R Chandrasoma

An extraordinary feature of the system of governance of the current ‘yahpalanaya’ leadership is the stark contradiction between word and deed. The word ‘Yaha’ signifies bondage or concordence – a declaration that the system of governance envisaged will be based on consensus. If this is truly the case, one would expect the Rulers to do their best to allay the fears and suspicions of the opposition and promote schemes that bring peoples with diverse views together. The exact opposite has happened – indeed, it happened from day one. The morning after the Presidential Election the  Foreign Minister revealed in breathless tones that he and the current President  had escaped death by hiding in the Forest – as a plot to kill those opposed to MR was more than mere rumour. He rushed overseas to inform his foreign friends that  MR was prepared to seize power – invalidating the election – by enlisting the support of his loyalista in the Armed Services. This arrant rubbish was soon forgotten – but there appeared then the Phantom of the Great Swindler – it was announced by RW and his worthy side-kick Ravi K. that a vast and and fantabulous amount of money had been nakedly robbed by MR and stashed away in foreign banks – that the great task of the New Yahapalnaya Administration was to recapture the loot and send the offender or offenders to prison.

Next, the saga of Marauding White Vans – killer vehicles that roamed the streets to pick up those troublesome elements  that expressed dissatisfaction or challenged the ‘political ethos’ of MR’s administration. Nobody had seen these killer Vans – but this phantom became the symbol of MR’s political villainy. Indeed, the creation of Phantoms became the chief political weapon of the Yahapalanya. Let us mention another case of ‘virtual reality’ being harnassed to boost the sagging fortunes of a party that had no sense or coherence – the lurid Fable of the Electric Chair. The UNP – and the SLFP Rump that is in cahoots with the RW administration –condemned the attitude of a Man who richly deserved to be ‘electrically roasted’ for the heinous crmes comitted but escaped death due to the largesse and compassion of The UNP and its friendly clout with foreign powers. That such arguments can be advanced by the leadership of a country with over twenty centuries of proud independence surely reveals the depth of our depravity – both political and moral.

No less saddening is the denial of the good because it was done by others – a failing that is bad enough at the individual level but becomes a social blight that obstructs true progress when governments and their leaders resort to this evil. A Great Harbour  has intrinsic worth and to ignore or distort this Plenitude for political reasons is not merely mischievous – it saps the moral standing of those who resort to this evil subterfuge.

Let us return to our main thesis – Can a government that boasted of treading the high ground in politics – Yahapalanaya – fall so low in praxis? The truly moral being is forgiving while the hypocrite pays only lip.service to this moral excellence. No Government prior to the the current yahapalanya administration treated political opponents as felons or enemies that must be sent to prison in order to survive. Nowhere in the world – with a few exceptions such as failed states – is political dissent or challenge treated as a crime. In the wonderful land of Sri Lanka this is not actua;lly the case but we are moving in that direction –  Yahapalanaya stood on its head.