Insight By Sunil Kumar

May 9th 2010
Introducing Ranil Wickremasinghe~ leader of the opposition whose latest antics have not done him proud nor brought him recognition as a legitimate politician by any stretch of the imagination and here’s why!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He’s at times the object of national ridicule and now add to it the label international ridicule as he continues his merry way in gay abandon seemingly oblivious to the global titterings he seems to arouse most times he makes a statement which is either a huge contradiction or such a blooper which is unbecoming of his political stature as leader of the opposition.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Furthermore the man is such an embarrasment to his own political party, often sorely divided in opinion, some even said to be seethingly angry that he continues to hold his position with the UNP and debating about how much longer he should be permitted his current status. It appears to be a mere matter of time until he would be ignominiously dumped and replaced by someone worthy of the title of UNP leader as at present he seems a mere verbosity that has access to the ‘misprivileges’ he enjoys as the leader of his party to best describe him as he makes authoritative statements with hardly the authority towards classification. In laymen’s terms it is simply called shooting ones mouth off!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Perhaps there are sentimentalities and sympathies involved as the contributing factors to his retention within his party but these don’t make a solid politician with great leadership and statesman qualities~ far from it and as far as gracefully bowing out and paving the way for someone more capable to lead his once popular party it seems an unheard of option as the man continues to be his typically simpleton mannered self with no stiff opposition to either drag him down or boot him out. Until such time it can be safely assumed that the UNP will simply stand for Uninformed Nonentities Personified!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ While the adjudicators and legislators of Sri Lanka are trying to bring to justice an individual for high crimes and misdemeanours involving treason, a misuse of high authority, fabricating evidence about the realities of the Tamil Tiger conflict in a manner of attempting to deliberately discredit the ruling party albeit incriminating himself in the process, attempting to pass on classified official information to external superpowers and collusion with individuals ~ family members to put it precisely towards wheeling and dealing in military supply contracts involving megabucks ~ case in point directly involving the court martial of Retd. Army General Sarath Fonseka, and here we have Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe not only championiong his cause but making him sound like a folk hero taking totally out of context various statements made by individuals such as the former leader of the EU who has simply stated that the UN should have intervened to protect civilian Tamils with no mention of the rest of the civilian polulation equally brutalised by the Tamil Tiger insurgency.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe boldly asserted in Parliament yesterday that the European Commission had demanded the release of General Sarath Fonseka as a condition for granting Sri Lanka the GSP+ preferential trade status which was facing suspension in August this year it seemed something he had concocted.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In his words “The continued detention of General Fonseka has become an issue in the European Parliament and we are aware that they want him released if the GSP+ is to be granted,” he said which statement is not only a misrepresentation of facts but also misleading as the EU has neither made such a threatening statement to the GOSL nor has it directly refered to Retd.Gen. Fonseka where wordplay seems to be the order of the day and Wickremasinghe has a reputation for this particular method of communication!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Next Mr Wickremesinghe asserts quite confidently that denial of permission for Gen. Fonseka to attend Parliament on Wednesday was a violation of Parliamentary privileges and that a Court Martial was not a judicial body and it could not have precedence over Parliament as by his conclusion the Army Act he affirms had been passed by Parliament and it was under those laws that the Court Martial had been summoned which is tantamount to a load of rubbish as the Laws of the Land whether Military or Civil are still laws which need to be upheld where no Act of Parliament can revoke any ratified Law or Parliamentary Act which once set in place cannot be rescinded unless by Constitutional Change~ basic Civics which students learn in Elementary School.To say that “The Parliament passed the Army Act. It passes funds for the Army. Therefore, it can never be above Parliament,” sounds so farfetched that it is hardly worth debating as an issue relative to the Fonseka Court Martial which more than anything else is a Militay Court Martial and the Army Act once set in place can be safely deemed unshakable! except by a Constitutional Change!

The Government is simply pursuing the related legal entitlements towards incarcerating an officer suspected of breaking the law! That the Opposition decided to champion his cause has little or nothing to do with the legalities involved and the sooner Mr. Wickremasinghe realises this the better off he certainly would be!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Perhaps the Leader of the opposition is showing signs of the incapacity and inefficiency he has been accused of on many an occassion and should reconsider his status and view his options not forgetting how he very nearly imperiled the nation by his miscalculated attempts to collude with the Tamil Tigers where the nation was narrowly spared from being overwhelmed by the nation’s terrorist adversaries through the timely intervention of a former President who sadly today has also bowed down from the political arena whose example Mr.Wickremasinghe should perhaps emulate in his own best interest rather than misquoting the EU and exposing his transparencies relative to the imperceptions which prompt him to make ludicurous statements!