The
difficulty to distinguish right from wrong – The guilty finding excuses
The
sad history of Sri Lanka since independence has been the need for politics to
set aside what is good for the Country, and instead do what is electorally
beneficial. One may pontificate that, in a true democracy, the electoral
winners will do what is best for the Country. The voters will determine by a
majority what is best, hence we need not fear a wrong detour in the path of
progress.
IN
Sri Lanka’s case, the Colonial grip, of divide and rule, has prevented a truly
national patriotism from forming, and instead polarized ALL communities into
ONLY considering their interests over and above the interests of the Nation
State as a whole. I presume that the democracy that was bequeathed was good,
but the practitioners, leaders of the communities, misused it for their own
ends and self preservation of themselves and their narrow quarters.
Its
worst manifestation was when Mahinda Rajapakse ascended the Presidency. The fog
of right and wrong has completely engulfed the Country, thanks to a very benign
and sycophantic media, which I blame for most of the ills of today, and wrong
has for the most part engulfed and suppressed the right!!
The
Media is NO longer independent. Most of the Editors are nothing but slaves of
rhetoric. Some are downright bigoted, hostile, and full of chips on their
shoulders unable to rise up from the bog they still lie in and blame the
hypocrisy of the West when the external forces against our obvious decent into
Hades is pointed out. Some are still drunk on the victory of one community’s
victory over another, all citizens of this tiny country! A truly pyrrhic
victory.
WE
HAVE NOT attempted to solve our own problems internally, and then blame foreign
powers who are trying to interfere to do that. Don’t ever forget that foreign
interference is only because our citizens within Sri Lanka have asked for help.
When our own citizens CANNOT find redress within, they go outside, just as
Mahinda Rakapakse, with great threat to his person, did go to Geneva to
complain to the UNHRC against his own Govt. and HR abuses in SL, because HE
COULD NOT find redress within. “What is good for the goose must also be good
for the gander.”
It
is a joke when he blames foreign forces for trying to destabilize SL, when he
indulged in the same game when it suited him. HE MUST understand better than
these simpleton journalists why this is so. However he has got them dancing
round his little finger, spouting nonsensical gibberish at the expense of peace
and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, that appears NOT to be on the Agenda of the
Rakapakse Govt. due to fear of become electorally insignificant. Otherwise why
not show magnanimity?
Of
course this Govt. is electorally bad for this Country. They have thrown away
the “one off” (never to be repeated) peace dividend for starters. They have not
done anything genuine, without a single honest bone in their bodies. They have an
electoral plebiscite ONLY due to an overwhelmingly benign and malleable press
incapable of understanding how grave the issues that have not been resolved are
to the future well being of Sri Lankans.
I
remember there was a time before the 1970 elections, when the common perception
was that we needed a strong Govt. (electorally with a two thirds majority) to
make the right policies. We know what the ruination of two thirds did to the
Country. First was the disastrous Sirima Govt. with its nationalization
policies, and then the equally disastrous JR Govt. of a free for all inevitable
when we woke up in 1977 to find SL in ruin. If Sirima had not failed so
tragically JR would NOT have needed to take the steps he did to get back to
sanity, which later lead to insanity. The Rajapakse administration sadly has
been the worst on all fronts.
The
Development by the way of the Country is NOT thanks to anything the Govt. has
done, it is simply due to the $50Billion that has been sent to this country by
its people living and working all over the world. Actually our growth and
development would have been much higher if we DID not have a govt. as this
Govt. has actually been a huge break on growth and entrepreneurship, due to
lack of faith in the legal system, as shown in forced acquisitions without compensation
and the stratospheric level of corruption.
This
use of ricocheting all our sins back on to our detractors MUST stop. WE MUST BE
ACCOUNTABLE.
The
classic retort of the apologists for their crimes, is that their accuser is
also accused of similar or worse Crimes. The Editorials of our papers, instead
of owning up to the crimes we committed, whilst disowning those we DID NOT, are
salivating over the latest allegations of both UK and American Servicemen and
their crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and reports that have been submitted to
the UNHRC in that regard. The implication being that OUR CRIMES pale in
comparison to theirs. DON’T FORGET WE KILLED OUR CITIZENS they killed
foreigners, there is a BIG difference in that fact.
WHY
WASTE our time over other people’s shit, when we should be cleaning our shit
first! Frankly I don’t give a shit about what other (as in foreign including
Diaspora) are saying about us. I am more concerned about what our own citizens
IN SRI LANKA are saying about what happened and continues to happen in Sri
Lanka. Why can’t we simply understand that fact? Then hastily go about
correcting that. We don’t need foreign advice or help to do that.
The
simple answer to that is, we know we are guilty so we try to deflect the blame
to the accuser as having ulterior motives. If we are NOT guilty why should we
even bother with what any foreigner (as in country be it India, USA or UK)
says? They don’t matter a rats ass to us.
If
you accuse our citizens of lying, then bring forth the full force of the law,
not incarcerate them without proper recourse to the Justice system. Or worse
have them killed. MR understands the implications when he was in the same boat
as being accused of treachery, at the time he was attempting to smuggle the dossier
to the UNHRC in Geneva. What goes around comes around, that is the merry go
round.
There
are real grievances, and many of the aggrieved are playing politics in
exaggerating them, so that the compromise solution, bears some sanity, to
appease their electors. We just need to know how to play the game, without
hurting their feelings. That is the art of diplomacy.
What
I am simply saying is that we have a rotten Govt. who do not know how to lead.
The Country has gone to the dogs because of it. All communities, if you give a
plane ticket and visa 95% of the people will leave, a testament to the
pontificating journalists’ patriotism. By the way I will not be in that 95%!!!
I
prefer to stay and fight the traitors who rule us. They don’t deserve to steal
our future from our future generations, for their personal aggrandizement. I
don’t have the power to make a significant change, so I appeal to the patriotic
editors of the press and broadcast media, to take a stand, draw a line in the
sand and unanimously expose the lie. I know your pay check is only because you
toe the line, and if you don’t you will be in deep shit. However if you are a
true journalist, that is the risk you take to put your profession above the
fray. That is what the fourth estate is all about.
Let
us clean up the act. Regain the Rule of Law, and the Independence of the
Judiciary and the separation of the Legislature from the Executive and
Judiciary.
Everything else will fall into place from then on. It is up to you to take up the Challenge. Take a cue from your colleagues across pond in India. Aren't you all ashamed of yourselves when you look at the power of the Fourth Estate there?
NEED I SAY ANY MORE?
No comments:
Post a Comment