R Chandrasoma

In this prodigious (and Buddhist) country the Minister of Health is in an unhealthy state of un-supressed agitation when lambasting those he sees as enemies of the anointed government of which he is part – a government that (supposedly) ushered in the Age of Decency and Righteous Governance. It is known to science that extreme agitation leads to hallucinatory story-telling about supposed murderous enemies gearing up for an attack on a person both lovable and innocent. In this instance the cruelly endangered victim is none other than our compassionate President and the potential killers are within the ranks of the Joint Opposition. The far-seeing Minister finds an uncanny repetition of history – a good man destroyed by his own people.  SWRDB – the founder of the SLFP and a paragon of excellence in matters political – was cruelly murdered by his own party men. This famous act of deception and treachery is likely to be repeated – so declares the worthy Minister – and all measures must be taken by true patriots to forestall such a tragic eventuality. He (the Minister) sees MR and his buddies in the joint opposition as a force of evil and as unscrupulous and devilish in their desire to regain power – which means that murder as an instrument of political gamesmanship cannot be ruled out. This kind of thinking will astonish most – but the stubborn fact is that it takes all kinds to enrich the political game. The point of interest to a therapist is the venom and fury with which a matter strictly political is approached – a feature of contemporary Sri Lankan governance that has few parallels in a country that pretends to be civilized. Dissent and opposition have become toxic in Sri Lanka

A point with which to conclude this sad story –  he (the Minister) has declared with great conviction that the GMOA – the Doctors’ Union – is working closely with the political opposition to overthrow the Yahapalana Administration. With great emotion – a gnashing of teeth and purpled face indicating high levels of Adrenalin – he declares that he is more than ready to meet this threat posed by the GMOA and its traitorous medics.. Sri Lanka must be the only country in the world where the Minister of Health has a ‘toxic’ relationship with the healers of their country – something bordering on delusional mania. Politics laced with enmity and intolerance cannot but perish. A famous quote from the Bible enshrines this healing wisdom –  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;