By Rajiva Wijesinha –
Enemies of the President’s Promise Chapter 2
Happy Part 1
During the conflict period, relations with India had been handled not by the Foreign Ministry, but by three trusted confidantes of the President. These were his Secretary, Lalith Weeratunge, and two of his brothers, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa. These two, both younger than the President, were neither of them Ministers at the time (as opposed to the oldest brother, Chamal, who was a long standing member of Parliament and a senior Minister). It was the two younger brothers however who were considered the most powerful members of the government. Gotabaya was virtually a Minister in fact, since he was Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, with the President being the Minister, and leaving most of its running to him.
Basil at the time was a Member of Parliament, but his executive responsibilities were informal, arising from his chairing the Task Forces that were responsible for reconstruction of the East (which had been retaken from the Tigers fully by 2007) and later of the North. He was an extremely hard worker, and had managed, well before the Tigers were destroyed, to have succeeded in bringing life in the East back to relative normality. His technique had been massive infrastructural development, and the connectivity that was restored to the East had enabled its full involvement in the economic life of the country.
Late in 2008 he was appointed to chair what was termed a Presidential Task Force for the North. This was expected initially to make arrangements for the care of the internally displaced, most of whom were being held hostage by the Tigers at that time. Over the next six months they were driven into more and more restricted areas in terms of the Tiger strategy of using them as a human shield. This made the task of the military extremely difficult, but in the end, when the Tigers were destroyed, nearly 300,000 civilians were rescued, and taken to what were termed Welfare Centres.
Though there were complaints at the time about conditions in the camps, they were comparatively speaking much better than the lot of most displaced persons in such conflicts. Health services were excellent, and within a few days mortality figures had stabilized. Food supply and distribution was competently handled, and soon enough educational services too were made available.
Still, there had been much confusion initially, and this contributed to the feeling that government had been callous. More serious was the charge that government had wanted to keep the displaced in what were termed internment camps, and did not wish them to be resettled soon in their original places of residence.
Changing the demography of the North may have been the plan of a few people in government, and in particular the Army Commander, who had wanted to increase the size of the army when the war ended, probably because of a belief that Israeli type settlements were the best way of preventing future agitation. But this was certainly not the view of the President, who from the start urged swift resettlement, and hoped that the fertile land of the North would soon provide excellent harvests. And Basil Rajapaksa certainly wished to expedite resettlement, as I found when I once wrote to him suggesting that this was proceeding too slowly.
This was in August 2009, three months after the conclusion of the war, and he called me up and sounded extremely indignant. He declared that he had said he would perform the bulk of resettlement in six months, and he intended to do this, give or take a month or two. He had done a similar task in the East, and I should remember that a commitment of six months did not mean half in three. In fact he started the resettlement soon after, though there was a hiccup, in that many of those sent away from the main Welfare Centre at Manik Farm in Vavuniya were then held in Centres in the District Capitals through which they had to transit.
I was in Geneva at the time, at the September 2009 session of the Human Rights Council, and for a moment I wondered whether the allegations that were being flung around, that we had started the Resettlement to pull the wool over the eyes of the Council, were true. Basil it turned out was nowhere to be found, a practice he often engaged in when upset, going back to the United States where he had been settled when his brother was elected President.
However Jeevan Thiagarajah, head of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, that had worked very positively with the government, went up to Jaffna to check, and informed me that the Special Forces Commanders in the Districts had been asked to subject those being resettled to another security check. But they assured him that they proposed to do this very cursorily, and would send them to their places of habitation within a day or two. What was left unsaid was who had ordered the second check, but I assumed this was Sarath Fonseka, in pursuit of his own agenda – and this was confirmed by the irritation he was later to express in writing to the President, about the Resettlement programme going ahead more quickly than he had advised. Basil, I realized, had felt frustrated, and gone away, but his intentions were carried out by the generals in the field, who were on the whole much more enlightened than Fonseka.
