{"id":136670,"date":"2015-01-11T00:04:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-10T18:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=136670"},"modified":"2015-01-14T03:01:12","modified_gmt":"2015-01-13T21:31:12","slug":"promises-and-expectations-holding-maithri-to-account","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/promises-and-expectations-holding-maithri-to-account\/","title":{"rendered":"Promises And Expectations – Holding Maithri To Account!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lukman Harees<\/span><\/a> \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Lukman<\/a>

Lukman Harees<\/p><\/div>\n

In November 2014, when Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a> (MR) received the unanimous approval of his party Ex-Co, to declare a snap presidential election in early January 2015, two years ahead of schedule, he was brimming with confidence. According to the Daily Mirror, a separate committee headed by SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena<\/span><\/a> (MS) was appointed to coordinate the election campaign. MR little realized that his contender for the Presidential Election was sitting under his very nose and would be none other than the person billed to coordinate his election campaign. This reminds me of the story of Moses who challenged the oppressor Pharaoh , growing up as a foster child in the very house of Pharaoh, without latter\u2019s knowledge. How strange is history! Thus MS appears to have emerged through Divine Providence , to challenge the invincible MR in his own den and any other candidate would not have beaten him ,the way MS did. He is indeed the \u2018Attlee\u2019 who beat the War Hero Churchill in 1945.<\/p>\n

The euphoria surrounding the remarkable victory of President MS will die down soon, and both the Nation and the international community will keep a close eye on him and his 100 day program. It is upto MS to interpret the verdict correctly and move quickly to prove his words right , as otherwise history will one day brand his massive mandate as merely a \u2018Anti\u2013Rajapaksa\u2019 rather than a \u2018Pro-Maithree\u2019 one. There is an urgent need to change the political culture of this country for the better and make politics ethical and attractive to our future generation.<\/p>\n

\"Maithripala<\/a>

Maithripala | Photo courtesy Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka – Facebook page<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Hindu\u2019 Newspaper of 09th<\/sup> January listed five immediate task for MS ,(apart from his challenge of abolishing the much maligned Executive Presidency), which are as follows:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Restore Rule of Law<\/strong> . The new President will also have to infuse independence and autonomy in the functioning of the police and rein in anti-minority groups like the Bodu Bala Sena.<\/li>\n
  • Restore Independence of the Judiciary<\/strong> . The new President may also look at ways of reinstating CJ Shirani Bandaranayake, or at least take legislative measures against the abuse of the impeachment clause.<\/li>\n
  • Strengthen institutions by according them functional independence and scrapping of the 18th Amendment <\/strong> .He must reverse retrograde measures taken by MR which have severely undermined the integrity and autonomy of democratic institutions such as Elections Commission, the Public Services Commission and the Anti-Bribery Commission.<\/li>\n
  • Cooperate with the elected Northern Province government<\/strong>, give it freedom to govern devolved subjects<\/li>\n
  • Halt the pervasive militarisation of the northern province<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    On the international front too, MS has to contend with the twin challenges of the UN Probe regarding the alleged war crimes in the last phase of the War , as well as repairing the tarnished image about Sri Lanka in the community of nations. Besides, MS should realize there is another coveted international responsible position being placed in his shoulders, by virtue of his election as the Head of State of Sri Lanka, namely the Chair position of the Commonwealth. India and China will be watching from opposite sides, about the approach MS will take in dealing with them.<\/p>\n

    There is also an attempt in the social networking sites to interpret the MS victory as one engineered by the minorities , and being reinforced by MR , when he visited his home town of Medamulaana after his defeat, who stressed that N and E did not vote for him, thus trying to portray himself as the Champion of the Sinhala people . Wimal W. too at the UPFA Press Conference tried to introduce a racist angle to the results. MS should move quickly to reassure the majority Sinhala people as well as the other minorities by word and deed that he is the THE President of all of them. Otherwise, divisive hate mongering characters such as Gnanasaras<\/span><\/a> may try to cash in, on the inner unfounded fears of the majority to create trouble once again.<\/p>\n