
By Vishwamithra –
“But you can live in the most democratic country on earth, and if you’re lazy, obtuse or servile within yourself, you’re not free.” ~ Ignazio Silone, Bread and Wine
Writing contemporary history is one of the most challenging undertakings; penning down a reportage as and when things start to unfold is relatively simple, yet when one begins to pass judgments and offer opinions about the same episodes of societal events might look easy; but making it authentic and intellectually sturdy is a near impossibility. Your writing becomes blurry and might tend to be more prejudicial and would be ridiculed by history itself. But mere novices may try their inexperienced pens and write utter rubbish and unworthy analyses that would not survive the ultimate tests of literary critique.
Passing judgment on the AKD/NPP rule just after it being there only three months is, in fact, absurd and ridiculous. Yet those politicians whose only function seems to be being opposed to whatever the principles and policies enacted by the new government is bearable. They would not have any other fundamental function in a working democracy. But those so-called social scientists and half-baked historians cannot be pardoned for the same such idiotic exercises. Let us all be more patient; let’s be more inclusive and unified in our evaluations of the current regime. If such a collective and impassioned posture is assumed, maybe, we ourselves could be judged impartially and in more passionate style by those who really matter in passing sociopolitical verdicts: the masses.
However, what has become most conspicuous in the new regime is AKD’s predominance in the governing machinery. Whether it’s, as part and parcel of ‘Executive Presidency’, an essential constitutional feature in our system of governance is a factor one has to apply in measuring success and or failure of the regime. But one cannot ignore the overwhelming dominance by President Dissanayake in each and every step and half-step the government has been taking. The rest of the government apparatus is empty. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya who has been an omnipresent figure among the NPP leadership circles prior to the two elections, Presidential and Parliamentary, seems to have taken a back-stage seat.
Whichever way one looks, if the most prominent leaders of the NPP, such as Harini, Vijitha Herath, Sunil Handunheththi, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Bimal Ratnayake and Lal Kantha have become absent in pronunciation of government policies, it’s not going to be profitable in the future for more complicated crisis-situations the government would eventually and inevitably face. The people must see other faces who could be taken into their trust; they must see the second-tier leaders of the government, Ministers led by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. The more familiar they become with the masses, more palatable even the most bitter pills the government might want to offer the masses to swallow one day.
That assessment can be made without any prejudice to future ventures of the government. Such an Assessment is essentially necessary and would be timely because it is merely on the style and tone of the machinery rather than on the substance and its consequences in time to come. I would avail myself of pardonable undertaking of writing a judgmental issue as was described in the preceding sentence.
For those who eagerly awaited a system change, it may be a thoroughly painful experience so far. In the same vein, system change is not one that could be instituted overnight in the wake of an election in a democracy. Replacing a corrupt and dishonest regime by overthrowing it by violent means such as an armed revolution could be more straightforward and facile. In such a context, the incoming regime would not be bound by any existing laws and regulations. Upholding democracy and the rule of law as the fundamental frame of governance and curing and rejuvenating an ailing economy has to be formulated, legislated and executed within the same accepted framework. The bureaucracy and the official tiers of the governing machinery are being manned by the same men and women.
Replacing the bureaucratic machinery overnight was possible but AKD and the NPP leadership opted otherwise. What suffered at the end of the process of the execution of this option is perceived inefficiency of the government. The politicians may want to wait; they know the realities of slow-moving cogs in the wheels of government, but the masses do not see it that way. They are inherently impatient; their waiting had been long and painstaking. If the rulers cannot offer tangible results within a reasonable period of time, the masses would not only be dissatisfied, they might be tempted by the opposition to take alternative means to achieve change. If such a misfortune should occur, the NPP government might be taken aback. But to the relief of the government, that ‘Opposition’ cannot be credited with such political skills to drive a mass of people to the streets as we witnessed during the Aragalaya-22 days.
The political skills or lack thereof and socioeconomic factors are not favoring such an Opposition. Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the Opposition is now alleged to be engaged in discussions with his mentor cum destroyer, both in one, to revive the old United National Party (UNP). Such futile conversations would not deceive the masses anymore. The train has left that station a long time ago. One cannot kill a dead entity. The old UNP is dead, never to rise again. In its place is the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB). But owing to it being labeled as part of the old system of failed governance coupled with the mass appeal for fresh faces and fresher ideas and ideals, rise of the SJB to the seat of power is at least a generation away from now. When one concludes that it’s too early to assess the performance of the new government, one wonders whether it’s too late for any regrets on the part of all stakeholders of this societal change that is taking place before our very eyes.
