Doosra For Eternal Rule

by Gamini Weerakoon

(August 20, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The spin doctors were spinning within hours. In the morning it was said that Mervyn Silva, was ‘sacked’. But before the day elapsed, the spin doctors were giving a vigorous spin to the ‘sacking’. On a talk show that night, a noted exponent of rendering Rajapaksa Bakthi Gee was pointing out how unique it was to see a political leader cracking down on indiscipline, so soon, so fast.

Such indiscipline and anti-social behaviour was against the philosophy of the party and its leader and true to his words, the axe had fallen, it was claimed.

Sweet are the uses of adversity, as the famed bard said.

True, true, true! But who created this monster and let it run amok getting innocents thrashed, permitting painting of the town red and people in all sorts of colours and violation of every possible election law at all elections?

Never mind all that, the faithful say. What did JR do when homes of judges were stoned? We are not like that. Justice has been done.

Justice for whom — the poor victim or upholding Mahinda Rajapaksa as a great dispenser of ‘justice’?

If the price of justice, is eternal publicity, let justice be done!

But has justice been done? Silva has been stripped of his ministerial appointment and reports say his office has been locked up. But what of his official vehicles and bodyguards and other perks? Are they still with him?

What of the poor official who was humiliated in public being tied to a tree and paraded before the nation on TV, while two cops were looking on? Would adequate protection be given to him for a fundamental rights petition to be filed and damages claimed from Silva? Above all, will Silva be prosecuted in courts? He is still an MP and could do what he did prior to his deputy ministerial appointment.

Show must go on

Silva may go off the Rajapaksa political stage temporarily or permanently, but the show must go on. The shows on stage in recent weeks, if you may recall have been: Vigorous barking at Moon (Ban Ki); Fasting to death opposite Colombo’s UN headquarters with glucose by Wimal Weerawansa; the KP (Kate Pas) show; Musical Chairs with Mahinda and Ranil; Sakvithi currently running to packed houses while distinguished citizen Lalith Kotelawala’s production, Laughing All the Way to the Bank has dropped out of the ratings for some inexplicable reason. The show by Sangakkara and his boys flopped, which could have stopped the New Delhi Brahmin braggadocio and to the rescue came Silva with a brilliant but devastating performance, but alas, it backfired.

Of course Wimal Weerawansa’s histrionic talents can still be exploited and substituted for Mervyn the Vermin antics. The annual sessions of the UN General Assembly is close at hand and even though our Maharajano has been reported as ‘not attending’, in the opinion of his near and dear, he shouldn’t miss the chance; our leader is now ranking in the unpopularity ratings of the West close to Ahmadinejad of Iran, Kim Il Jung of North Korea and Omar al Bashir of Sudan.

Rajapaksa should take Weerawansa and Silva with him to New York. Imagine Weerawansa threatening a fast to death within New York’s UN headquarters and Mervyn putting up a cardboard cut-out of Mahinda Rajapaksa towering over the UN headquarters? Moon would simply come down and Rajapaksa could proclaim: ‘Israel cowed down to Moon and agreed to a commission on violation of human rights but I told him go to hell. This is another victory and vindication of the Mahinda Chintanaya.’

The Second War

The terrorist war is over but dengue is raging. Silva fell while leading his troops in the mosquito war. To be quite explicit, it has to be said that Silva never claimed to be a war hero — a hero in the dengue war. He only said that he was commander-in-chief of the Kelaniya electorate in this dengue war. But quite apart from Silva and his political campaigns, there is a lesson to be learnt by all Sri Lankans engaged in any war at this time in Lanka, whether it is against mosquitoes or terrorists or any other vermin. None should claim that he or she was the leader who won a war — any war.

We all know who won in the past and only who can win all wars in the future. Ask General Fonseka, the man who led our troops to victory against terrorism.

When the war against the dengue mosquito is over, our warning to all those who were at the forefront of the war— learned epidemiologists, entomologists, parasitologists, clinicians, nurses, public health inspectors and the humble workers such as those that sprayed insecticide and collected coconut shells in gardens — never claim that you won the war.

You all know who is responsible for winning any war at this time for Mother Lanka.

A Show Of All Shows

While this Rajapaksa show with shifting scenarios keeps going on stage, it does appear that a super colossal show that would render all these temporary but entertaining shows irrelevant, is in the making back stage. It is said to be a Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe co-production called the Constitutions That None Want. Experts on constitutions say that Rajapaksa’s constitution making attempts are like Prabhakaran’s attempts at peace making. Success in their stated objectives is not their desire. Wickremesinghe who is claiming to make a constitution for his party too does not want any such constitution that will oust him from leadership. So the constitutional charade goes on.

Meanwhile, an all-time doosra is being prepared in the Rajapaksa camp: Make Gen. Fonseka join the UNP. Fonseka is now giving de facto leadership to the JVP — the only effective opposition to the Rajapaksa clan. Pulling Fonseka out of this combination is tantamount to pulling the carpet under the comrades’ feet and destabilising it severely.

Fonseka in the UNP will disintegrate the already crumbling party. Where does that leave Mahinda Rajapaksa? With no opposition in sight at all! The only hope for a strong and effective opposition will be JVP with Gen. