When will the luck of JOB run out? Certainly not consequent upon CHOGM!

The President and his Regime has had a long run of luck, but due to his deft sleight of hand, to confront all challenges with a simple what is your price, knowing that all Sri Lankans have one and he will not have to pay it, the Nation will, has enabled all problematic Opposition to be compromised by giving what they want.

It may be positions, ministries, power or any such sweet, and he has been able to manage any dissent from within and without by these subtle means. When it comes to the Rule of Law there are always those on his side where the Rules DO NOT apply and the other side where it does. In similar vein he has the prosecutable crimes in his files, so that when someone turns against him, he can just throw the book at them, and just show the door to the jail cell. This threat is enough to keep people loyal if not in practice at least for the public consumption, which in the scheme of things is all one cares about.

There was a possibility of a prominent MP on MRs side, who is wealthy and wanted to contest as the CM candidate for the Western Province. However due to the threat of prosecution, and immediate conviction that may prevent this person from contesting, he meekly shut his mouth and kept quiet.

When a person has this kind of power over his people and of enemies, no wonder, dissent is reduced to some insignificant people with no backing and power base, pretending to oppose him. This is for the international consumption, where the President is a dab hand at showing  that there is Freedom of the Media, and open dissent just to suit his image with the critical media, who have no ability to deny his carefully throughout replies to these tricky questions which are no longer tricky. Wickramabahu is therefore encouraged to oppose, as he has NO following!

His luck will never run out, unless the pliant public, turn against him, which no matter what anyone says will not happen soon. It is simply because he controls the media that matters, and they dare not upset the gravy train, as it would only harm their business, and no one wishes to risk it. The people are still eating out of his palm and the foreign interference especially the PRO LTTE Diaspora and Press, has played right into his hand, as their criticism rings hollow to the local electorate, who have been fed the canard, that they only want a Separate Tamil State in SL, and are working with the Opposition and Tamils in Sri Lanka to hasten that.

This age old trick is sufficient to keep him in power for many more years. When writing about the Regime, think of those who suffer, because of what you write.