28 March, 2024

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Waiting For The Government To Collapse; A Pipe Dream Of Political Scavengers

By Lankamithra

Some things you must always be unable to bear. Some things you must never stop refusing to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. No matter how young you are or how old you have got. Not for kudos and not for cash: your picture in the paper nor money in the back either. Just refuse to bear them.” ~William Faulkner

The official website of the President of Sri Lanka, reporting on a statement recently made by Maithripala Sirisena says thus: ‘even though some sections of the society entertain the thought that the present government would collapse today or tomorrow, he would not allow any room for it and he further stated that the Government will fulfill its duties and responsibilities within the appropriate time frame in accordance with the mandate of the people’. For a fantasy promoted by the defeated set of political vagabonds of the last regime, the collapse of the present administration remains just that, a fantasy, a pipe dream of huge magnitude- sometimes too sweet from which the dreamers refuse to wake up.

Power is a great aphrodisiac. Its lure is irresistible and amateurs blunder in its presence and blunder again and again, for without it, those who had it, once lost, look undressed and helpless. That is exactly how Basil Rajapaksa, who was once reckoned as the savior of Sri Lanka’s economy, behaved when he was the de facto second-in-command in the last regime. His fantasy collapsed overnight and when power departed from him, within forty eight hours of that monumental downfall of his pipe dream, he departed from the country and the people who gave him that power. The man was primarily responsible for the infamous impeachment of the then Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayke. When the Supreme Court led by the Chief Justice ruled that Basil’s pet project Divineguma could not be implemented as he wished, the corrective measure was not aimed at the project. Instead they pursued the Supreme Court and its Head who ruled that the contents of the Bill could not be put into effect as per the draft presented to the Court. Vengeance born out of indignity imposed by the Supreme Court’s decision was too strong for Basil to ignore. Hence, he managed to persuade his brother-President and his cohorts in Parliament to impeach the highest judicial officer in the country at the time.

Basil had too much at stake in the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, both personally and officially. He was dubbed the architect of the election victories in 2005 and 2010. He operated from the Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister. During the 2005 Presidential election Campaign, he actively worked for his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victory and became an advisor to the President. In 2007 he was appointed as a National List MP for the Sri Lankan parliament. When the 2010 parliamentary election was announced, Basil contested the Gampaha district at which he secured a resounding victory.

Prior to his entry into Parliament, Basil claims to have worked for the late Gamini Dissanayake when Dissanayake was the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Lands and Lands Development. However, according to a very trustworthy source close both to Gamini Dissanayake and the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, this claim is grossly exaggerated. According that source, the story is thus: in the early nineteen eighties, when the Ministry of Mahaweli Development was in full swing, Mahinda Rajapaksa had approached Gamini Dissanayake and solicited assistance for Basil to be gainfully employed someplace. Gamini had placed him under a major sub-contractor in Mahiyangana as a coordinating officer. He did not have any office in the Ministry nor did he have any official channel to Minister Gamini Dissanayake.

Contemporary history being distorted by those in power is one of the commonest practices in any society. That distorted history about Basil Rajapaksa apart, it is unmistakably palpable that his elongated ego has played a crucial role in the way he conducted himself whilst in power. He was operating between more than two offices. In the Presidential Secretariat itself, he had an office immediately next to that of President, large enough to entertain even a party of visiting diplomats. What follows such egoistic longings is personal avarice and greed for more and more comforts. Resorting to whatever means, both. legal and illegal, legitimate and illegitimate, right and wrong, ethical and unethical, moral and immoral, as was exhibited by the President’s brother who was responsible for a sizeable chunk of the country’s annual budgetary allocations, would ultimately entail unsavory results. A manifestation of such unsavory results was Basil’s departure from the country within 48 hours of the elections- according to reports of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s own account Basil had not kept him informed of this sudden departure to the sunny Los Angeles, USA.

Basil’s arrogance of power was further strengthened by his idiotic decision to return to the Island. No sooner than he landed on Sri Lankan soil in Katunayake, was he taken into custody by those who were seeking to find the truth about various allegations and accusations that were floating in the country about his disreputable business and official activities. Basil never doubted about his invincibility. A man who lived a life of a prince during his elder brother’s reign, a man who provided his henchmen, both domicile and overseas, with a free leash to earn and earn more at the expense of the meager resources of the government coffers, is today trekking to the hills of Hultsdorf every other month. The sad and melancholy image of Jaliya Wickramasuriya, a nephew of Basil, being escorted out of courts recently was an unwilling victim of that wicked enterprise dominated by Basil, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s younger brother.

