{"id":74741,"date":"2018-02-13T21:27:53","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T03:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=74741"},"modified":"2018-02-13T06:37:58","modified_gmt":"2018-02-13T13:37:58","slug":"sirisena-is-finished-long-live-sirisena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/02\/13\/sirisena-is-finished-long-live-sirisena\/","title":{"rendered":"SIRISENA IS FINISHED!\u00a0 LONG LIVE SIRISENA!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong>DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>\u2018[For it is written] Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord\u2019 &#8211; (Romans, 12:19)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In September 2015, Maithripala Sirisena pulled a fast one on the UPFA voters who had voted in the August-2015 elections.\u00a0 He got 45 SLFP MP\u2019s elected under the UPFA banner to join the UNP and carry on a \u2018National Government.\u2019 What was really at stake in the 10<sup>th<\/sup> February 2018 Local Government elections was whether the UPFA voters thus betrayed in 2015 would let Sirisena continue with the aforesaid fraud.\u00a0 The results of the polls show that they replied with a thunderous \u2018NO!\u2019\u00a0 So, Sirisena is finished.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, I shall briefly set out what I think the Sinhalas must now do to prepare for their inevitable takeover of power in 2020.\u00a0 The last thing they can afford is make the same mistake as J.R. in 1977, to wit, when he had a 5\/6 majority, to use that solely in order to consolidate the power of a single person (himself) and a single Party (the UNP):\u00a0 if I\u2019m not mistaken, as he put it, \u2018To roll up the electoral carpet for a decade.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The Sinhalas cannot fall into the same trap.\u00a0 As soon as they come to power in 2020, they must see to it that the country is put on the right track by adopting policies and plans that have been thoroughly discussed and reflected on, and which have been formulated with the interests of the country always foremost in mind.\u00a0 In my view, the Sinhalas should now itself busy themselves in developing the following plans.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO DESTROY THE TAMIL SEPARATIST MOVEMENT ONCE AND FOR ALL<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Under the aforesaid topic, the following four matters must be looked into:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Though the Government defeated the LTTE militarily in May 2009, Tamil separatism has continued to thrive, especially because the Tamil Diaspora has managed to gain sufficient political clout in leading Western countries, to influence the policies of those countries towards Sri Lanka.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take England, for instance.\u00a0 At present, the British government is Conservative, but it is a relatively weak Government.\u00a0 Labour, on the other hand, is on the ascendant.\u00a0 It is well-known that the Tamils are a significant force behind Labour.\u00a0 And, just by coincidence, if I\u2019m not mistaken Jeremy Corbyn the leader of the Labour Party has said that if his Party were to come to power it would straightaway recognize the right of the Tamils to Eelam.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The point is that, just to ward off a challenge by Labour, the Conservatives might have to cater to some of the demands of the Tamils.\u00a0 This sort of thing must end.\u00a0 The Sinhala Diaspora in the aforesaid countries must also organize and gain the necessary clout to be able to say to the relevant politicians:<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Look here!\u00a0 Leave Sri Lanka alone. If you love the Tamils so much and want them to have Eelam, give them a plot of land in this country where they can pursue their \u2018dreams.\u2019\u00a0 As for Sri Lanka, deal with it according to the norms of international law (i.e. Article 2(7) of the UN Charter) and respect the inherent right of <em>all<\/em> the citizens of that country \u2013 including the Sinhalas \u2013 to decide what is best for their own country.\u2019<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Tamil separatists have succeeded in formulating the legal grounds for Eelam and presenting it to the intelligentsia in Western countries, and the said intelligentsia, because the Sinhalas have failed to counter the arguments in question, have swallowed them, hook, line and sinker.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For instance, when the erstwhile Mr. C.V. Vigneswaran \u2013whatever other faults he may have, he knows the law quite well \u2013 suggests that at the upcoming UNHRC sessions in March 2018 the Council should begin putting in place a \u2018Legal Framework\u2019 for discussing a \u2018political settlement\u2019 for the Tamils, he means that the Council should start with the \u2018Legal Framework\u2019 for Eelam, as put out by the Tamils themselves.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Sinhalas must counter once and for all the legal arguments put out by the Tamils.\u00a0 They have to demonstrate to the whole world that the area of land (i.e. the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka) that the Tamils are demanding as \u2018Eelam\u2019 also happens to be the historical homeland of the Sinhalas.<\/p>\n<p>If the Sinhalas have moral and historical rights to the land in question, the Tamils cannot invoke a right to self-determination to justify forming a separate State encompassing such land, even if the Tamils (for the sake of argument) have acquired moral and historical rights in that area, because the one right does not, and cannot, cancel the other.\u00a0 The Sinhalas have to start pointing this out, systematically, and with evidence.