{"id":54191,"date":"2016-04-28T14:53:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T21:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=54191"},"modified":"2016-04-28T14:53:41","modified_gmt":"2016-04-28T21:53:41","slug":"maithripala-sirisena-has-begun-his-nadagama-against-mahinda-rajapakse-which-has-become-his-presidential-occupation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/04\/28\/maithripala-sirisena-has-begun-his-nadagama-against-mahinda-rajapakse-which-has-become-his-presidential-occupation\/","title":{"rendered":"Maithripala Sirisena has begun his Nadagama against \u00a0Mahinda Rajapakse, which has become his \u00a0Presidential Occupation."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Charles.S.Perera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Maithripala Sirisena \u00a0re-enacts \u00a0his anti Mahinda Rajapakse Nadagama meticulously prepared for\u00a0 the\u00a0 17 Ausust, 2015 Parliamentary elections, once again\u00a0 before the scheduled May Day rally.\u00a0 In view of this annoying Nadagama, \u00a0it is well worth asking how much of a Buddhist Maithripala Sirisena is, not forgetting that he still owes President Mahinda Rajapakse for the Hopper he ate that night before turning traitor to SLFP.<\/p>\n

Is\u00a0 being a Buddhist compatible with turning against his friends for personal gain ? We are not speaking of an \u00a0ordinary Buddhist but about a Buddhist who takes the reins of leadership of a Theravada Buddhist Country. However, Sirisena\u2019s actions vis \u00e0 vis his former political mentor and companion\u00a0 since taking reins of leadership as President belies his Buddhistness.<\/p>\n

In Matugama addressing a gathering President Maithripala Sirisena had said\u00a0 that the<\/p>\n

Buddhist philosophy has been instrumental\u00a0 in molding a righteous society in the country and a moral society could be built based on the Buddhist philosophy.\u00a0 But it is unfortunate that Maithripala Sirisena had not been molded \u00a0either as a\u00a0 righteous person nor as a moral person in the\u00a0 sense of Buddhist philosophy.<\/p>\n

Maithripala Sirisena lacks ordinary moral principles civilised men and women are expected to follow. One such is\u00a0 shared secrets , and personal information\u00a0 amoung friends.\u00a0 A psychologist says, We use our friends as sounding boards for the big decisions and the small decisions in our lives. We trust them with our secrets, because we know that they won\u2019t tell a soul.. \u201d .<\/p>\n

But Maithripala Sirisena takes a pleasure in telling unpleasant things, secrets, and confidential information he only knows about his one time friend, Leader of the political party in which he was the General Secretary.\u00a0 Sirisena lashed at the former President at \u00a0a meeting of heads of print and electronic media. Sirisena said \u00a0 their past regime was corrupt\u00a0 and oppressive and I knew what the Rajapakse clan was planning if they won the election.\u00a0 Out of sheer fear and contempt\u00a0 and in the interest of the country , I decided to resign\u00a0 and join hands with the Common Opposition \u00a0for a change\u00a0 despite having opposed UNP for 48 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

What a shameless drivel. The people knows that he is telling blatant lies.\u00a0 He\u00a0 never resigned from the Party , but walked away like a thief in the night of the 13th\u00a0 of November, 2014 after eating hoppers with\u00a0 his leader Rajapakse whom he unashamedly- like Judas Iscariot down grades and sells to his enemies.<\/p>\n

Sirisena was in fact roped in by Chandrika to become the Common Opposition Presidential Candidate not because of his aptness for the office , but because\u00a0 he is influenceable,\u00a0 according to Chandrika\u2019s \u00a0own statement. Chandrika approached him to declare her intention\u00a0 as\u00a0 she knew that Sirisena was depressive \u00a0not having been made the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

If it was so distasteful being with the past corrupt Regime of\u00a0 Rajapaksa, as he says , why did not he resign before instead of waiting to be called by Chandrika Kumaratunga to be the common Presidential Candidate ?<\/p>\n

Now he can tell lies at round tables to open mouthed na\u00efve listeners.\u00a0 Of course the UNP Ministers and UNP sympathisers like him very much because never would they have been able to form a UNP Government\u00a0 if \u00a0it had \u00a0not been for Maithripala Sirisena betraying his political party in which he had been for 48 years\u00a0 and leaving his friends who had trusted him as the General Secretary of his party.<\/p>\n

But in his unprincipled behaviour Maithripala Sirisena \u00a0shows to what an extent he is not suitable to be the President of Sri Lanka a predominantly Buddhist country. His motivation \u00a0for this degrading behaviour, as we see it, is that he is suffering \u00a0from an unfathomable\u00a0 inferiority complex vis \u00e0 vis the former President Mahinda Rajapakse.\u00a0 The only way he finds to make up that defect is by inventing\u00a0 and dispensing defamatory information about his former leader.<\/p>\n

He shows not only his lack of moral principles, but also his ignorance of the teachings of the Buddha being a\u00a0 Buddhist of no consequence, who knows next to nothing of the deep philosophy of Buddha Dhamma.<\/p>\n

