skills to secure the power base at Medamulana for even decades to come. The political cunning of Mahinda, corruption and malpractice skills of Basil, organisation skills of Charmal, glamour and youthful exuberance of Narmal and mafia skills of Gotabaya will keep them on the throne for a long time to come. Sri Lanka will never see the light at the end of tunnel again unless their margin of victory at this election is minimised.