{"id":40530,"date":"2015-01-03T21:10:08","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T03:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=40530"},"modified":"2015-01-03T08:24:07","modified_gmt":"2015-01-03T15:24:07","slug":"corruption-in-sri-lanka-who-sold-state-assets-for-back-hand-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/01\/03\/corruption-in-sri-lanka-who-sold-state-assets-for-back-hand-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"CORRUPTION IN SRI LANKA? Who sold State assets for back hand deals?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nalliah Thayabharan<\/cite>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Since the 1950s Western imperialists have been in the business of regime change, assassinations and propping up client states to pillage the wealth of nations.<\/p>\n

In 1953, England and America overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh of Iran. The coup was orchestrated by the intelligence apparatus of both countries after Mr. Mosaddegh nationalized the oil industry that was controlled by foreign interests. They set up Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (the shah of Iran) as a puppet authoritarian ruler who relied heavily on U.S. support.<\/p>\n

In 1961, in the Congo, the CIA in collaboration with Belgium plotted the overthrow and subsequent murder of Patrice Lumumba\u2014the country\u2019s first post colonial prime minister\u2014and installed Joseph Mobutu who served America for 32 years until his own demise at the hands of Clinton administration backed proxies, Rwanda and Uganda. The war caused the death of 6 million Congolese.
\nIn 1966, Ghanaian independence leader Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was deposed by the CIA using ambitious enemies from within Ghana while Dr. Nkrumah was abroad in China on a peace mission attempting to mediate the Vietnam conflict.<\/p>\n

Another gross example of U.S. meddling in the affairs of others was the September 11, 1973 ousting and assassination of the legitimate, elected government of President Salvador Allende of Chile. The coup d\u2019\u00e9tat was organized by the Richard Nixon administration and Chilean military, ushering in the brutal dictator General Augusto Pinochet. These are only three examples out of many that can be named as examples of America\u2019s pursuit of wicked foreign policy objectives.<\/p>\n

A dictator becomes a dictator\u201d abhorred by his countrymen when he has overused his authority & power. These are good lessons for such leaders overstepping their power because they have come to equate power as their right. Such have been the countries that the West have been quick to ear mark & target for overthrowing these countries has been an easy effort to enter & dislodge these leaders. It is these very citizens who end up helping the overthrow take place, thus the non-requirement for stretched military equipment or personnel & the use of their own to minimize the casualties to their own countrymen. Collateral damage is what the West would call this. The countries where these leaders become dictators\u201d are often rich in natural resources which are one reason why they end up misusing the mandate given to them & becoming power hungry & their stooges & families end up devastating the country to which they are supposed to function as custodians.<\/p>\n

It is the lack of answering this all important question that demands the West not to use these false clich\u00e9s of freedom from dictators\u201d as an excuse. No sooner these dictators\u201d are overthrown the first thing the West ends up doing is to tap the natural resources, take over the economic hubs & privatize all channels that will supply their countries a steady flow of monetary returns & economic gain. All those who played an indirect role in aiding the West by providing support end up just turning their heads away. Therefore, when we all know Iraq was a mistake it is good to now ask whether Libya is going to be another \u2013 where the consequences to the future of the people of these countries were never part of the strategy or overall plan!<\/p>\n

It is not hard to deduce that all of the efforts to overthrow Governments whatever type of governance has taken place in these countries are done so purely on the basis of acquiring the wealth of these nations. The calls for removal of these despots\u201d or dictators\u201d are mere slogans helped greatly by the mass media that provides the visuals of sensationalism to justify the overthrowing by painting the perfect picture of saviors against despots. It took no time for Mubarak of Egypt, the one time darling of the West to be portrayed with so much hatred by the media with no reminder to the public that he was an agent of the West. This is what is likely to happen to all other political leaders who think they will remain the darlings of the West & continue corrupt leadership.
\nIn any democracy where people come to power on the strength of a vote it is natural that almost half the nation will not vote in favor of the overall winner. This is certainly not basis for any country to say that a leader is opposed & plans set to overthrow him.<\/p>\n

The countries that are currently earmarked for regime change will know from diplomatic statements where their countries are heading for & this alone should suffice to ensure the country is set in order & issues that are likely to be used as excuses are properly taken care of. Corruption being one excuse is a perfect area to ensure that politicians, their stooges & the corrupt public service immediately function as they should & not as they want to run for the repercussions are far more dangerous in the present context.
\nIf any country should be saved by the West it should be Palestinians suffering in Gaza for years as a result of Israeli. What does the US do instead \u2013 it vetoes Resolutions brought against Israel in the UN.<\/p>\n

The moment examples of how regime change, how the West has toppled nations and the very same nations are at play is shown with examples\u2026 it is too much for most so called Educated Sri Lankans\u201d to comprehend\u2026. they just want to be happy within their own comfort zones\u2026 nevertheless elections are about electing a person who can hold the country together and if The so called Educated Sri Lankans\u201d had read the history they would realize that Sri Lanka has been a target for over 500 years. Sometimes keeping abreast of what goes on around the world will help people to think clearer\u2026<\/p>\n

We have Mahinda Rajapakse \u2013 became President in 2005 ended the war LTTE in 2009, became President again in 2010 and is now contesting for the 3rd time.
\nSince Ranil can\u2019t win without the Sinhala Buddhist votes, the General Secretrary of the SLFA was hired for the role contesting for 100 days and PROMISING to hand over power to Ranil through the backdoor. The Opposition is made up of TNA, Vickramabahu, Rajitha, Sarath Fonseka, Sobitha thero, Rathana thero, Champaka R\u2026 quite a cocktail of people with wild views and ideologies\u2026.all held together by CBK with Ranil looking on. The Colombo chorus says CHANGE\u2026 but CHANGE is to bring back the same proven rogues once more to power.<\/p>\n

If Rajapakse is the Devil \u2026 the Opposition are certainly no angels \u2026. WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS CHANGE WE ARE TO GET?<\/p>\n

CORRUPTION IN SRI LANKA? Yes it happens\u2026.<\/p>\n

Are only politicians guilty? NO\u2026<\/p>\n

Individuals, companies, members of the private sector, employees in the state sector are all guilty. The level of corruption varies but corruption is corruption.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, to end corruption the buck does not stop with the politician.<\/p>\n

Where does it start? Who are connected in between and who does it end with?<\/p>\n

Who sold State assets?<\/p>\n

1. Airlanka? \u2013 CBK
\n2. Lanka Shell Gas? \u2013 CBK
\n3. Sri Lanka Telecom \u2013 CBK
\n4. Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation \u2013 CBK
\n5. Bogala Minerals \u2013 CBK
\n6. State Distilleries \u2013 CBK
\n7. Asia Hotels \u2013 CBK<\/p>\n

Who sold State assets?
\n1. CWE \u2013 Ranil
\n2. Lanka Milk Foods \u2013 Ranil
\n3. Pelawatte Sugar \u2013 Ranil
\n4. Sevanagala Sugar \u2013 Ranil
\n5. Ceylon Oxygen \u2013 Ranil<\/p>\n

Yahapalanaya via privatization\u2026 in store\u2026 for all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nalliah Thayabharan\u00a0 Since the 1950s Western imperialists have been in the business of regime change, assassinations and propping up client states to pillage the wealth of nations. In 1953, England and America overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh of Iran. The coup was orchestrated by the intelligence apparatus of both countries after Mr. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40530\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}