{"id":41917,"date":"2015-03-01T21:40:08","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T03:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=41917"},"modified":"2015-03-01T14:29:15","modified_gmt":"2015-03-01T21:29:15","slug":"ranil-drives-yaha-pala-naya-down-the-pal-lung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/03\/01\/ranil-drives-yaha-pala-naya-down-the-pal-lung\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranil drives \u00a0\u201cYaha-pala-naya\u201d down the pal-lung"},"content":{"rendered":"

H. L. D. Mahindapala<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

On February 27 the My-3\u201d Troika, consisting of Chandrika Bandaranaike,(CBK), Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena, passed its half-way mark on its vaunted pilgrimage to political nirvana which, they said, would be achieved in 100 days. This\u00a0 is the solemn promise they gave the people and, unless they are to be dismissed as a pack of con artistes, their word must be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s time to do a reality check to find out, among other things, (1) how far they have advanced on the road to their political nirvana, with Champika Ranawake beating\u00a0 the drum for the boru bana<\/em> of Ven. Sobitha and Ven. Rathana ; (2) how capable the UNP government is to take the Troika down the road to their nirvana and (3) what are their chances of\u00a0 at least getting somewhere near the Troika\u2019s ultimate goal outlined in the Manifesto. The SLFP MPs \u2013 the majority in the House — do not come into the picture because they have been\u00a0 thrown into the margins with nothing to do but to twiddle their thumbs and munch President Sirisena\u2019s hoppers from time to time.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, the best way to\u00a0 test the progress is to\u00a0 evaluate the work of the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who, in the post-election period, is leading the Troika after grabbing the lion\u00a0 share of power. He is the point man who should be held responsible because, under the patronage of the two SLFP heavy-weights that matter now\u00a0 — CBK and Maithripala Sirisena \u2013 he has managed to corral UNPers into a minority government, promising to deliver nirvana within 100 days. Readers may remember that his uncle, J. R. Jayewardene vowed to attain nirvana\u00a0 in his life time after taking a shot or two whiskey a day. Now his nephew has promised to deliver the whole of nirvana to the people within 100 days which, he says, is coming round the corner.<\/p>\n

One way of arriving at a rational and balanced judgment on the performance of the Wickremesinghe-led government is to collect evidence\u00a0 from reliable insiders who had gone through the\u00a0 mill. In this\u00a0 respect there is none better than Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, who was the translator of the Manifesto into English (he was a professor\u00a0 of English), and was also a part of the machinery responsible for the overthrow of the Rajapakse regime. He even\u00a0 held a State\u00a0 Ministership in the government and\u00a0 then\u00a0 — then\u00a0 he\u00a0 quit in utter disgust! So he should\u00a0 know who\u2019s in and who\u2019s out and why? He should also be aware of the inner workings of those who seem to be on their way to Dante\u2019s Hell than the promised nirvana. Besides, he comes\u00a0 with Oxford-Liberal leanings and his testimony should be treated with respect, more so because he\u00a0 is also the first cousin of the Prime\u00a0 Minister.<\/p>\n

So consider first what he has to say about the key ministry of the Prime Minister \u2013 the engine that is supposed to be driving the state to political nirvana promised in the Manifesto. In his\u00a0 interview with the Daily Mirror<\/em> he says bluntly: Ranil\u2019s Cabinet portfolio is absolute crackers! (Meaning: insane!). Policy planning, youth, cultural and women\u2019s affairs and investment promotion-but no- one knows where reconciliation fits in. Some people think Ranil is in charge, some think its carried out through a presidential task force but nothing has been done. This government promised to have a \u2018scientific\u2019 Cabinet. But guess under which portfolio, the divisional and district secretariats are? When they should clearly be under public administration they are with the Fisheries Ministry!\u201d<\/p>\n

In an explanatory note to me he added: The transference of Divisional and District Secretariats to the Home Affairs portfolio, which is combined with Fisheries, is ample evidence of his failure to plan in the interests of the country. <\/p>\n

My short response : Is Wickremesinghe building the nirvana promised by the Troika or is he going on a fishing expedition?<\/p>\n