Basil then came back, and did a great job about swift resettlement. But, despite his efficiency, and his sincerity, there was a sense in which his original plans had contributed to the belief that the Welfare Centres, as he termed them, were indeed meant to be Internment Camps. The problem was that, when towards the end of 2008 he began to make plans, he engaged in what was common practice with him, namely a grandiose building programme which had several purposes. He unveiled proposals for massive constructions, which included schools and places of worship and hospitals. In addition to the assistance he hoped to get to fund all this, I believe he also thought it would be an opportunity to build some lasting structures for the area.
I was Secretary at the time to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, which had the task of coordinating aid programmes for the displaced. The Ministry was therefore initially involved in meetings with donors, and I was present when the blueprints were presented, to general incredulity. What was also clear was that Basil had not thought things through properly, because when he spoke about these at the next meeting of the Coordinating Committee for Humanitarian Assistance, which my Minister chaired, the pictures he used to illustrate the plans were taken from a booklet that my office had prepared. This was about a fairly limited project we implemented called Confidence Building and Stabilization Measures, and had involved some excellent work by the staff we had hired to build up agriculture in the very small camps that were in place for the few who had managed to escape the Tigers. But to have replicated this on the scale Basil envisaged would have been impossible.
A few months then were spent in Cloud Cuckoo Land, while the more critical agencies used the grandiose plans to suggest that we wanted to keep the displaced incarcerated for a long time. Work on preparing shelters in Manik Farm, the site near Vavuniya that had been selected to house the displaced, proceeded slowly, in part perhaps because government had no idea about the numbers still held by the Tigers. While it is possible that government deliberately used low figures, the general impression I had was that they thought the figures that were claimed were exaggerated, given the Tiger propensity to use rations sent for the displaced for their own purposes.
When then in April well over 100,000 persons escaped, government was at a loss. It was only the hasty appointment of the then Chief of Staff of the Army, General Chandrasiri, as the Competent Authority, that saved the day. Indefatigably energetic, he made sure that land was cleared swiftly, while UNHCR managed to find a large number of appalling but serviceable tents, and soon enough everyone was housed. These escapees were in better physical condition than those who got away at the very end, so that well before the war ended, on May 19th, they were in reasonable condition in Manik Farm. Initially they had been kept in schools in Vavuniya while four more zones were set up at Manik Farm, only two having been prepared in the first third of the year.
Basil by then had lost interest in improving services at Manik Farm, and had embarked on the massive reconstruction programme in the North that he thought the best way of ensuring prosperity and winning hearts and minds. He was also assiduously building up his own image, and the first victim of this was the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, which had previously coordinated humanitarian assistance. We had a lot of experience in this, as well as understanding of the various national and international agencies involved, but this meant nothing to Basil, who was never happy working with anyone else of similar stature. When we tried as previously to plan for assistance, I received a very summary note from the Secretary to the Task Force basically telling our Ministry to get lost.
Basil’s monopolistic control of resettlement and reconstruction in the North occupied much of his time over the next four years. But perhaps this was not enough, since he was determined to do it all himself, and did not plan comprehensively. In some aspects certainly he did a great job. The North ended up with better roads and more electricity than it had ever had, and compared very favourably with the rest of the country. But he had no idea at all about developing human resources and, as the results of the Northern Province election held in September 2013 showed, his one dimensional efforts were not enough. Clearly the government had failed to win hearts and minds, and instead what was apparent was deep resentment on the part of the Tamils, those who had been resettled as well as the others.
This was understandable and, in formulating a National Reconciliation Policy, what should have been done instead was spelled out by those of us from different ethnic groups and political and non-political backgrounds who had come together in my office. This was after I had been appointed Adviser on Reconciliation to the President, though it soon became clear that he was not interested in my advice, if indeed it got through to him. But the manner in which the group had come together in itself indicated why the way government was proceeding was bound to fail.
