Dr. Sudath Gunasekara, Mahanuwara

My answer is no. Only the Chapter on Rajapaksa family in the Mahavamsa will be closed. It will be followed by a very uncertain and really turbulent period that might be followed by  a period of prosperity, happiness and peace for all if the present system of Government is replaced with a homemade model of development that make the maximum use of its bountiful physical, human and cultural resources under a strong, patriotic, visionary and benevolent Sinhala Buddhist  leader who considers the subjects as his own children as it was done by our ancient Kings, following the footsteps of Dharmasoka the Great.

With the announcements that Gota will go on Wednesday and Ranil will also follow, most people will think the problem is solved, as the the nation’s curse, the Gota and Ranil Alliance” as some people think, is hopefully likely to end this week.

But in my opinion, it is not so. I strongly feel this is only the beginning of a worse period in the political history of this country. True enough we did have a period of partial anarchy over the past few years starting from around August 2015 with incremental effect as the months passed by.

But the real troublesome era which I would describe as full anarchy” has dawned only now. You mark 13^th of July 2022 as the starting date of this anarchic period in this country. In fact, it has already started on the 9^th with the invasion and occupation of the President House, the Presidential Secretariate and the Temple Trees, the official Residence of the Prime Minister of this country. Now all these places are occupied by a riotous antigovernment mob installing the rule of mobocracy.in place of democracy even though it was also not perfect. Now the rioters are in occupation of these public buildings doing enormous damages to public property, restoration of which will cost billions of public funds for any government to restore them to their previous status.

Let us not waste our time by trying to speculate whether it was an American coup, of the Maharaja’s Jockstrap Protest at Galle-Face – A Re-run of Ukraine’s ‘Maiden Square’ False-Flag Operation on February 2014  (Lankaweb  July 9th, 2022) as Jonathan Manz has said or a coup organized jointly by a  collective group of NGO, Civil Societies the Church and other anti-Sinhala anti-Buddhist elements with foreign funds.  Majority who flocked into Colombo on that day from outskirts are mostly who are disgruntled and hungry masses of this country sans any dirty politics. But those who remain inside these buildings forcibly and illegally occupying them are the real culprits of the game and they are the hardcore JVP and peratugugaami carders. This assertion is proved as one listen to the statement made by Kumar Gunaratnam where he said ‘Strugglers are the Law” and as such they have to be there in any future government. Even Tilvin Siva expressed the same views

It was announced this morning that there will be a meeting of the strugglers with the Speaker this afternoon. It further said 29 strugglers are going to attend this meeting. This number made me to wonder whether they have a suggestion to demand the Speaker to nominate these 29 by the political parties to Parliament so that they will also have a representation in the present Parliament Even if the Speaker agrees, to my understanding one cannot do that without the consensus of all party leaders. Moreover, it is unconstitutional and goes against the election Law. If you say that then they might ask, as to how Gotabhaya brought Ranil and Dhammika  Perera to Parliament.

So, this will create another impasse in Cabinet forming even if both Gota and Ranil resign as stated. The mob might use the same tactics to get the consent of the Party leaders as well.

At the same time  even in the resignation of Gota still there is a big gap between the cup and the lip’ as politicians could never be trusted since both have not yet tendered their resignations, although millions of people who flocked in to Colombo on the 9^th of July have already apparently chased them out of the Presidential House, Presidential Secretariate at the Gall Face and also from the Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister. The mob occupy these buildings until Gotabhaya and Ranil handover their joint resignations. As the say goes ‘A smiling cat can never be trusted” similarly a politician too can never be trusted. Now although Gota has agreed to resign on the 13th no one can believe that, until the papers are handed over. Ranil on the other hand must be waiting Gota to hand over papers to him first, so that he can be the President at least for few days, before the Parliament elect a new President within one month as stipulated in the Constitution. In any case he will also have to go from Parliament as his appointment to Parliament from the so-called National list was also illegal as his name was not there in the UNP national list submitted to the Election Commissioner in 2020.

However, still there is some grey area even with regard to Gota’s  resignation as there is some speculation as he is reported to have said his confidants  that he has the support of a powerful external source and therefore has no overt concerns about his future” By saying so we do not know what he has up his sleeves. Whether it is American or Indian intervention no one knows. If that is so I warn him not to dream of such disastrous dreams. Because if he resorts to such silly and disastrous means, the aragalaya activists might even resort to extra legal action.  

As a person who has voted him, canvassed heavily and written long letters to media on his behalf, as the whole nation trusted him as a true nationalist leader, I will never forgive him for the humiliation he did to me on the 13^th of Feb 2022 at my village, Meemure, in front of my own people by ignoring me by not giving 5 minutes to receive him on behalf of my village and its people.   But I feel sorry for him for the way he has been dethroned.  Had he walk the talk he made at the Ruwanweliseya on the 18^th of Nov. 2019, he would have ended up as a legend in this country and never has ended up disastrously like this, carrying the curse of a whole nation on his shoulders, for betraying the aspiration of 6.9 m voters. Bad advice from his Chief advisor and his fortune tellers at Anuradhapura and even Thirupathi in India, lack of PR on his part, reluctance to listen to others, his obvious arrogance and above all his ignorance on the art of governance and statecraft and public administration were the main reasons for his downfall. In my own view the crown was too heavy for him. The way he set about as the President right at the beginning shows he had no clue of the role he was expected to play as the President of this country. His failure to take suitable action to manage foreign debt which was reported to be about 54 billion US$ by end of 2019, to increase domestic production in both Agricultural and Industrial sectors on the one hand and control state expenditure by cutting down waste and extravagance like the Provincial councils and manage the economy have proved that he was misfit in that position. Had he taken timely action in these areas, at least the speed of deterioration could have been mitigated.

Finally, a word for him who is going to succeed Gota as the President at these turbulent times of the history of this nation.  The post of President is not a bed of roses. More so particularly at this time.  You are faced with a big challenge in handling a Herculian task of rescuing a nation made bankrupt by politicians like you, for 74 years since the so-called Independence in 1948. It is high time to think of an entirely a novel, creative and a home grown political mechanism that is radically different and free from the stale post- colonial dependency trap, that will first, rescue the country from the present abyss of the current political and economic mess by taking steps immediately to provide the people with the basic essentials such as staple food items, domestic gas and fuel to restore normalcy in the day to day life of people and second, lead the nation to an economically prosperous and vibrant status, firstly, achieving self -sufficiency in agriculture, livestock products and fishing and boosting traditional export industries like Tea, Coconut, Rubber, spices and gems .

In the process it is also imperative to restore law and order and not allow unlawful elements to interfere with governance. Aa a starting point I would suggest the new regime make a full assessment of all damages done to state and private property, on the 9^th by the mob and thereafter punish those responsible.  If the new government fails to restore democracy by consolidating Law and order and address the burning grievances of the people in time by simultaneously bringing all undesirable elements under control and mobilizing all avenues of economic development both at home and abroad. It is indeed a super Herculean task which only a modern Hercules can handle.

But remember the most difficult and challenging period in Sri Lanka’s history will begin tomorrow.   

Good luck to the new President and the Prime Minister and the  suffering masses of mother Lanka.