These are the people who constitute the core of the Joint Opposition (JO) that is dreaming about a collapse of the current government. They are the ones who pump unlimited amount of cash and other resources to the JO to organize spectacular events such as rallies and protest marches. In effect, they are fighting to protect their investment. Apart from the former First Family, all other members of the JO have a deeply entrenched vested interest in distracting the masses from this central character of the former regime, corruption and nepotism. Not only do they realize that their investments are threatened, they also understand the mortal threat to their political future, if the present government continues to be in power. Collapse of the current administration is not only a sine qua non for these swindlers of political power, it is their forlorn hope.

‘Collapse of the current government’ mantra is a refrain that these charlatans recite every day. Without having any notion of how a democratically elected government could collapse, even though the government is made up of two most dominant and seemingly mutually exclusive political entities in the country, they are engaging in a fantasy-ride. No SLFP Cabinet Minister member in the current government is likely to quit from government unless and until such quitting could result in the fall of the government. In 1964, when C P de Silva and thirteen MPs crossed over to topple the then government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, at the negotiation sessions with J R Jayewardene and Dudley Senanayake, the only demand that C P de Silva put forward to J R and Dudley was the assurance of the collapse of the government. J R at the time, the supreme architect of politics, and Dudley gave that assurance. C P knew that he could trust both those gentlemen. Then only did he make that historic crossover. There is no such circumstance present today. Lure and magic of power is too seductive to deny for the mundane Ministers of today. Collapse of the government, as discussed within the Colombo corridors, within seminar halls and in PowerPoint presentations of the so-called intelligentsia and social clubs of the Pukka-sahibs of the twenty first century would remain a pipedream and a fantasy dwelling in a group of lotus eaters.

The past regime was an existential threat to the very survival of our free and democratic way of governance and life. The Rajapaksas being out of power is no excuse to celebrate, nor should it be regarded as another defeated set of political crooks. The threat remains as long as every man, woman and child gets attracted towards the cheap propaganda emanating from the megaphones of the Joint Opposition. On the other hand, neither should we take our attention away from the current administration and allow its political mechanics to run amok, nor let them stagnate in a bureaucratic swamp. As I wrote in the early part of this column, power is a very powerful aphrodisiac. Its corrupting scents, its seducing touches, its alluring signals and its all-encompassing passion do not take a long time to corrupt a few who might have let their armor down. That is the time these powerful agents of corruption and dishonor attack you. All humans are susceptible to the vagaries of power. Those who plan for decades ahead only would survive to tell a pleasant tale.

*The writer is available on lankamithra1955@gmail.com

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Latest comments

  • 13
    1

    Brilliant article, if only the uneducated uncultured filth could read?
    In what other country could uneducated filth who spent their life times sucking on the public purse reach high office?
    About time these thieves and killers were put behind bars for a long time as there is no lack of evidence and honest Sri Lankans military and police prepared to speak out?

    • 2
      0

      nimal

      I concur. Very unlikely MARA, GOATa, BARA amongst many others will be “guilty as charged”. Maybe we should pose this question to My3 and Ran3 !

    • 1
      0

      “……..In what other country could uneducated filth who spent their life times sucking on the public purse reach high office? …….”

      This is one of the drawbacks in democracy.
      Look at US.
      The recent Indian assembly elections had some 80% millionaires who will become billionaires.

  • 11
    1

    A Super Presentation lankamithra.

    What a Paradox and Irony both combined together.
    The pipedream of the political scavengers, MaRa and his siblings are waiting for the Govt: to collapse!
    The people who voted the Govt: of MS -RW are waiting and awaiting since Jan:08th 2015 to push the scavengers into Jail!
    As of now both sides are disappointed!

    • 2
      0

      A very good article ofcourse from a SLankan Patriot.!!
      The Political scavengers are not only pipe dreaming ,” but the village scums , the Political scavenger’s followers ” are still burning the cinders with their’s and their master’s Pipe dreams . They knew that these scavengers have no future in Srilankan politics but still hoping of their matinee idols return to centre stage.

      The card board bill boards are still in full view to be worshipped by the village Scums.
      If they only can read and understand what LANKAMITHRA has written here on CT.
      That will be like bashing two empty coconut shells . Brain Deads cannot be reveresed even after retraining.

      No one can change the views of the village POLITICALLY UNSAAVY scums at present.
      They will follow these traitors of the country with their unbalanced mind . Only one thing in their mind !! Putting back the traitors to power .
      These half brained scums CAN ONLY BE Politically Re TRAINED AND EDUCATED BY FUTURE YOUNG , HONEST , UNGREEDY POLITICIANS , UNGREEDY DOCTORS AND OTHER LEADERS OF OUR NATION ,
      THE ABOVE GROUP OF Greedy , CLEVER DICKS SURVIVES AND FLOURISH ON THE WEAKNESSES OF HUMAN’ S ILLITERACY .

