They talk and talk in Sri Lanka
Posted on August 12th, 2012

By Charles.S.Perera

There is so much of character assassination going on in Sri Lanka without an iota ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  evidence. If there is not the whole truth in some of the allegations made against the Government and the ruling leadership, there should at least be some basic truth.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But there is nothing of the sort, it is always what some others say or heard being said.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It seems to be a national weakness, we have already heard of the untruth of what was said about shooting at the terrorists carrying a white flag.

The dangerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of these exaggerated lies is, once said however much of denials that follow will never erase the stench from theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  smudged stains of falsehood left behind.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is like the story of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-man who spewed seven crowsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. It began with aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  man bringing outƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  some thing black, which became a black crow when it was first related to another, then two black crows, and then later on three black crows and so on.

Some make it an art saying with laughter an gestures, andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a gullible one who listens will repeat it with the same laughter and gesture but much more exaggerated and the round will continue each exaggerated in turn.

It was ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  gramasevaka a government servant who told me every thing is done wrong in Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He asked me whether I agree that Sarath Fonseka should be in prison.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I saidƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  it was the Court that sentenced him to prison.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But he said that man was dying for Sri Lanka. The gramasevakaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  made a gesture with his two hands held against the stomach and said he was carrying his bowels like this in his hands, and lived to eliminate terrorism.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I said it is true , but later on he said things which were not favourable to the Armed Forces and that is why the International CommunityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  has come in force against Sri Lanka.

Then he said, but every thing is wrong how can people live with this soaring cost of living. It is a problem every where I said but we have to give some time for the government to come out with solutions. And the difficulty we talk of inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  feeding our stomachs is as old as the time we got our independence.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But at least this government has solved major problems like the terrorism and constructed new roads besides every thing else so that we can go from south to north or east to west without fear of lurking danger to life.

Then there are those who complain that Basil Rajapakse takes commissions.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  One swears that he had the information from a reliable source, it was for dredging of sand from a river.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Then again another saysƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  he heard the boss telling his assistant who was going to negotiate a deal for the export ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  certain productsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  with a Minister not to agree to give the sum demanded by the Minister, but try to reduce it to the minimum. He asked me what else it could bet other than a commission.

AnƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Inspector of PoliceƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  swore that a certain Minister takes commissions.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I asked whether he was present when the demand was made, butƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  no he said the information is very reliable.

Most of these information comeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  they say from reliable sources, but when you get to the reliable source, the reliable source had heard it from a good friend.

But some of these talks begin from mistakes committed without thinking of there consequences.

This is so in the case of Namal Rajapakse another subject people take a liking to talk about. It is normal that aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  father gives in to please his son , but if he is being groomed to be a political leader of the peopleƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  he should learn to live like an ordinary young man of the people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  NamalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is a part of every delegation going abroad to see the heads of states, except this time to accompany Dr.G.L.Pieris to Washington.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Namal himself opted out.

Why they ask the other young MPs are not given a chanceƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ? Why is it always Namal Rajapakse ?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Is that the way to prepare a young politician to beƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a leader of the ordinary people of the country ?

The Neela Balakaya of Namal Rajapakse gets all the jobs from the south to north.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Colombo Galle express way passes through many towns and villages but young men of these villages should haveƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  normally been employed in the express way at least at the points it passes through that town or village , but it is the members of Neela Balakaya that has been employed in various activities on the express way from Galle to Colombo. That is at least what they say.

They organised a quite unnecessary motor car racing in Colombo.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And very expensive cars such as Aston Martins had been imported.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This was all a brain child ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Namal Rajapakse and they say Namal Rajapakse nowƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  goes about in anƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Aston Martin.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  People talk , and people talk and as a result the popularity ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a young up and coming politician turns to public dislike.

But what is the use of car races in Sri Lanka ? I question. Is it not necessary to do things more beneficial to the country than to please a handful of foreign ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-racing car loversƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But , I read somewhere that the government is proposing to extend greater Colombo by filling the sea and to build a racing course there amoung other things.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Is it necessary to attract tourists to such an extent ?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  One cannotƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  always depend on tourism for an economic development.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Greece was once booming with tourism, but its economy crashed despite it.

I was sitting at a Doctors waiting room, a person who was reading a paper said for every one to hear , ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-thisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Government demoted and sent away Tamara Kunanayakam who did so much of work at Geneva when Shenuka Seneviratne and 70 or so others sentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to defend Sri Lanka at Geneva did nothing.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ButƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  UN has offered Tamara a more important postƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

The man read the paper a while and said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- They also say that the Government is proposing to get down 3000 Indian graduates to fill vacancies ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  teachers.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Then he added, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- why should they get down Indian teachers, when there are unemployed teachers in Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

It was announced that Namal RajapaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ksa will be at Wattegama along with Lohan Ratwatte to declare open a bus stand in Wattegama.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I was glad as I would at least see one Rajapaksa in flesh and blood.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I went to the Wattegama Town.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  At a shop I asked when would the meeting start.

The fat manƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in his forties the owner of the shop said, at four o clock for sure because then they will at least have the school children as a crowd; no body else would come.