His random \u00a0tribute to Buddhism is false as he fails keeping even the five Buddhist precepts , and having no moral principles. He gave into temptation for power, betraying those who had placed their trust in him.\u00a0 He was not content with his simple situation in life as a Minister and a General Secretary of an important political Party, and threw his\u00a0 Buddhist philosophy under the table to walk away from his friend in the night of the 13 November,2014, to join his enemies to satisfy his unbridled greed for power.<\/p>\n

In what ever situation a person who can stand by a moral code, without giving into temptation\u00a0 for power respecting the trust his friends had placed on him is a moral person. In that sense Maithripala Sirisena is\u00a0 not a moral person, therefore he has no right either to speak of righteousness, nor that of\u00a0 morality.<\/p>\n

A man who speaks of Buddhist philosophy may yet sin against the moral codes of Buddhism, but what is unpardonable is\u00a0 not the \u00a0act of treachery against those who had placed their trust in him and go in stealth to join their enemies, but\u00a0 what is unpardonable is\u00a0 being \u00a0in the enemy camp planning\u00a0 revenge against those to whom he became a traitor. This is what Maithripala Sirisena is now doing sitting safely and comfortably with his former political enemies against whom he fought political battles along side his former political companions.<\/p>\n

But Maithripala Sirisena is a man boiling\u00a0 with anger, hatred and vengeance. An angry man is not fit to be a President of a Nation. In Anguttara Nikaya it is, said: As a log from a pyre, burnt at both ends and fouled in the middle, serves neither for firewood in the village nor for, timber in the forest, so is such a wrathful man.\u00a0 \u201d<\/p>\n

Srisena from his revengeful conduct against his one time political friends shows that he is not suitable to lead the nation as its President. A man in whatever manner he has been brought to hold the office of the President of Sri Lanka should respect the teachings of the Buddha\u00a0 he had rightly or falsely followed as a Buddhist to be worthy of being a President of \u00a0this predominantly Buddhist nation. In terms of Buddhist philosophy one should love even his enemies. Buddhist teachings expect a very high standard of\u00a0 universal love, respect and the highest degree of patience .<\/p>\n

In Kakacupama Sutta in Majjhima Nikaya, Buddha tells his monks: Suppose some bandits catch one of you and sever his body limb from limb with a two-handed saw, and if he should feel angry thereby even at that moment , he is not a follower of my teaching.<\/p>\n

That is what it is to be a follower of the teachings of the Buddha, and people expect their President to be an example at least to some extent of the teachings of the Buddha.<\/p>\n

But Maithripala Sirisena is \u00a0a sad example of a very bad Buddhist.\u00a0 We saw during the General election of the 18 August, 2015, how Sirisena went all out to make his former leader Mahinda Rajapakse looses at the election by sending a letter expressive of his anger hatred, which was undoubtedly prepared with a \u00a0fear of an election victory for Mahinda Rajapakse.\u00a0 In that letter he warned Mahinda Rajapakse that even if he were to win the election he will not be appointed the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Sirisena shamelessly abused his Presidential power \u00a0by sacking the General Secretaries of\u00a0 the SLFP and the UPFA \u00a0just a few days before the election appointing his own cronies to carry out his vicious plan to oust the former President Mahinda Rajapakse from politics.<\/p>\n

Maithripala Sirisena invented lies to make \u00a0Mahinda Rajapakse \u00a0unpopular. He said that before the Presidential\u00a0 election\u00a0 he was frightened for his life, because he was sure that if he lost the presidential elections he and his family would have been six feet underground in an unknown cemetery. Even after election the fear of what Mahinda Rajapakse is capable of doing did not leave his mind.<\/p>\n

But Mahinda Rajapakse is far from what Sirisena \u00a0insinuates.\u00a0 Mahinda Rajapakse respects people and he helped not only the people of Sri Lanka but he fought for the people of Palestine. People point to Sarath Fonseka as an example of Mahinda Rajapakse\u2019s vengeance against people.\u00a0 But Sarath Fonseka\u2019s downfall was of his own making, and there was a reason at the time of the arrest to believe that he had a secret agenda after the terrorist war. It is the same with the White Van culture some speak as if it is the making of Rajapaksas. It was not so and no one has really proved it as a fact.<\/p>\n

Sirisena knew that despite his\u00a0 victory at the\u00a0 Presidential election, Mahinda Rajapakse remains much more popular than him.\u00a0 Hence he uses his Presidential powers \u00a0primarily to eliminate the good image of the former President Mahinda Rajapakse in the minds of the people. Hence other matters such as countries administration and Ranil Wickramasinghe\u2019s mismanagement of Yahapalanaya take a secondary place in his priorities.<\/p>\n

Maithripala Sirisena has no vision or political intelligence to be vigilant about matters that concern the country as a whole and the people.\u00a0 He seems to be blissfully unaware of the precipice to which his PM Ranil Wickramasinghe and his cronies are pushing Sri Lanka. He is not concerned with the ECTA agreement with India, Hanuman Bridge proposed to be constructed connecting north of Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu. To date Sirisena has not made a statement\u00a0 on these important issues. Because his preoccupation is the fear of loosing his popularity to the former President Mahinda Rajapakse whose rise in popularity amoung the ordinary people of Sri Lanka, seems unstoppable.<\/p>\n