The initiative had sprung from a seminar the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies had arranged on Reconciliation, given that the TNA, the main Tamil political party, had not attended a seminar on Reconciliation held at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies. The most articulate of the TNA Members of Parliament, Mr Sumanthiran, explained that he did not think it made sense for them to attend an event at which they had not been asked to present their point of view.
This made sense, so we thought there should be an opportunity for them to do this, and the seminar provided this. In discussion it was suggested that a formal policy be developed, which is what we did. Sadly I had no response from the President when we sent it in, and I realized after some time spent in knocking my head against that particular brick wall that the Sri Lankan establishment was frightened of conceptualization and clear objectives.
senaka de Z. Sirwardena / October 30, 2014
More than anything else, it’s time to think about the loss lives and the carnage happened at Halldummulla, Koslanda, Miriyabedda areas and the victims. Our thoughts must go our to them and their families to share the shock and the grief. Also must find out what we can do to make them feel comfortable and calm.
I thank you
Senaka
@SenakaDeS
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JULAMPITIYE AMARAYA / October 30, 2014
DON’T You all think, this is an another Puswedilla from the Ma Ra ya Jarapassa Doctrine???????.
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Jayantha / October 31, 2014
Other than a “Puswedilla” from the “Game Baiya” clan what else could you expect from them in Haldamulla. We saw what happened during and after Tsunami. Same with re-settlment process after end of a long war. No difference in Haldamulla.
The bottom line is there is no emergency rescue, evacuation and rehabilitation plan in place.
In Haldamulla true Sri Lankan living conditions were exposed to the world although ruling elite talk about high living standards of it’s citizens.
First it was North and now in upcountry.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2014
“We saw what happened during and after Tsunami. Same with re-settlement process after end of a long war. No difference in Haldamulla.”
You writing this. One with in the Sinhala Intellectuals. our C.J.Silva said additional stories about the Tsunami Funds and the King. Today’s news revels that UNHRC has accused the goverment that there is no progress after the war. OHCHR is investigating what happened before and after the war. Professor Wijeyasina did not want to go the investigation and tell these lies there. Neither Dayan did that too. To whom these Sinhala Intellectuals writing these? To cheat more the Sinhala Buddhists? Which part will these go into the years of Tamils is out of question. It wouldn’t have reach even near to the year drum.
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Fathima Fukushima / October 31, 2014
There is NO carnage there.
Stop spreading lies.
It is only Rajafucksa’s political stunt.
There are real important issues.
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ela kolla / October 31, 2014
Fathima Darling
Tell them my lady in no uncertain language that the only carnage we have in Sri Lanka is the killing of Tamils and Muslims who deserve to be killed.
Although we have a bigger carnage in the Islamic States that is a family quarrel brother killing brother which is allowed under Islamic Law.
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mike / October 31, 2014
How come you took the name of “ela kolla”. The original ELUWA (a.k.a. ela kolla) is in a “institution” undergoing specialized medical attention.Most of Eluwa’s comments are edited out! Since you parade yourself as a RACIST, I suspect that you are ELUWA in disguise??
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Dev / October 30, 2014
Why don’t we make the president a saint and get this nonsense over & done with once and for all?
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Nawaz Dawood / October 31, 2014
Rajapaksa cannot be made a saint because he is still living. But why don’t we make JRJ, Lalith and Gamini saints for creating this lovely peace of constitution which is now opposed by the very creators for political favours.
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Stanley Perera / October 30, 2014
Holly mother..all that previous diatribe was only Chapter 1..better hurry up Rajiva by the time you are done with all seven chapters you will no longer even be a MP
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Spring Koha / October 30, 2014
Mirabile dictu!
Here, in two thousand words, Professori regales us with tales of derring-do, lies, deception and obfuscation. Throughout all this our Professori emerges, a knight in shining armour. The Oscar Schindler of the Tamils? Our last defence against vacillating politicians and egregious generals.