That is not all. Have a read of what Prof. Wijesinha has to say about the magic 100-day program \u2013 the ultimate test of the government run by Wickremesinghe. When Prof. Wijesinha was asked what he thinks about the 100-day programme, he replied: : It\u2019s a complete disaster because no-one is concerned about the programme. I have noted seven things we must implement before the expiration of 100-days. And there can be no compromises.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his hard-hitting interview\u00a0 with the Daily Mirror<\/em> Prof. Wijesinha points the finger directly at his cousin, Wickremesinghe. He says: One of Wickremesinghe\u2019s problems is that he is trying to run everything. Look at his portfolios. You think any human being can do all that? This is exactly what happened in 2001. If he repeats the same mistakes, he will be playing straight into the hands of the Opposition. I think Wickremesinghe has difficulty in trusting able people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prof. Wijesinha has hit the nail on the head. He has identified the paranoia that discombobulates Wickremesinghe. The primary instinct that drives him is his mistrust of anyone. This also explains his\u00a0 inability to be warm, easy-going and keeping everyone at arm\u2019s length with an inane grin. His inability to relate to people also increases his insecurity. He is not only surrounded by some of\u00a0 his own people gunning for him, he is also surrounded by his own paranoid fears. He is\u00a0 his worst enemy. Prof. Wijesinha concluded that PM\u2019s ministry is crackers\u201d. But a closer look will reveal that the man himself is crackers. On top of his infirmities he is also burdened with a load promises which he can\u2019t deliver.<\/p>\n

Together with CBK and Sirisena the Troika has taken the nation for a ride at the election promising\u00a0 the sun, moon and\u00a0 the stars which they are incapable of delivering. Only those who have gone\u00a0 crackers would\u00a0 believe that\u00a0 they could deliver within 100 days what the nation has failed to achieve from pre-colonial times.<\/p>\n

What is most noticeable is the disturbingly erratic behavior of Wickremesinghe since he occupied (temporarily) the prime\u00a0 minister\u2019s seat. His behaviour is more like that of a pocket Genghis Khan running\u00a0 berserk with bipolar disorder than a steady leader of a democracy steering its way rationally towards peace, reconciliation and stability. His unpredictable mood\u00a0 swings from\u00a0 highs to lows, and vice versa, are a sign of his not having a sound grasp of the realities needed to deal with the increasing momentum of the forces threatening to overwhelm him.<\/p>\n

His sense of insecurity unnerved him and reached a new low when\u00a0 he was confronted with the unprecedented gathering at Nugegoda \u2013 a blow that sent him reeling. Shortly after that he went berserk threatening in particular the media that focused on the rise of the Nugegoda Man. Overnight he exploded into a hostile reaction that ran counter to the promised tolerance of a democratic regime which was marketed during the election as the foundation of ya-ha-pala-naya\u201d (good governance).<\/p>\n

This malaise of being confounded by the rising political forces\u00a0 and the disorder arising from dysfunctional governance, highlighted by Prof. Wijesinha, is not confined to him alone. The MY-3\u201d regime, as a whole, is behaving erratically with the three main arms of the regime \u2013 1. President\u2019s wing 2. Prime Minister\u2019s wing and 3 Chandrika Bandaranaike\u2019s (CBK) wing \u2013 pulling in three idiosyncratic directions. The Nugegoda rising\u00a0 is only the\u00a0 external factor. But the increasing discontent and\u00a0 frustrations within a coalition of 47 entities (which is labeled as the\u00a0 National Unity government) and the mismanagement right across the administrative spectrum, identified so accurately by Prof. Wijesinha, are causing internal tensions which, in turn, are pressuring Wickremesinghe from diverse quarters, throwing him off balance.<\/p>\n

His tendency to panic is seen in\u00a0 his unwarranted\u00a0 and unacceptable threat to Sinhala journalists and media owners. I just can\u2019t believe that a son of Esmond Wickremesinghe, the media magnate who overturned Mrs. Bandaranaike\u2019s government for attempting to take over Lake House, could ever threaten to raid media institutions with his mob (Batalanda-style) if they do not toe his line. It looks as if he has taken over the task of leading\u00a0 the mob in the absence of his late side-kick, Gonawila Sunil. Only a Prime Minister\u00a0 who has gone crackers would utter such vindictive vitriol against the media \u2013 an institution that was guaranteed absolute security in the Manifesto. Considering\u00a0 this unexpected volte face it is fair to ask\u00a0 whether the nation is heading\u00a0 towards yaha-pala-naya\u201d or towards Angoda.<\/p>\n

This excessive reaction can only be a sign of a Prime Minister who has lost touch with reality. Ever since he\u00a0 became Prime Minister,\u00a0 Ranil Wickremesinghe has shown alarming signs of erratic behavior. Which other prime minister of the democratic world, for instance, would come out naming journalists who had commented adversely on him? Which president or vice president of International Democratic Union (IDU) would vow to strike out media owners from the stock market because their publications are supposed to have roused communal dissension \u2013 Wickremesinghe\u2019s excuse for media suppression?<\/p>\n