I asked him why.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He said that every thing is going up in price and who has the money to buy. We are unable to sell our stocks and the people are unable to buy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So why should we go to welcomeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Rajapakses and Ratwattes.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I said they are nevertheless doing lot of work. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- Yes, they become rich ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ he said and he showed me theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  big fleet of black vehicles , some of them Pajeros that have brought the VIPs for the meeting.

However there was a respectable gathering.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I saw Lohan Ratwatte in a cleanƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sinhala dress, a white Shirt and a white cloth.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Next to him was Namal Rajapakse, with long hair in an unclean white shirt and an,unclean trousers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I was disappointed .ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I thought he should have worn some thing clean and neat at least as a show of respect to the people who had come to see him.

In the mean time what is happening in some of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  factories of the apparel manufacturing sector is scandalous. There is no welfare service what so ever. The workers are slaves and work according to the whim and fancy of the owner.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The workers fear to complain as the solution for the owner is to get rid of the trouble shooter. There is no medical leave.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I was told that in one such ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-garmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ factory a girl who was sick was asked to rest for one hour and come back to work.

If you stay home for what ever reason and inform the Office they deduct Rs.3000 from the attendance incentive bonus , and deducted Rs.1000ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  per dayƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  from the salary until the person returns to work.

The workers have to put up with such forced sacrifices as otherwise they will be sacked.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  There are no inspections or visits by Inspectors of Labour, and even if there are such visits ,theyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  know how to arrange matters with them.

Another scandalous matter I came to know was through a man in his 40s .ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Though Sri Lanka is seeing a tremendous development yet undesirable former political habits andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  methods have not been set aside to provide people with equitable treatment without reference to the political background of their fathers and forefathers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The young man in question had worked for a long time in several companies and has good experience in accountancy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He is married and has three young children.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He does not want to go far in search of jobs as he would like to be with his children.

He had been working for a company owned by a Muslim man a distributor of Medicine and other materials of health .ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He was the only Sinhala Buddhist working there. Though his Muslim colleagues do their prayers five times a day during working hours, their SinhalaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  colleague is not allowed a holiday for the poya days.

This man question was sacked for not going to work the day after Wesak full moon day which was declared a holidayƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  by the Government.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Muslim boss had said that his company is his and does not belong to the President Rajapakse and therefore he had not allowed a holiday to his staff the day after the Wesak full moonƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  day.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ThereforeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  he treated his Sinhala Buddhist Staff member as having vacated his post.

That was incidentally the day the Muslim Boss returnedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  from his pilgrimage to MeccaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦

Now this young man has aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  problem in getting a job. If he applies for a Government job he has to be recommended to the Member of the Parliament of the Provincial area to have his name put on the list.

One has to be a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party or an active political worker to be put in the list.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In order to have the name entered in the list the MP consults the owner of the liquor bar, and a man who has come not long ago to the villageƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and acts as the SLFP organiser.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  A personƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s experience and qualifications take a back seat as preference is to a man of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  SLFP or one recommended by the Owner of the Liquer Bar and the SLFP Organiser.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is the case with all UPFA parties.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The jobs are distributed according to the affiliation to the correct political party.

Apparently these lists according to which jobs are distributed in the respective Provincial Council areas, are a sine a quo non of the Sri Lanka Political Parties.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Even the entrance Examination to the Law College in Sri Lanka is said to be according to the names on the list kept by the Minister of Justice Rauff Hakheem.

The Entrance Examination to the Sri Lanka Law College was held today the 12th August,2012.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  A student I met said that she is reluctant to sit for the Exam as it is a sham.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The College is only takingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  200 studentsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  out of about 2000 sitting for the Examination.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And the Exam she said is to eliminate a maximum number ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  candidates to allow the Minister Rauff Hakheem to admit the maximum number of those students in his list to the Law College.

Somewhere in Hambantota a village had been created specially to help the Sri Lanka Cinema Producers to h ave ready made locations to shoot their films. But I heard a man seated next to me in the train coming from Kandy to Colomo telling his friend that this Village for Cinema built at a considerable cost is now abandoned, and no films have been shot there.

9 Responses to “They talk and talk in Sri Lanka”

  1. callistus Says:

    You are quite correct. The title is adept. Most of these ‘talks’ seem to be fiction rather than fact, of course not your invent. The law college exam has become very competitive now. In my days (I didn’t go to law college) it was the easiest option, having had no luck in getting to medical college, engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, bio science, veterinary science, agriculture, architecture, in that order. Now of course things are different. Thanks for your research and reporting.

  2. Vijendra Says:

    Charles, you have touched on an important subject. People in office must not only be fair but they must show that they have been fair. We have a long history of political patronage. This is because the village thug who becomes the MP is more powerful than all those who are responsible for discipline and justice in the country. To be a truly free and democratic country, this must change. As we all know well, if there is smoke, usually there is a fire.