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Sinhalas must begin systematically exploring the legal means through which to get the TNA banned in Sri Lanka, and, if TNA-leaders cannot demonstrate \u2013 with actions rather than mere words \u2013 that they have well and truly given up separatism, to have the scoundrels deported. It is clear that, TNA-leaders have never given up their quest for Eelam, but have figured out ways to avoid being held to account under the law by playing various semantic games.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also, they have allied with Tamil Diaspora organizations which are openly and avowedly Eelamist, but which are registered in foreign countries, so that they (the TNA) can push the Eelam agenda both within Sri Lanka and especially in the international arena through those organizations, while maintaining the fa\u00e7ade that they have abandoned separatism.<\/p>\n<p>As I said, the Sinhalas must find the means to end this game, and have the scoundrels in question deported.\u00a0 Let them plot against Sri Lanka from India, Canada, England, or wherever else they end up:\u00a0 they cannot do any more damage than what they\u2019ve done already while operating under our very noses.\u00a0 Besides, then they\u2019ll be a burden to the taxpayers in those countries, and not to us!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Sinhalas must settle a minimum of 100,000 of their number in the Northern Province within two years of coming to power. None of the things mentioned in points \u2018a,\u2019 \u2018b\u2019 or \u2018c\u2019 above will be of any use if the Sinhalas don\u2019t have a robust physical presence in the Northern Province.\u00a0 So, this has to be done.\u00a0 The Sinhalas must begin doing the initial surveys as to what are the best areas in the North to move such a large population, how to feed, cloth and house them, and also how to find them gainful employment.\u00a0 I know some people will say that moving 100,000 Sinhalas to the North is a \u2018Pipedream\u2019 or a \u2018Nonstarter.\u2019\u00a0 Let them keep saying it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>A COMPRHENSIVE ECONOMIC PLAN <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>It is no revelation to say that the country needs a good economic plan.\u00a0 But, one of the most disturbing things one sees in recent years is that certain foreign countries have managed to make Sri Lanka so dependant on them that, by threatening to withdraw or withhold various programs of economic-aid, they can force us to alter our national policies on matters that have nothing to do with the subject-matter of those programs.<\/p>\n<p>The most striking example of this is where, four years ago, the European Union halted the GSP-plus program to Sri Lanka, and said that they would approve it again only if Sri Lanka agreed to 58 conditions, which included recommendations for legal reforms including constitutional reforms.\u00a0 Needless to say, the present Government agreed to all 58.<\/p>\n<p>If foreign counties can influence the internal affairs of Sri Lanka in this manner, it makes no sense to speak of sovereignty.\u00a0 So, the Sinhalas need to generate an economic plan that gives the country enough options that, if a foreign country or group of countries try to meddle <em>too much<\/em> in Sri Lanka\u2019s internal affairs, Sri Lankans can say without fear, \u2018We don\u2019t need your stinking dollars!\u2019<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> A COMPRHENSIVE PLAN OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Under the aforesaid topic I think two points should be explored:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The 13<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment must be put to a referendum as soon as the Sinhalas take power. If the People reject the 13th Amendment, it must be discarded forthwith.\u00a0\u00a0 However, the Sinhalas must generate an alternative that addresses the concerns of the Tamils and Muslims.<\/li>\n<li>The genius of Sirisena is that, he proved beyond any shadow of doubt the complete bankruptcy of the political system that has developed in Sri Lanka in the last 70 years. The culmination of that system is the bogus \u2018constitution-making process\u2019 that began in March 2015.\u00a0 The Sinhalas were brought to the very edge of losing their country, but it was all done under the colour of the law \u2013i.e. the Government had a 2\/3 majority in Parliament to pass the draft Constitution in Parliament, and then, if it passed at a referendum (and a simple majority is sufficient to win a referendum) it will have been legitimate. \u00a0\u00a0So, the Sinhalas must begin a genuine dialogue on constitutional reform, and generate the outline of a future Constitution that would ensure that they will never again be brought to their present sorry state.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> See, \u2018Labour Party supports self-determination and referenda for Tamils,\u2019 The Tamil Diplomat, 2<sup>nd<\/sup> June 2017, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tamildiplomat.com\">www.tamildiplomat.com<\/a> ; and also, \u2018Labour Party leader backs self-determination for Tamils,\u2019 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombogazette.com\">www.colombogazette.com<\/a> 14<sup>th<\/sup> April 2016<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> See, \u2018Wiggy wants Intl legal framework,\u2019 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seithy.com\">www.seithy.com<\/a> 18<sup>th<\/sup> January 2018<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DHARSHAN WEERASEKERA \u2018[For it is written] Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord\u2019 &#8211; (Romans, 12:19) In September 2015, Maithripala Sirisena pulled a fast one on the UPFA voters who had voted in the August-2015 elections.\u00a0 He got 45 SLFP MP\u2019s elected under the UPFA banner to join the UNP and carry on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dharshan-weerasekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74741","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=74741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}