Not knowing how to respond to the formidable mass movement rising against him Wickremesinghe has latched on to the cheap and dangerous tactic of labeling anyone defending the nation as communalists. His knee-jerk reaction is to raid media institutions with his mob, he says. In other words. he is openly advocating mob rule and not yaha-pala-naya\u201d. Leaving that aside, will he also lead a mob to raid newspaper offices in Jaffna \u2013 the seething hot bed of communalism, demonizing the Sinhala-Buddhists day-in-day-out?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>If his\u00a0 intention is to protect and\u00a0 preserve communal harmony why is\u00a0 he targeting only the media in the Sinhala south and turning a blind to the Tamil media which is oozing with anti-Sinhala communal hatred in each and every publication? Isn\u2019t he aware that his proposed constitutional reforms, aimed mainly to appease the Tamil North, will end\u00a0 up like his futile CFA with Prabhakaran because the Tamil media, which has space only for demonizing the Sinhala-Buddhists, will sabotage his formula? Is\u00a0 he aware that the pulpit of\u00a0 the Catholic Church has been used uninhibitedly by the Tamil\u00a0 clerical hierarchy as the broadcasting station for anti-Sinhala-Buddhist hatred? Is he aware that the Jaffna\u00a0 University, which is funded by what they call the Sinhala state\u201d, has become the hot\u00a0 bed of anti-Sinhala-Buddhist indoctrination and activities?<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t Wickremesinghe\u2019s idea of promoting communal harmony similar to that of producing the sound of a clap with one hand? Or is his attempt to suppress the media in\u00a0 the\u00a0 south a part of his hidden agenda to whip the media bosses into line and through them prevent the journalists from challenging the legitimacy of his naked ambition to be the unelected prime minister of a minority government as long as he can?<\/p>\n

Is he aware that the political culture of mono-ethnic extremism\u00a0 is ineradicably rooted in Jaffna soil? Jaffna never took to any humane ideology \u2013 socialism, liberalism, pluralism, pacifism, humanism etc., — other than Hindu casteism and Tamil racism. Prabhakaran is the inevitable manifestation of communal hatred fed to the Tamil community by successive generations of Tamil political leaders. Tamil communalism took a virulent turn when G. G. Poonnambalam launched his politics of percentages (50-50) demonizing the Sinhalese and denigrating the Mahavamsa.<\/em><\/p>\n

Is Wickremesinghe aware that\u00a0 the first communal party was established in Jaffna\u00a0 in 1921 when Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam broke away from the Ceylon National Congress and formed the first communal organization called the Tamil Mahajana Sabhai? Is\u00a0 he aware that the Sinhalese did not go down that communal path initially and that S.W.R. D. Bandaranaike established the Sinhala Maha Sabha only in 1935 purely to counter the rabid racism of G. G. Ponnambalam?<\/p>\n

An objective and deep analysis of the history of communalism will establish that Sinhala-Buddhist communalism was only a defensive reaction to the mono-ethnic\u00a0 extremism of the Tamil north. It is the rabid racists of the North who drove the Sinhala-Buddhists of the south into the arms of their extremists and counter-violence. It is Prabhakaran who turned the sleeping Sinhala-Buddhists into the\u00a0 best fighting\u00a0 forces against terrorism. It is the threat of separatism that has made the south resist any concessions to the north. It is the Tamil strategy of running to India that has raised the existential fears of the Sinhalese. So if Wickremesinghe has any political sense to analyze and work out\u00a0 remedies for reconciliation and\u00a0 peace he must first change the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist political culture of North. Neither he nor anyone else can succeed if the minorities continue to threaten the majority with their hatred.<\/p>\n

Before raiding newspaper offices in the south Wickremesinghe, if he is\u00a0 really serious about communalism, must\u00a0 first lead his mob into Jaffna and raid the anti-Sinhala-Buddhist Tamil newspaper offices and establish his credentials as an even handed anti-communalist. After that he can come down to the south to carry on with his thugs in\u00a0 the south, if he is still among the living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

H. L. D. Mahindapala On February 27 the My-3\u201d Troika, consisting of Chandrika Bandaranaike,(CBK), Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena, passed its half-way mark on its vaunted pilgrimage to political nirvana which, they said, would be achieved in 100 days. This\u00a0 is the solemn promise they gave the people and, unless they are to be dismissed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-h-l-d-mahindapala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41917","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=41917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}