Regrets are many indeed; but as long as those regrets are dwelling within the confines of the governing party and its leaders, the ripple effects of those regrets will not be felt by the broad masses. Nevertheless, one main regret that might be lingering in the minds of the people is the pace at which the accountability of the wrong-doers of the previous regimes is moving. But the people must also realize that, unlike the respective regimes of the Rajapaksas and Wickremasinghes, taking the (mal)practitioners of the previous governments into account should be conducted in accordance with the law of the land. Any deviation from the existing laws would again would be a grosser malpractice of political power.
Any and all political power, the NPP must realize, flows from the people. The mandate they received at the parliamentary elections is not a blank check. On the contrary, that mandate gives them authority and powers to do the right thing; not to engage in the same abuse of political power as did the Rajapaksas and the Wickremasinghes. The regret the people are experiencing now could be temporary but should not be exploited by the government as a long-term reconciliation with the government’s lethargic approach to resolving the issues confronting the country.
We all want this government to succeed; any failure cannot be tolerated and the people are not yet ready to resign themselves to a second rate performance. That is precisely why the people seem to be still enjoying a period of a honeymoon. But reading that temporary joy as a long-lasting detente with the ruling regime could one day come to bite AKD and the NPP government. That is why it is of paramount significance that the the government must keep the regrets as few as possible and assessments as favorable as they could be.
*The writer can me reached at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com
Nathan / January 14, 2025
… If the rulers cannot offer tangible results within a reasonable period of time, the masses would not only be dissatisfied.
Who is dissatisfied here?
Is it Vishwamithra? Not the masses, for now.
I am pleased with the little strides.
Better to play caution than to display sorry.
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old codger / January 14, 2025
“and if you’re lazy, obtuse or servile within yourself, you’re not free.”
Obtuseness? Serviility? There was a lot of that in the author’s pre-election outpouring, wasn’t there?
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old codger / January 14, 2025
I see Duminda Silva is back in the Prison hospital. Money talks, it seems, even with the NPP.
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leelagemalli / January 14, 2025
“I see Duminda Silva is back in the Prison hospital. Money talks, it seems, even with the NPP.”.
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That may be the ” definition 😳 of a real system change of NPP” .
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U AND I WERE ALWAYS GLASS CLEAR ABOUT NPP LIARS.
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JVPrs are born /bred hypocrites.
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I wish I could 😪 know what our SM has got to say about NPPrs today.
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I miss late Prof David 😪 and his articles
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leelagemalli / January 14, 2025
OC,
.”””There was a lot of that in the author’s pre-election outpouring, wasn’t there?””””””
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The writer’s frustration is similar to the frustration of our scholar SM, where SM cannot talk big stories in CT today.
If people lived with the ground realities about everyone; we would not have become what we are facing today:
The news says that the Minister of Justice has made a big mistake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQh-Bh80jE
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Ajith / January 14, 2025
“We all want this government to succeed; “
It is absolutely right to expect that not only this government also the country to succeed. In a democratic country we cannot expect that this government will succeed in every aspect within this period of five years but need to make the foundations necessary to succeed in the future. The whole country backed this government because they promised again and again that there will be no place for racism during their government. If they are really believed that the racism is the fundamental for the failure of the past 76 years which allowed the political culture, they should bring the laws and make the changes that cannot allow any incoming governments in the future. In other words, July 1983 or May 2009 should not happen ever in this land. So, this government should start to make the foundations for a new constitution that is acceptable to all citizens, all communities, all religions and devolution of power in a united country.
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SJ / January 14, 2025
What about the last weeks of October 1990, 13 May 2019 and several more?
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Ajith / January 15, 2025
SJ,
Your best investigation of the year 2025 starts with protecting massacres of your brotherhood Buddhists using Muslims. But you tell what happened to Muslims by your brotherhood Buddhists since 2009. Easter Bomb by which brotherhood.
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SJ / January 16, 2025
I only complemented your carefully trimmed narrative.
Do the little details blow your cover to reveal your stripes?
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SJ / January 16, 2025
“your carefully trimmed narrative” should really be “your craftily trimmed narrative”
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Cicero / January 14, 2025
There were clear promises made. 1. Eradicate corruption an element of which was accountability in the miscreants. There has been little progress though the public knows who the culprits are. Has an accommodation been made? 2. Solve the economic problem. Despite rhetoric against the IMF, the same solution that Ranil employed continues. There is no talk about the retention of benefits for the poor or other safety nets. This is troublesome. Left as is, the economy seems to be doing okay, which is a plus for Ranil as he can say his solutions are working now.. 3. Solving the ethnic problem. The ethnic problem is connected to the economy. It would be foolish to think there is no connection. It was the civil war and narrow nationalism of education in Sinhala that continues to keep the country back. It means that we have a workforce without access to knowledge in modern technology. We have to ditch chauvinistic nationalism for good.. One test of that is solving the ethnic issue and restoring the significance of English. On this, no steps have been taken. Progress towards system change has been slow. We must wait patiently for some more time before making judgments. But, the old order waits in the wings to make a come-back.
