By W. Vishnu Gupta –

W. Vishnu Gupta

The Bed in the Parliament

There is no place for the STATE in the bedrooms of the politicians and also what is done in private between adults does not concerned the Criminal code, but if the politicians bring  their bed to the parliament or the legislature, the STATE should be alarmed and worried and perhaps the judiciary specifically the attorney general’s office needs to pay serious attention, because attorney general is paid by the STATE (by the people) to protect the legality and sanctity of the State institutions. The “Economynext” of December 9^th, 2022, reported “A mysterious luxury mattress said to have been paid for by a private company has found its way to the president’s office in the parliament complex, an opposition MP claimed, …”

Furthermore, Buddhika Pathirana MP told parliament on December 09, 2022, with his intention to table all receipts: “that on July 28, a week after President Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in, some “items” had been transported to the parliament complex “None of these items were purchased by parliament. A private company had paid for them.” 

The government MPs apparently have treated this complain nonchalantly, also the speaker have failed to pay serious attention to this matter and assured the STATE that the sanctity of the parliament will be protected and preserved always.

Outburst of an Emissary 

The admonition given by Mr.Cho Sung Lea, President of South Korea Disaster Relief Foundation (SKDRF) summarizes the calibre of government politicians and generally the quality of our politicians. Many parties interested in helping Sri Lanka, including the international emissaries, donor countries, IMF, ADB, UN, Chinese, Indian, Japanese officials would have watched the video going viral where Mr. Lea chastised the Sri Lankan officials. He said in the presence of Anupa Pasqual a leading member of Ranil’s coterie:

“When anyone engages in a job, he must be honest. When the boss is around the worker tends to be working but when he leaves, the worker starts to idle.

If the promises are not kept, I will not continue working with them said Lea. “What is a lie? When the meeting is at 9 a.m. and if the person concern arrives at 9.30 a.m., it’s a lie. He assured he will come and he did not and his assurance was a lie. Why should I meet a person like that? There is an English saying “don’t let a man who lies even build a toilet for you. “if someone lies the English people cut connections with him completely. If one cannot work properly even for a minute, he is done. In Sri Lanka, lying is like eating rice every day. Lying is common and a regular thing here. Despite my saying, it seems so simple to break promises for Sri Lankans. As Sri Lankans you should be ashamed to hear a foreigner saying this. It has become part of your tradition in Sri Lanka. This must change, and it is an important point. We must be honest and reasonable. If you have given a responsibly take it up and work on it 100 per cent. When a task is given to you, do it with responsibility. We must be accountable for the work we undertake. The point is that here no one takes the responsibility for the given task. The reason is you have managed to accept it as normal and reasonable. If I am given a task, I will sacrifice my life to complete it with honesty,” he added

Well said Mr.Lea, unlike other diplomats and emissaries visiting Sri Lanka, you are different and courageous. Thank you for not attempting to sugar-coat the unpleasant and corrupt political culture in Sri Lanka. It was a kick in the butt at the right time and at the right place. 

Suspected Psychopathic Desires 

Ashu Marasinghe, a close confidante of Ranil Suddenly has resigned from the post of Chief Presidential Advisor on parliamentary affairs with immediate effect according to the Media division of the President of Sri Lanka. Ashu has cited personal reasons for the resignation, but the press conference held by Hirunika a former UNP MP reveled to the entire world the details of the personal reasons of Ashu with the help of a woman claim to be the common law partner for nearly two years with graphic evidence. The disgusting psychopathic evidence presented by Hirunika, confirms that our politicians are nothing but a bunch of criminals including alleged murderers, common thieves, drug peddlers, money launderers, boot leggers and sexual deviants. If Hirunika’s claims are true, it confirms that Ranil prefers politicians with psychopathic tendencies as his advisors. Also, Sri Lankans must be reminded of the warnings of Maithree, former President about the existence of “Butterfly Club” led by Ranil during the “Yahapalanaya” period and the danger it pauses to our society. The purported behaviour of this politician is a serious matter, it is a rude wake-up call for all those who love Sri Lanka.

Causal link between corruption and poverty

The above recent events simply explain the reasons as to how temporarily elected governments and the politicians in general have ruined Sri Lanka’s economy while gratifying their psychopathic tendencies and paid very little attention to the dire needs of the people and hence the state and drew Sri Lanka into bankruptcy within seventy-four years. Mismanagement, corruption, ability to squander and loot of national assets and state funds are the basic traits of every failed government since 1950s, yet for some unexplained reasonings the citizens have not been able to free themselves from the grips of the corrupt oligarchs of the country. 

It is a forgone conclusion that, corruption and mismanagement impede the attainment of any development goals. The irony is all development projects including Mahaweli development were launched by corrupt politicians with two main hidden objectives; a) Improve or enhance the electability of the governing political party in the future elections b) Steal the funds allocated to development projects through several schemes including commissions for agreeing to sanction the project, specially if it is funded by a foreign country or by awarding various phases of the project to various unscrupulous subcontractors willing to fill the pockets of politicians responsible for the project. It is alleged that every politician has siphoned the funds allocated practically from every development project launched since 1950’s. It is alleged that Accelerated Mahaweli Project under JR made a few families filthy rich including several from the hill country. These dishonest politicians mainly from two oligarchies centered around UNP and SLFP+SLPP have deceived international donors, international monetary institutions, multi-lateral and bi-lateral signees with lofty development goals. It is unsurprising to those who know the vile Sri Lankan political culture; The prevailing economic crisis and the anarchical environment of the country is the result of seven decades of corruption and mismanagement. By now, the people should have realized that it is impossible to accomplish “a better and more sustainable future for all” under the present dishonest political leadership of newly formed alliance of the UNP and SLPP because both parties are led by individuals alleged to have committed economic crimes. The State’s aspirations and hence the people’s development goals often run counter to the interests of a few crooked politicians controlling the government. These heinous men and women always have derailed the development goals through many forms of corruption and have decapacitated the power of the state. They have implemented every possible move to diminish the State capacity by means of concocted constitutional reforms, appointment of political stooges to highest echelons of judiciary, security forces, state owned corporations and administrative services under the guise of strengthening democracy and economy of the country. The present economic crisis stands as the testimony to this grand conspiracy committed against the state by UNP and SLFP/SLPP. Failure to eradicate poverty, address hunger, secure good health care and high-quality education for the citizens, rampant human right violations, widening inequality, and so on are what politicians have given to the STATE. The UNHCR and the people struggling to extricate themselves under the banner of “Aragalaya”, from the branded UNP and SLPP banditti have amplified many times alleged economic crimes in Sri Lanka. Yet the politicians such as Ranil and Rajapaksas have been very successful in denying the charges levelled against them and duping the international community with the help of a flawed constitution, biased media houses, incompetent law and order institutions, corrupt administrative service, and equally repugnant legislators in the parliament.

Sometime back Yury Fedotov, Chief of UN Office on Drugs and Crime said; “Corruption is the thief of economic and social development; stealing the opportunities of ordinary people to progress and to prosper.” He was correct because there is a strong causal link between corruption and institutions that are ineffective, unaccountable, and exclusive. The corruption of every failed government and the leaders with psychopathic tendencies in Sri Lanka since 1950s have systematically stolen our birth rights, our national assets and above all they have ruined the chances of achieving prosperity within a foreseeable future.