By Sharmini Serasinghe –

Sharmini Serasinghe

When Maithripala Sirisena addressed the nation in 2015 after being sworn in as the Executive President of Sri Lanka with 6.25 million of us having voted for the man – a political nonentity – we did so with the sole purpose of getting rid of his megalomaniacal predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his corrupt-to-the-core regime, he said, “This country needs a Chief Servant (himself) and not a King (his predecessor)”.

Well, look what our “Chief Servant”, Sirisena has done! 

He did a volte-face on his fancy utterances, donned the crown, elevated himself to the status of a dictatorial king, forgot all about being our “Chief Servant”, stabbed us all in our backs and continues to call the shots.

What a disastrous “Chief Servant” he has proved to be! The man should be reminded that he is STILL an ’employee/servant’ of ours – the citizens of Sri Lanka – his ’employers’, who pay his salary and foot the bills for all the perks and luxuries he and his family enjoy.  

Instead of keeping our ‘house’ in order, he has crapped on it, and on our Constitution and stabbed us in our backs – his employers – who gave him the job by voting for him, by stealthily bringing through the backdoor the enemy, the very lowlifes we wanted to be rid of – the treacherous Rajapaksas and their cohorts – kicked aside the legitimate Prime Minster and government and installed the hijackers of our Parliament as our Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers. Who the hell gave him the authority to do that!

How does one respect this traitor and continue to regard him as the President of our country? I definitely do not!

‘Breach of Trust’ is a criminal offence and our self-proclaimed “Chief Servant”, Maithripala Sirisena is guilty of it! It is sine qua non that we be rid of him without further ado, before he causes further irreparable damage. The time has come for us to join hands and request him to quit with dignity or else, we have no option but twist his arm into doing so before he burns our ‘house’ down to cinders. Period!

The cost of damage he has caused by his political drama must eventually be borne by the 21 million of us Sri Lankans and our future generations, not just the 6.25 million who voted him in.

Besides the economic hardships we the citizens of Sri Lanka will eventually be forced to endure, he has also brought shame upon our country which was once regarded as the epitome of a Democratic country – a country which upheld all what Democracy stood for – but not anymore. We have today become the laughing stock of the world, thanks to our “Chief Servants” unforgivable treachery!

Sri Lanka is said to have the highest literacy rate in the South Asian region at 92% and overall, one of the highest in Asia. Literacy is not confined merely to the ability to read and write. Any fool can do that. Literacy also means integrity, courtesy, the ability to use one’s common sense and sound judgement to determine right from wrong, the lack of which has been proven over and over again by the gullible voting masses of this country. Literacy also means not allowing others with personal agendas viz. politicians to brainwash us into believing what they want us to believe for their own selfish ends, the lack of which, once again, has been proven over and over again by the gullible voting masses of this country.

Democracy is an institute each and every citizen of our country is duty bound to respect, and uphold, no matter who or what we are. We Sri Lankans have the moral right to live with dignity in our own country. This is our democratic right. It is our birth right. But, how many amongst our voting masses care two hoots for such rights or do they even know what they are? So much for a population with a 92% literacy rate!  

When self-serving treacherous politicians behave and regard our country as their personal backyard to do whatever they wish with it at will, with not a care for those of us who voted them into power, it becomes a problem of unimaginable proportions not only for us but for the future generations of Sri Lankans as well. By selfishly looking the other way at this crucial moment in time, we Sri Lankans are also creating an ugly legacy for our future generations. Is that what we want to leave for our children and grandchildren? Do we want them to curse us for being selfish, spineless, complacent cowards when our country needed us? Is that how we want them to remember us?

The worst is yet to come. If we the people of this country don’t unite and halt the chaos that undoubtedly will unfold before our very eyes it will be too late to halt it. 

Let not our self-serving politicians cast us aside as non-entities who matter only at the ballot. As citizens of Sri Lanka, we matter and our rights matter when it comes to defending our country against such traitors. As citizens of Sri Lanka, we also have every right to live in our motherland with dignity, in peace and in harmony with each other.

The time has come for each and every citizen of Sri Lanka, irrespective of social and professional status, to rise in peace and defend the sacred institution of Democracy in our country before it’s too late. It’s our right and moral duty as its citizens.