All these ‘stories’ would impress a Martian who has made a serendipitous landing on salubrious Horton Plains. Alas, for us mortals, the memory of our vulpine professori mouthing lies on behalf of the evil regime are indelible.
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Samudra / October 30, 2014
Gleefully glued to the enormous power, MR now faced with a state of mind where he could not think of life without supreme power. One day he sought advice from his soul reader with a view to remain in power as he pleased. Having listened to the plight of the poor leader the soul reader offered him with some strange clothing, which was invincible to average but to be seen by people with knowledge, WISDOM and insight. MR was advised to wear the god blessed clothing and appear before the soul reader to be sanctified with everlasting power unassailable to any of his adversaries.
When offered these clothing MR did see nothing but he did not want to show that he was a fool but a learned man with wisdom so he accepted the clothing in both hands from the soul reader, which he had no feeling at all. Then he reached his dressing room, removed all clothing and wore the new attire that was invincible to him as well and then appeared before the soul reader to receive the blessing with unassailable power to remain in the helm.
Having blessed by the soul reader, first he appeared before his Jumbo Cabinet of Ministers showing off of his new dress, which he said was only visible to learned people with knowledge and Wisdom.
The first man who was pleased about the leader’s new attire was the most learned Professor in Law who held the foreign affairs portfolio. He keeled down before the leader and expressed his dismay about the ‘priceless’ new attire, followed by all other Ministers.
Thereafter, MR call for a news conference at the Temple Trees attended by journalists of all leading media institutions. One Journalist attended the said conference with his you daughter. Having seen MR’s nudity she could not stop laughing. MR noticed this strange behaviour of the young child and asked her why she was laughing sarcastically, and the young child could not stop offer spontaneous response and said politely that it is shameful for the leader to appear in public displaying his private parts.
MR immediately realised the truth and he was extremely incensed and furious about the sheer speechless behaviour of his learned cabinet ministers none of whom had audacity to speak the truth. And he was never seen in public again.
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Sirisena / October 30, 2014
And Dr Rajiva YOU continue to enjoy all the perks/privileges of a Member of Parliament of the Rajapakse Govt – What a clever hypocrite you are!
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Louise / October 30, 2014
I have met this Rajiva Wijesinha few times [Edited out]
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Spring Koha / October 31, 2014
Louise,
Message received.
The [Edited out] says more than you ever could. (In print anyway.)
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / October 30, 2014
Prof. Rajiva,
You are rendering a great service to this country by exposing the rot, rottenness, ineptitude and myopia within this government, though constrained considerations of decorum and civilized language. You are a fish made by circumstances to swim in and draw oxygen from a cesspit. The circumstances were no know the ‘Possibilities and hope’ MR at one point in time projected. He has hoodwinked our country, as never before.
Thanks.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Dev / October 30, 2014
Care to shed some light as to why having realized the cesspit he is in, he is yet to resign and RELINQUISH HIS MP PERKS? These perks are probably manifold being part and parcel of this regime.
He is NOT an elected MP, so he is under NO obligation to remain within, since he has no general public who elected him to serve/answer to.
(The same reason it is wrong having been elected from one party to switch to another for personal gain).
You being Tamil would know well the proverb,
“rocking the cradle and pinching the baby”
This is Rajiva Wijesinga !!
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Rajasingham Jayadevan / October 31, 2014
Quote: ‘But he (Basil) had no idea at all about developing human resources and, as the results of the Northern Province election held in September 2013 showed, his one dimensional efforts were not enough.’
Without a broader reconciliation process that could lead to an acceptable political resolution to the conflict, any single minded glorifying effort will not create the conducive climate for the Tamils or even for Sri Lanka.
My late paternal uncle C Gunasingham who was in the diplomatic service and served both Presidents JR and Premadasa used to say exactly what Rajapakse bros. are doing now. This vote winning effort will not change the psyche of the Tamil man.
