By Vishwamithra –

“If you hang out with chickens, you’re going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you’re going to fly.” ~ Steve Maraboli

If President Ranil Wickremesinghe is serious about reestablishing democratic principles and the rule of law, he should do one thing. He should immediately take steps to introduce an Act, a Motion in Parliament that would enable the institution of a Parliamentary Commission, along the lines of the January 6 Commission in the United States of America; it’s essential to hold those who condemned our country to an abyss of economic and sociopolitical death accountable. Such a Commission would seek answers to many questions that are swirling around now and transparency and accountability would stand a fighting chance of survival. And Aragalaya will have met a meaningful goal and those who took part in that noble venture could be proud of their labor, both physical and spiritual.

How feasible would this kind of approach be in our current political crisis? How practical such a measure would be, given the current economic downfall? How far-reaching such a move would be and apart from the exhibitionistic aspects of such a commission hearing, how is the electorate going to react to such a transparent measure? How consequential would it be in the exposure of our political leaders? All these elements need to be addressed before such a ‘Commission’ is instituted. 

That is why we must look beyond the sensational aspect of such a ‘Commission’ and its hearings and findings. Once the hearings begin, the mass approach and mass interest might be very keen but would wane away once they reach run-of-the-mill meanderings of a politico-run hearing. Yet how is such a Commission equipped with the essential wherewithal in a real sense; whether such a Commission is embedded with inherent judicial powers; whether it would have the powers to punish those who are found guilty or could it even recommend for criminal hearings in the court system in the country after such findings; they are all questions craving answers.      

But the political advantages to the ones that advance the cause of such a Commission are enormous in that, the very optics of such a move could be seen on the very numbers of those who would pay attention to their television screens when the hearings begin to be telecast. The need is to create as much chaos within the superficial minds of those political leaders who think that political power is everything; that political power so invested by the people on such a temporary basis lives forever. They do not realize that, in a democracy, what was granted at the elections is a mere and unequivocally impermanent measure of faith by the people for a limited amount of time.

Mahinda, Gotabhaya and Basil cannot be allowed to go scot-free. Accountability to the teeth and toe is a must if our leaders have to be taught a lesson on abuse of power and subjecting the masses to excruciating hardships and adversities. If the Constitution blocks any judicial measures taken against the incumbent or former Presidents, there are only two options available for those who elected them to power on fake foundations of this Chintana and that Viyath Maga. A Parliamentary investigation, I suppose, sits outside the provisions of the Constitution and if such action is initiated by the current Opposition parliamentarians led by AKD, Sarath Fonseka, Champika or Sajith, then let the accused go to the Supreme Courts and challenge its validity. Challenging such a motion in the legal setup is no good optics for those who challenge it. What is necessary is to create an atmosphere of fear in the minds of those who committed the unpardonable crimes of corruption and thereby subjected the people to mindless suffering, pain and anguish.

In politics, especially in Parliamentary politics, a constant and unending agitation is a very powerful tool if the Opposition chooses to exercise such power. Being lethargic, uncreative and apathetic is a ready recipe for electoral defeat. Pursuit of power is a long and hard journey. One does not attain the seat of power by being lazy and engaged in a futile exercise of procrastination. The greatest example is what JR Jayewardene did from the day he became the leader of the United National Party (UNP). He engaged himself, his party-men and then the entire country in a teeming exercise of mass-opposition to the Sirimavo-led coalition government from 1973 to 1977.

JR was not a young man then; he was nearing seventy. Yet he managed to galvanize hundreds of thousands of people in the opposition against the inefficiencies of the then government and the results were ultimately sweet and enormous in every sense of the word. No political party (UNP as one single Party, not a coalition) has routed an incumbent governing party so decisively in any election, before or since 1977. When JR started his Satyagraha campaigns soon after he became the leader of the UNP (after Dudley Senanayake’s death) no voter or a potential voter thought in terms of capture of power the day after the campaign. What JR did was creating the context and atmosphere for such an electoral victory. It took almost five years but eventually a success was the result.

Today’s leaders, specifically Sajith Premadasa and his cohorts, are delusional about coming to power and their mad sprint seems to have come to a sudden halt as a result of their former leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is now occupying the highest seat in the land. Unfortunately for them, Ranil happens to be in a short honeymoon-orgy with their enemy, the Pohottuwa Gang. Severely let down by the crush of circumstances and betrayed by some of their own members, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), Sajith and his closest cohorts comprising of Eran Wickremaratne, Harsha de Silva, Nalin Bandara, except, of course, Sarath Fonseka and Patali Champika Ranawaka, do not seem to be possessing any skills of creativity and originality. Either they are completely incompetent or they simply do not seem to care about what’s waiting for them at the end of this disgraceful game of politicking played at the expense of the public at large.

Total lack of strategic planning and absence of clever execution of such a plan are the components of their current enterprise. Ultimately it comes down to their leader. In the wake of Dudley’s death, if the UNP’s leadership had gone to someone else other than JR, what could have been the fate of the UNP and for that matter, the rest of the country? Leadership in real flesh and blood, a massively relatable persona living, breathing and motivating the followers in moments of national crisis are not just characters one finds in fairy tales. They did and still do exist amongst us. Whether what happens after such a leaders come to power and what they do afterwards is not what I am writing about now. I am writing about the necessity of such a person or persons in flesh and blood given the current chaos and crisis.

One would neglect or disregard such an essential item, a driving force and a motivating trailblazer only at the peril of the organization that he or she is involved in. Mere being involved or engaged in the daily mundane activities of a political organization is no substitute for such a consequential leader. If Sajith, AKD or any other so-called leader, even whether Sarath Fonseka or Patali Champika, chooses to abdicate such a leadership role, then let that be. Get out of the arena and allow some young and raw person to come forward and lead a nation in distress. 

No solution to the current economic crisis is complete nor is it meaningfully consequential without a resolution to the country’s political, cultural and especially the ethnic stalemate. The second-class treatment meted out by our Sinhalese political leaders created Prabhakaran, who some have chosen to call a monster and a terrorist. Yet Prabhakaran rendered leadership to all Tamil people in the country, literally by hook or by crook. His instruments of power were the gun, the bomb and the suicide killers who rightly or wrongly believed in their cause. So were some of the JVP insurrectionists in ’71 and ’87 periods. Such blind and selfless motivation belongs to a select few, a select few whose ideals and the beliefs in those ideals surpass their selfish desires and ambitions.  

Fyodor Dostoevsky, in his classic Crime and Punishment writes as follows: “Human nature is not taken into account, it is excluded, it’s not supposed to exist! … They believe that a social system that has come out of some mathematical brain is going to organize all humanity at once and make it just and sinless in an instant, quicker than any living process!…The living soul demands life; the soul won’t obey the rules of mechanics.” Such rich and enshrined articulation may be limited to the greats such as Dostoevsky, yet the eternality of such sayings lasts beyond all memories of mankind. Are we fortunate to behold a man or woman with such eternal qualities?

The essential ingredient for a successful introspection and its resultant effect in the context of the current crisis we face is pure and total accountability; accountability without reservation, without any preconditions and without excuses but definitely with suitable and fitting punishment. Bring the Rajapaksa Gang and their cohorts before a Parliamentary Commission!

*The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com