Go fly a kite

This is the reality he is facing for abuse of power and violation of "Avirodha"- the madness of a deposed king

From The Daily Mirror

By Dr Nimalka Fernando

No one trusts politicians in Sri Lanka anymore. In addition to a growing budget deficit there is also a growing ‘trust deficit’ between the “politician” and the “citizen” which extends and permeates into every level and relationship in society. Victims of Human Rights violations consider politicians to be responsible for the violence and pain they have undergone and continue to experience daily. Civil society in general considers politicians to be an unreliable corrupt bunch. More adjectives will be added by readers of this article by way of comments later. 

The level of untrustworthiness that degenerated to a criminality was given a strong message by society as they voted on 8th January 2015. They gave a strong message to politicians during the Presidential Election.

From Basil to Johnny, today they are queueing up at the Financial Crimes Investigation Department giving us brief glimpses into the secret world of deals, bribes, cuts, commissions and recent history of governance in this country. In this situation I was amazed to hear a ‘State Minister’ saying that “the conversation between Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maitripala Sirisena will make UNP lose its address”. This is the most direct translation of the interview he gave to the media. This former Minister accused of allegedly misusing funds meant for poor migrant workers and currently being investigated for corruption is misstating the truth and has to be reminded that it is the former President who has “no address”. You are a ‘misstate minister’ unworthy of the ‘State’ prefix.

The close associates of the former President don’t reveal to the media where they met him when asked to reveal where the last meeting was held. We see him in the media going from temple to temple with flowers and cronies in different costumes with some sort of political begging bowl. He camps in some temple in Narahenpita Colombo and holds ‘secret discussions’ planning some mad conspiracy or other against politicians on the driving seat of real political reality. This is the reality he is facing for abuse of power and violation of Avirodha, the madness of a deposed king.

Yet, his former ministers do not seem to have learnt a lesson. Our narrative is about the future of this country and its political future and it’s not about a private property of an individual politician.

The agenda of “for MR” is now exposed. They set high demands for MR asking for a 2nd chance for him to lead them in general elections. Their expectations are very high. They are day dreaming. The core of their thinking revolves around a move to make the former President a Prime Ministerial candidate and regroup the United Political Fraudsters’ Alliance for the next election.

This is what they are hoping to raise with President Sirisena I hear and hold him to ransom by accusing him of splitting the SLFP when in truth it is Rajapaksa’s cronies who are splitting the SLFP. I fail to understand their logic because they fail to understand reality.

How can a person who failed to govern this country as a President, now re-emerge as the Prime Ministerial candidate? Do they think that the people of this country live in a fool’s paradise? Maybe they live in a different world where there are no ethics and civility.

They think that President Sirisena can be bulldozed with their rage and ranting. The rally they convened put to shame the history of the left movement in Sri Lanka which had a glorious record. No Left leader in this country fell to the depths of campaigning for a corrupt leader nor upheld as great the politics of hate and hate speech like they did on 1st May 2015.

"In fact, he would be an excellent Prime Ministerial candidate if he contested from the new party, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) is going to form. He will have to fight it out with his former Defence Secretary brother and the other leaders of the BBS who will turn on each other the moment this new party is formed. We can telecast the event live like the most anticipated boxing match we witnessed recently."

The leaders of these trade unions were no better. “MR rise again” was their banner. What a sad state of affairs.

These people were once good, hardworking and dedicated political activists. Now they call for re-instating Mahinda Rajapaksa as it is necessary for them to get back on the bandwagon of syphoning State resources for their comfort.

The irony of the situation is that most of these so-called left trade union leaders used State resources during the Rajapaksa regime as if it was their private property. Deprived of their corrupt life style and comfort zones under President Sirisena they were whipped up into a frenzy which resulted in the assault of their own friend and former comrade Dr. Nirmal Ranjith who was doing what he did every May Day and attending all the rallies in Colombo.

I hope that in time they will wake up from their day dream and do some serious self-reflection. This would immediately start their journey towards President Sirisena when they realise that they have been betrayed by a corrupt despot using them as pawns in a game to return back to power. I must condemn their so-called leaders in the worker’s movement of Sri Lanka. I am sad that no worker nor Left analyst has yet exposed the shameful aspect of this so-called false May Day held at Kirulapona. May Day is about worker liberation and not political servitude to a dictator.

Left leaders screamed and yelled from their political stages criticising all other parties for celebrating May Day.

I want to ask them what right they have to celebrate the May Day under a banner that calls “Rising up with MR”.

Did he at least make effective the Worker’s Charter during his tenure of service to the nation? The leaders of the Communist Party, LSSP and DLF conveniently developed amnesia during Cabinet meetings during the past ten years about this subject.

The same amnesia they developed in relation to electoral reforms regarding which Dinesh Gunawardena wrote the report of a Parliamentary Select Committee.

Now, they hope to bring a 20th Amendment with a lengthy electoral reform process and a lengthy debate to delay Parliamentary elections and buy them more time to build up their alliance of fraudsters. They will not succeed. People will get their wish of elections as a soon as possible because the people demand it.

Away with this 2010 people’s mandate which degenerated into a competition to see who is the most corrupt. It is time to elect a new Parliament and go towards a new political journey. Rajapaksa can join all the other political loonies in Sri Lanka.

In fact, he would be an excellent Prime Ministerial candidate if he contested from the new party, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) is going to form.

He will have to fight it out with his former Defence Secretary brother and the other leaders of the BBS who will turn on each other the moment this new party is formed. We can telecast the event live like the most anticipated boxing match we witnessed recently.

This can be followed by a leisurely show of Rajapaksa and his cronies flying kites in Galle Face like he did during the Social Integration week organised by his friend and ardent supporter a few months ago, an event at which he refused to speak about social integration and instead chose only to fly kites. Now, he can really go fly a kite.