      THE FUTURE DEVOLOPMENTS AND THE FUTURE GENERATIONS UPLIFTMENTS SHOULD BE FOREMOST IN THE MINDS OF OUR FUTURE LEADERS .
      The VILLAGE POLITICAL ILLITERATES SHOULD BE RE-EDUCATED , WHICH WILL BE A MAMMOTH TASK.

      This is my observation and view after a visit to the village heartlands of Rajamodayas.

      CARDBOARD KINGS WILL SURVIVE WHILE THE VILLAGE NUTS ARE FED WITH RACISM AND BLOOD LETTING.!!!
      Re-EDUCATE THE VILLAGE NUTS!!! ASAP! ASAP!! FOR OUR NATION TO PROGRESS!!!

  • 3
    0

    Good about the mantra, “Waiting For The Government To Collapse”, is that it keeps the current Govt alerted in every angle possible, including corruption – (How serious they take this is the complete responsibility of our Prez, MY3)

    Yahapalanaya should thank the MR & gang for keep on reciting this mantra. When MR was is power, there was no such thing, instead, he was fooled and blinded by overconfidence, that ‘war-winning’ & BBS style racism would fool and blind everyone for long enough until the crown prince becomes the king.

  • 3
    2

    people may say whatever they want but these are great leaders who could recognize plus of the general public. yes they were defeated spreading jaga binna or big lies but general public dropped into cooker from frying fan. those who talk on golden horses from barkingham palace in USA actually it is in UK but failed to punish CB looters who are in their boat still enjoying everything with broad day light looting of CB. what a funny.

  • 2
    0

    What can the average citizen do? Both sides are the same. One big difference is the current regime came to power promising, we the people, a lawful society free of corruption, waste and nepotism. Unfortunately, we now realize that’s a pipe dream also. While the people are forced into austerity measures, the politicians are clamoring to do exactly what they said they wouldn’t do. all this while selling the assets of the country to foreigners.

    Did anyone listen to RW’s short interview at the Royal-Thomian Cricket match? His answer to the first question posed to him says it all. it’s worth a listen.

  • 1
    0

    Should there be a collapse, it is self-inflicted – perhaps deliberately.

    During the 08 January 2015 hustings, visible corruption, nepotism, erosion of law and order were highlighted. For the first time ever Lankans set aside the language/divide and changed the regime. The present GoSL has not lived up to expectations. Lankans accept that white-vans are no more but that is about all.

    The present scenario is a win-win-win for MR. The UNHRC has been lulled. We were naïve enough to believe that nepotism and corruption will be bridled. Hats off to MR for assessing that this is impossible. Extremism is on the rise – Trump, Brexit, SNP and across the strait the rise and rise of RSS, fundamentalism in Turkey. The rustic logic “Known devil better than an unknown devil” will prevail.

    Scavengers step in when the hunters gorge themselves and only think of the next kill. Once the scavengers have had their fill, vultures come.

    The real tragedy will be, in due course Lankans may get to accept that nepotism and corruption are inevitable part of democracy and allow extremism to prevail.

  • 1
    0

    Sri Lankan political sysgtem is a joke. Sri lanka is the only country in which politicians are the best preachers, they are better than those in the church. Sri lankan voters are very good in recycleing the same old discarded, disgraced politicians.

    the following is one. Sri lankan justice system protect white collar criminals, thieves. conmen and they are considered revenrands in Sri lanka.

    See this.

    Four wine shops, located at Nawalapitiya town and owned by MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage, are reportedly selling liquor illegally. However, the police and the excise departments have failed to take any action against these wine shops.

    The Nawalapitiya, Paramount, Browns and Tabot wine shops have been given the FL-4 category permit, under which only liquor bottles could be sold. The permit does not allow anyone to consume liquor at any of these wine shops.

    However, Aluthgamage is selling liquor that can be consumed at the wine shops, with the knowledge of the police and excise departments. It is an illegally act, a violation of the permit and a big tax fraud.

    Only places with FL-7 or FL-8 category permits allow buyers to consume liquor then and there. These permits cost more, and should be renewed every year. How Mahindananda behaved when he had the power of government needs not be mentioned here. The question is his continued conduct in the same manner, de

  • 1
    0

    Well said and well-argued. Spot one. Power lures and power corrupts

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