Even after leaving Sri Lanka more than 30 years ago comforts, wealth or peace of mind in west did not change my feeling of the expatriate Tamils. If at all, they should have been the first to support the economic programme of the government. The Tamils are so detached and the Machiavellian efforts of any government will not win the hearts of the Tamils.
The President visiting the north recently said:
‘I will give you more and more’ — What has he given since? Defence Ministry approval for the Non Resident Tamils and the drivers taking them to the north is the latest humiliation.
‘I want to see you progress’ — When elected Provincial administration is curtailed and the govt. playing balls with the Douglas manipulating District Council agenda to undermine stakeholder participation with the involvement of heavy army presence in the North?
‘I want to see your children progressing’ — With the heavy army and paramilitary involvement in the affairs of the schools and the Jaffna university?
‘ I want to see your region seeing progress’ — With the heavy curtailment of civil society participation and without the involvement of the duly elected Provincial Council?
‘I want to see good future must evolving for you’ — Under the authoritarian rule that is substituting the control of the LTTE how can good future evolve?
what Sri Lanka needs is a massive surgery and treatment with pain killers.
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Spring Koha / October 31, 2014
Rajasingham Jayadevan:
Even after leaving…….did not change my feeling of the expatriate Tamils. If at all, they should have been the first to support the economic programme of the government. The Tamils are so detached and the Machiavellian efforts of any government will not win the hearts of the Tamils. ………..
I am NOT surprised in the least that none of our Tamil brethren could and would support any of the devious governments that have been ‘elected’ into power since 1956. From then on, every government pandered to the lowest common denominator of the Sinhala-Buddhist electorate, all the time looking over their shoulders to ensure approval from the Mahanayake’s. The welfare and well being of the others were secondary, if at all, and the quality of our political leaders has been on a ever-decreasing downward spiral. Are we at the bottom of the barrel? That is a question that WE the people need to answer. But don’t hold your breath.
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Abhaya / October 31, 2014
Mr Jayadevan .
I think you are misrepresenting the facts. the only ones banned are foreigners but Sri Lankan orn expats . I tested this out my self a few days ago , I was clearly told there was no need for me to get MOD approval at Omantahai .
the Average Tamils see a lot of the benifit of what is happenning in the north. gleaming new rail stations , New roads . New houses . than none of the people in the border villages reaped .
there are sentry points from Kilinochchi to Elephant pass . but there is no overt military presence any where else in jaffna . The average citizens life is a lot better today than a few years ago .
I was thee so dont lie to me .
Cheers
Abhaya
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Spring Koha / November 1, 2014
Abhaya,
I too, recently, have been up and down the A9 and on all the roads leading off it. Several times! I too have seen the NEW roads, NEW houses, NEW railway stations, NEW bus stops/stations. Yes, there a lots of smiling men AND women cycling about on the NEW roads and everything is all hunky-dory, or is it?
I was also privileged and humbled to be a guest in many homes and sit with people on their veranda’s and in their parlours and hear disturbing stories that saddened me. An evil group may have been defeated but that is not the end of the story.
There can be NO beginning until there is RECONCILIATION, RESTITUTION and JUSTICE. And closure for those who have lost loved ones.
This must come, NOT only from our Government but from ALL Sri Lankans.
Life is not just about NEW things but about living in peace and dignity with your neighbours and fellow citizens.
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Abhaya / November 1, 2014
koha
You are an idiot an a joke .
reconciliation , really do you offer it to sinhala villagers who were massacred Really . Justice yes really . For what for starting war that killed hundreds of thousands . and really restitution , for what . for being willing hostages and getting killed in the crossfire .
idiot . did you see the plight of the border villages from maho to vavunia ? These are the people who bore the brunt of the daily raids and killings of your great LTTE . They are still destitute as they were before. there are no NGOs indian govt Srilankan Govt helping these unfortunates .
The Military should never pull back from the north. another insurgency will not be far away if they do . They are in our country . they are in the north the south and the center . who cares .