If Sirisena is a true Buddhist he should not restrict\u00a0 Buddhist morality to words to fool the people, but should\u00a0 be genuine in follow the Buddhist precepts every day at every moment to be a true Buddhist leader, without discrimination against religion , communality or nationality. He should also not distinguish between his friends and his enemies. He should accept every one equally well.as<\/a> his friends.<\/p>\n

Being the President of a Buddhist country, there is a high moral code\u00a0 to follow. After all a President is different from rest of the people and one expects a very high moral conduct from him. If not he should \u00a0either submit his resignation, or change his mental attitude .<\/p>\n

Venerable K.Piyatissa thera says in an article \u2026.. teaching of the Buddha \u2026.includes the reflection: “Others may be harmful, but I shall be harmless, thus should I train myself.” We must not forget that the whole spirit of Buddhism is one of pacification. In the calm and placid atmosphere of the Buddha’s teaching there is every chance, every possibility, of removing hatred, jealousy and violence from our mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is \u00a0a Buddhist verse in Dhammapada which reads :He abused me, he beat me,he defeated me, he robbed me of my property.\u00a0 Whosoever harbour such thoughts\u00a0 will never be able to still their enmity.<\/p>\n

Even in\u00a0 the\u00a0 Bible St Luke\u00a0 verse 27 reads: But I tell you who hear me : Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..\u201d<\/p>\n

About the May day rally, the argument put forward by the SLFP Ministers is that the division of the SLFP will result in the formation of a UNP Government.\u00a0 But despite a so called National Government, \u00a0the SLFP plays a secondary role and it is really a UNP Government in place\u00a0 with the\u00a0 UNP Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe as the Prime Minister implementing his own projects that would cause irreparable damage to Sri Lanka and its sovereignty.<\/p>\n

The SLFP Ministers within the Government of Ranil Wickramasinghe\u00a0\u00a0 are unable to stop this dangerous march towards disaster.\u00a0 Therefore a division in the SLFP with\u00a0 a divided\u00a0 SLFP one having a May day Rally in Galle and the other in Kirulapone will make no difference. Ranil Wickramasinghe will carry on with his calamitous caravan\u00a0 whether SLFP barks\u201d\u00a0 united or divided.<\/p>\n

The ECTA agreement with India, the Hanuman Bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka, the PM \u00a0the leader of the UNP has promised sign in June. The first Bond scam was not investigated . The President\u2019s demand to remove the Governor of the Central Bank, has fallen on deaf years. And a second Bond scam had taken place in March this year.<\/p>\n

But the SLFP in the Government had been helpless to stop these scandalous affairs taking place.\u00a0 So why continue with a National government when it is apparent that Sri Lanka is not being governed well in the interest of the country and its people.<\/p>\n

Sirisena has not the gumption to be\u00a0 the leader of the SLFP, because he is not made\u201d for leadership.\u00a0 To day as the President of Sri Lanka he plays only a secondary role to Ranil Wickramasinghe his Prime Minister.<\/p>\n

That may be one of the reasons why \u00a0he has made running down and making false accusations against Rajapaksas his official duty, leaving the running of the Yahapalanaya government to the UNP Prime Minister. Ranil Wickramasinghe\u00a0 runs the country the way he wants\u00a0 subordinating it to the West and India, and finally inviting China to provide economic help and start\u00a0 new projects which would never come from the West or India.<\/p>\n

If Maithripala Sirisena is wise he would stop his continuous vengeance against the former President Mahinda Rajapakse.\u00a0 He should forget the past, and try to be independent taking a Buddhist view, developing compassion and being an indiscriminate benefactor of the people of all religions , nationalities, without \u00a0differentiating friends and foes. That is in fact what a President should be.<\/p>\n

The present Yahapalanaya government is supported by the separatist Tamils and Muslims and\u00a0 some of the Sinhala Colombians, UNP sympathisers, JHU,\u00a0 JVP and others who had\u00a0 failed to get benefits from the previous Government, and\u00a0 hope to be seen in a good light by the Yahapalanaya leadership hoping that they will benefit from their support of the President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister\u00a0 Ranil Wickramasinghe.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0 a larger number of ordinary people remains with Mahinda Rajapakse and if Maithripala Siriseana would not change the\u00a0 Mahinda Rajapakse\u2019s popularity will increase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Charles.S.Perera Maithripala Sirisena \u00a0re-enacts \u00a0his anti Mahinda Rajapakse Nadagama meticulously prepared for\u00a0 the\u00a0 17 Ausust, 2015 Parliamentary elections, once again\u00a0 before the scheduled May Day rally.\u00a0 In view of this annoying Nadagama, \u00a0it is well worth asking how much of a Buddhist Maithripala Sirisena is, not forgetting that he still owes President Mahinda Rajapakse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-charles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54191","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=54191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54191\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}