    Justice must prevail without favour or prejudice, irrespective of the status of any person caught breaking the law, whether it is a thug, a police officer, a Pradeshiya sabha or village council member, a government officer, a religious leader, an MPs, the Prime Minister or the President. Justice should prevail over all, and no one should be above the law.

  3. Dilrook Says:

    [Quote] A student I met said that she is reluctant to sit for the Exam as it is a sham. The College is only taking 200 students out of about 2000 sitting for the Examination. And the Exam she said is to eliminate a maximum number of candidates to allow the Minister Rauff Hakheem to admit the maximum number of those students in his list to the Law College. [Unquote]

    This is utter absurd.

    It is more of an excuse of her inability than anything else.

    Law entrance is taken by over 20,000 students and only less than 200 will get in. All those 20,000 are A/L passed students. So it is a tough exam obviously tougher than A/L. In addition law faculty students from Colombo, etc. and Open university also get into Law College for the final Law College exam without sitting any exam.

    Law College is managed by the Incorporated Council of Legal Education and there is very little the justice minister can do about it although there has been past instances of political interference to increase the intake in certain years. Law College administration is also reviewed by the Chief Justice and a host of other lawyers and legal experts who have differing political views.

    The basis of these absurd allegations is that there is no apparent fairness and equity in the country.

    If you take university entrance, Sri Lankan Tamils are over represented in universities which is unfair and injustice to others particularly Muslims and upcountry Tamils. This is a form of corruption.

    This must change to ethnicity (obtained from the 2011 census card) based university admission which will be fair to all. It benefits the nation as well since most Sri Lankan Tamils don’t serve the country at all after gaining their qualification at the expense of tax payers. Tax is collected equitably from all so its benefits must pass on to all equitably.

    Unless this uneven distribution of resources is corrected people will come up with various theories of corruption. They are correct on corruption but wrong on the specifics.

    In this case, the whole nation knows the appalling and racist character of the Justice Minister. Nothing good can be expected from him anyway.

    There is a cinematic, etc. institution built at state expense in Nuwara Eliya and it has not been put to good use. Once again the specifics are wrong but the crux is still valid.

  4. Kit Athul Says:

    Disinformation is well explained by Charles. Basil Rajapakse takes commisions, but the Police man who said it could not prove it. This is what Stanley Perera wrote in his articles. Some one masquerading as a body gurd to Basil gave the dis info to Stanly and he belived it. When questioned by me and Anoma Silva, he refused to disclose the persons name. This is an excellent article that exposes things like Nomal dress and race course in Colombo.

  5. AnuD Says:

    Charles:

    How do you think he got this Aston Martin ? was that with rightfully earned money ?

    Media said it was airlifted in a special flight. That is lot of money too even for a top class Sri Lankan – businessman.

  6. Marco Says:

    Dilrook you state above..
    “If you take university entrance, Sri Lankan Tamils are over represented in universities which is unfair and injustice to others particularly Muslims and upcountry Tamils. This is a form of corruption. (corruption?)
    This must change to ethnicity (obtained from the 2011 census card) based university admission which will be fair to all.”

    Then in your article
    http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2012/08/12/subramaniam-swamy-tries-to-impose-indian-hegemony-on-lanka/
    You say..
    “There are no ethnic majorities and minorities in Sri Lanka. Hence no need for ethnicity based decisions or solutions.”

    Make your mind up Dilrook!

  7. Fran Diaz Says:

    Sinhala people say : “Rata vate vata bandath, Kata vate vata bandinna ba’ – which means ‘even if you build a fence around the whole country, you cannot fence the mouth of a person’. How true ! Kata Katha is a waste of valuable time and energy. Take an example from the industrious Chinese – they set about solving their problems without wasting time on empty this and that.

    It is up to each of us to discern the truth and act accordingly.

    Re what the country needs : People of each District should draw up a simple LIST OF NEEDS and present it to their MPs. It’s as simple as that. Get organised in the right way and peace & prosperity will follow.

  8. Dilrook Says:

    Marco:

    In my article I’m referring to ethnicity based political solutions to the non-existant “ethnic problem”.

    However, inequity in university admission is a genuine problem that creates a drain on the economy, produces a mismatch between what is required and what is produced and allocates tax payer money inequitably which must be corrected.

    Obviously LTTE tried to mixed the two and failed.

  9. Marco Says:

    So one picks and chooses where “ethnic” based selections/solutions?

    University entrance selection, in my view should be based on merit and merit alone. Why should one ethnic group be given special treatment? Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims are all equal citizens.
    And you quite rightly say “Tax is collected equitably from all so its benefits must pass on to all equitably” So tax is paid equitably but selection is race biased?
    “Most Sri Lankan Tamils don’t serve the country at all after gaining their qualification at the expense of tax payers” That’s laughable!
    What exactly do you mean by “don’t serve the country?” Leaving the shores of Sri Lanka after free education like many Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims?
    Tamils are taxpayers too and have every right to free University education, and should have the same right to pursue opportunities abroad similar to Sinhalese and Tamils.
    I’m not sure which part of Sri Lankan Tamils over representation in universities is unfair and injustice and constitute corruption

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