Also how about the TNA thugs and liers telling bold faced lies about the travel restrictions ? no one bothers to correct them . Not you of all people .
Shame on you and your type . liers cheats who believe in the means to your end .
You are no different that Praba , Or Hitler . or the british colonials . Shameful morons
Cheers
Abhaya
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Spring Koha / November 1, 2014
Abhaya
I go back to long before the war that, according to you, killed ‘hundreds of thousands’.
I remember the days immediately after WE said goodbye to the last suddha and took matters into OUR own hands.
I saw first the unseemly scrum among our shameless, ruthless, nationalistic politicians as they outdid each other to win the Sinhala-Buddhist vote. The first winner was the odious SWRD (scion of a family that sucked up to the British, full-time) with his promise of overnight Swabasha.
I remember the shameless goading and taunting of our Tamil community by the ‘apay aanduwa’ scum.
I saw the disgraceful events of 1958 with MY own eyes; and the MANY similar afterwards. I was a witness as to how our government(s) watched without lifting a finger to intervene. Instead, they looked for opportunities to score points.
I watched aghast when the JVP created mayhem in the country sapping the energies of our security services that had to fight on two fronts. That was a great help to the LTTE as they established themselves.
I saw the final and sad descent of the Tamil community to de facto succumbing to someone NOT qualified to lead them, and then, the inevitable outcome – poor VP, couldn’t do maths and never could appreciate that one day his band of merry men, women and children will be OUTNUMBERED.
I witnessed the leadership of Rajapakse as he found the political will to end the war. Once that was in place, the LTTE goose was well and truly cooked.
I waited in vain for the regeneration of a country fit for heroes and decent people. Instead I live on to see a nightmare of crony’s, thugs and sycophants running riot and fucking-up the lives of ordinary decent people. A country with haphazard application of law and order and selective dispensing of justice. Too many decent people who get half a chance, leave the country to seek their fortunes.
The peace dividend has been delayed for our ordinary people. Far too many women are having to go abroad and slave for Arabs and others in order to keep food on the table at home (and let their men enjoy the bottle and ganja spliff and their innocent chilren.)
So, Abhaya, you must have been a speck in your fathers’ testes during all those miserable years that preceded the war, which accounts for you missing that bit of the story. What horrible luck for us that you came along to shame our tribe.
What to do!
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Abhaya / November 2, 2014
Koha
Either you are Hundred years old are a complete liar . I suspect the latter .
And how did you expect the peace dividend ? in handouts . I see a country which is developing . lots of people making big money . Doing fine . Some are struggling . but this is always the case unless you have communism . I am sure there is corruption . but when have I known a Sri Lanka without . I see no beggars and homeless as I see all over Obamas America .
Is there a lot done , Yes . is there a lot to be done , For sure . That is why we need some doers . Like Gota , and Basil . Sri Lanka is on the move . and not to where you are thinking .
And by the way , back to the discussion before you took it away as your type usually do . I think the north has an unprecedented opportunity. and the people can see it . It will be unfortunate if their politicians blow it ( as the old CJ seems to be doing ) That would be their loss.
Cheers
Abhaya
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justice / October 31, 2014
The last sentence shows the state of affairs in the government.
Nothing happens, unless the maharaja benefits from whatever is proposed by any think-tank.
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Lasantha / October 31, 2014
Prof. Rajiva.
I think it’s more appropriate to call them “The Three Blind Mice” than to call “Seven Dwarfs”.
Blind mice do not see the real world how much ever you explain or advise them.
I wonder who guides these Three blind mice, except them rejecting all the good advises given to them by You, Dayan, Tamara and other educated and qualified professionals. May be the Astrologers guide them, but it’s going no where except towards anarchy.
Better Prof.Rajiva, Ms.Tamara, Dr. Dayan, Dr.Chris Nonis etc, write and share their own experiences they had with the three blind mice, and to at least educate the next generation of politicos and us CT readers.