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Douglas / January 14, 2025
It is not “Too Early To Assess” the early signs of failure. The writer says (in this article) that the changes that should have been made to the “Bureaucratic Machinery” have been postponed. Yes. That is the early sign of a failure.
Take for example the Police. The Police Force is the closest Government Machinery to the people. It has been a thorn in the eyes of the public for a long long period. What changes have been brought to streamline this Institution for the last 100-odd days by the NPP Government? Even the minor transfers and changes in assignments that the same old culprits have effected have proved unsuccessful. Look at what they did to the “Clean Sri Lanka” program. The police action tarnished the whole of its purpose and image and killed it at its birth. Now the people have taken it as a “Big Joke” and show disgust towards the NPP Government. I am convinced that the Police did take that step purposely and followed a “Hidden Agenda”.
The effect of this “Disgust” shown by the people is now beginning to emerge in the election defeats of NPP of so many “Co-operative Societies”. Mark my words, the next “Earth Quake” for NPP will be the results of the Local Government elections that are scheduled to be held in a month or two.
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Naman / January 15, 2025
February 4 th is coming soon. Hope that there is no military strength shows on the Independence day. and expenses kept to a minimum. It is a day to release the political prisoners and those who had committed minor offences. The Public are still waiting for the NPP government to go after those who brought the economy down and those behind heinous murders.
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Douglas / January 15, 2025
Naman: Yes. Still, the Government has to go after the people who brought down the economy.
Of those people, there were (1) Mahinda Rajapakse, Basil Rajapakse, Gotabaya Rajapakse, Ajit Nivad Cabral, Prof. Lakshman, and four of the Central Bank (members of the Monetary Board) found “GUILTY” for “Bringing Down the Economy” (that is a crime against humanity) by the Supreme Courts.
Why can’t this Government bring a “Motion” in Parliament to withdraw their Civic Rights and get it approved? Let us see how the Opposition would support such a proposal. We await to see the NPP Government do the “Walk The Talk”.
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nimal fernando / January 15, 2025
To hell with all the scarcity crap ……. if they don’t have rice let them eat cake.
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Here’s where the game is at ……….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9Ul6pfPt0
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Douglas / January 15, 2025
Dear n.f. Thanks for the link.
The Minister of Industries Sunil Handunnetthi visited this production unit and promised Government assistance.
This should not be limited to a raid show, but actively pursued to establish this industry.
Now the Ministry of Education must develop a course of studies that educates and licenses the qualified to engage in this and various other industries. A high level of recognition must be given to such education and training.
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nimal fernando / January 15, 2025
Why Sinhala_Man has fallen silent ……. he’s at it again; racing …….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT7j3wPsxLw …….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56yGGEiSAgM
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Douglas / January 16, 2025
Dear n.f. My mind went back to saying something of the design of this “Vega” car, your link provided.
We need to advise the “Designer” of this vehicle. The Sri Lankans must first strive to cater to the demand. What is the demand? A “Sedan” like a Toyota Corolla or Honda Swift. That is what India did in introducing the first car—the Hindustan Ambassador.
In the “80s,” I visited the GM factory in Detroit. At one end of the entry to the main entrance, there was a car mounted on a platform. The car was named “Saturn”, and looked like a replica of the Toyota – Corolla. On the platform, the name of the designer was inscribed. I was surprised to read the name – ROHAN SAPARAMADU – a Sri Lankan. Later, I came to know he worked in China and India and is now retired living in Michigan, USA.
Shouldn’t Sri Lanka search for these men and invite them to S/L?
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hanchopancha / January 15, 2025
Undoubtedly, naive electorate shot itself in the foot by giving a landslide win for AKD/NPP.
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whywhy / January 15, 2025
” Too early to Assess , Too Late for Regrets . ” First thing , I didn’t go through the
whole article . I stick to the heading . N P P is the name that stood for elections .
That is because J V P will not win elections in the country . Voter must have
seen this a Trap . A formerly armed group changing to ballots must have been
seen by the voter as a Hook or Crook strategy . The voter was easily deceived .
The J V P knew , votes in our country sell at any price . They too offered a price
and the hungry , greedy and jealous voter went for a ride with the new broomstick
that usually sweeps better for a few days . Top priority of the president was not
solving any of the national issues but consolidating power by dissolving the
parliament . For other issues , pocket is empty . This is exactly what they talked in
parliament day and night to get their public image elevated . Why empty pocket and
we know how to fill it . Before the elections , they went round the West to hoodwink
the poor Silva , and after the election , now they go round the East , again to hoodwink
the same Silva . Oy Silva , Oy , Oy you will never have a car man .
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