LANKAN LEADERS NEED TO RESTORE ITS OWN IMAGE

ASOKA SENEVIRATNE

As a regular Lankaweb reader I have been reading all passionate comments made by Sri Lankans world over about the British Involvement to the LTTE terrorist issue where some members of the British Parliament appear to be treating the LTTE as a legitimate front representing the so called Tamil grievances. While there has been injustices done to the minority Tamil community in general, the current crisis faced by the nothern Tamil people are a direct result of the LTTE creating havoc in order to carve out a piece of Lanka as a homeland. If LTTE cease to exist tomorrow the Lankan troops will return to the South, the Tamil children will go back to school, the Tamil enterprises will flourish and to be honest the entire Northern and Eastern Tamil population will have a one big sigh of relief. In fact they will look back at the LTTE Terror regime and feel as if they have had one long nightmare. In fact after 2 decades, the majority community of the country will also share this once serene land with their Tamil brothers. I dare to say Sri Lanka will even enter a long stint of growth and prosperity.

But I would like to highlight a more important underlying issue. In the league of nations Sri Lanka is a very insignificant country. Why because we are poor. Every year we meet in a rich country with our begging bowl and ask for money for survival. When this happens needless to say we naturally come under their command. It is very simple. We also cannot keep our head straight and talk because all concerned knows that most of our leaders are corrupt. So in other words as a nation we lack honor, dignity and self respect thanks to some of our so called leaders. This is the biggest injustice to the Lankan people as they are generally learned and decent people.

A Sri Lankan passport in a European destination is looked down on. A Sri Lankan passport in the Middle East is looked down on and so forth. It goes back to the same issue. We are a very, very poor nation so poor that the largest foreign exchange to our country comes from housemaids working in the Middle East. Even that our leaders squander.

So why not the leadership of Lanka at least now work to give this once honorable and dignified country its dignity and honor back. This can be done by doing just what is right by its people. Stop stealing. Stop corruption, Stop political interference into the democratic social institutions. Stop murdering political oponents. Only if the leaders can stand with their heads high with honor Lankan people and the world community will respect them and the country as a whole.

So while I support in principal the protests the monks, the JVP and patriotic Lankans have carried out they should protest even harder to bring justice and fairplay to this once noble land. This I believe is the only way we all can rescue Sri Lanka from vicious, self centered, selfish and indignant thieves who call themselves Leaders.