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Kumar R. / October 31, 2014
Rajiva,
You say that at the tail end of the war “Over the next six months they were driven into more and more restricted areas in terms of the Tiger strategy of using them as a human shield. This made the task of the military extremely difficult, but in the end, when the Tigers were destroyed, nearly 300,000 civilians were rescued, and taken to what were termed Welfare Centers. Though there were complaints at the time about conditions in the camps, they were comparatively speaking much better than the lot of most displaced persons in such conflicts. Health services were excellent, and within a few days mortality figures had stabilized. Food supply and distribution was competently handled, and soon enough educational services too were made available.”
With such positive, caring and creditable Governmental actions and follow-throughs that you are so confident happened, why was it that Dayan and you saw the need to block the independent investigations?
Had you instead encouraged and facilitated the investigation, don’t you think that is precisely what the investigators would have found – that the Government acted as fairly as possible under the circumstances – and it was indeed the LTTE that deserves to be faulted?! Why did you block the vote? What exactly were you educated guys afraid of? What did you gain by blocking the investigation?
Don’t you think that if you had not blocked the investigation, that would have avoided all this five-year long on-going and worsenning fiascos – right?
So, again I ask you – what is it that Dayan saved the nation from by blocking the vote? How come you have difficulty addressing that question?
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loku tena / October 31, 2014
Look whose calling the Rajapakse family dwarfs! A midget himself.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / October 31, 2014
‘The midget on the throne and the seven dwarf courtiers’ would have been an apt title. All are burning with ambition to prove they are giants in intellect and ability, despite their collective inferiority complex and absolute lack of ethics.
Dev,
A fish in a cesspit cannot get out on its own, only a flood can give it a chance to escape and find a cleaner body of water. This is the plight of many in the cesspool that is our government. I hope the on-coming elections will be the flood we need.
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
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Dev / October 31, 2014
People like Dayan/Tamara/Rajiva will simply switch sides if the “other” side comes to power.
Dayan is already making noises to that effect.
There is even talk of Nonis doing the same. Nonis was no saint, he was using his position at the HC in London to promote his tea business and also (long before Sajin affair) was reprimanded by the foreign ministry too.
Only a few weeks ago Rajiva let it slip the behaviour Dayan showed towards Rohitha Bogollagama (FM and his boss) while at UNHCR. He did not even show respect towards the FM while at UNHCR !
Do we want characters in the “new” government ? Will it not simply be the old wine in new bottle?
I personally think its easier to deal with Mahinda, yes he is a dirty politician but at least when we go in, we know we are entering the devil’s house and can be prepared.
Dayan/Tamara/Rajiva, well they are worse than that. Rats that switch ships when one sinks, then continue to eat and be merry in the next……
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Saman / October 31, 2014
Dev,
I doubt on your last sentence…..”Dayan/Takara/Rajiva, well they are worse than that. Rats that switch ships when one sinks………”
What my guess is all three of them were scared of Hambanthota water buffalo whose only mantra is “Guti kemata niyamithai” if they opened their mouths, until their colleague Chris Nonis got the slap in the face and kick in the Butt in NY.
You also remember what happened to Lasantha, Prageeth and Fredrica Jansz……..So the trio were feared of canines. Remember white vans and motor bike riders. After all they have a family to take care.
At least now the three could talk and write openly on their own experiences, since their mate Chris Nonis matter has gone International and JVP doing investigations on “Genevagate”.
There could be many more surprising news in coming weeks.
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Dev / October 31, 2014
Well Dayan was there with Premadasa a dark period in this countries history , especially for democracy and human rights in the late 80s……now with Mahinda ….another dark period in history, especially for democracy and human rights…. coincidence ???
I think NOT !!!
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kali / October 31, 2014
Prof:
It is beginning to get a bit boring. Next time make it a bit more interesting by changing the title to ” RAJAPASKSA and the 40 THIEVES.
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Ramesh / November 2, 2014
This prof is an…..
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