Its two years and a few months after the end of hostilities and how is it we are still in this defensive mode?

At the point of sounding deadly boring, I just cannot understand that in a country where there has been peace for 25months without even one terrorist related casualty, we are still behaving as if we are at war with the world, not just within ourselves.

This minority complex which the Government has adopted is a sickening indictment on the current leadership, which just craves adulation, but buys it at a high price, mixed with a touch of hoodwinking as it has the mass media, especially the TV channels that are beamed to the majority of the country completely at their disposal to only portray their point of view.

The emergency is still in force. People are still abducted by white vans in broad daylight. Demonstrations are put down by live bullets and the resulting deaths are stage managed by the army to prevent even a decent burial with regular and traditional funeral rites. The militarization of the country is apparent. The military now even does road repairs, carry out leadership training courses for university entrants and have been put into government ministries. Whats more the security of various establishments are handed over to a government owned security firm that employs ex-soldiers much in the nature of the private army of senior politicians. The establishments that are guarded cannot put the contracts out to tender, so they charge much higher than market rates so that they can pay their staff well and hold their loyalty to the patron and be available for private thuggery of the patron when he so wishes.

The people in the country are totally fooled as all foreign finger pointing in this regard is rebutted as a conspiracy by the LTTE rump or apologists, assisted by the opposition parties to destabilize the government. This is a continuing process so that all the internal struggles are conveniently forgotten.

Parliamentary democracy is a farce as the Government with its two thirds majority, mainly arrived by bribing MPs heavily to change sides, is completely secure in their power. Even bills are not considered for debate and just surreptitious presentation and passing without anyone really discovering what has happened until it is too late and the legislation has become law.

While accepting that the weak opposition is a threat to democracy the voter does not care and has forgotten the art of tactical voting to keep the existing regime in check and reduce the possibility of gross abuse of power.

The fact that the agitation of the people is almost non-existent creates a false sense of stability, as our people have suffered a lot of human rights abuse and seem to take it as part of life with little complaint. This is not race related mind you, it exists as much all round the country. It is the sheer arrogance of power that we have to contend with, with no accountability for anyone's actions.

Do I have to conclude that people in this country are bone lazy? don't care or truly content?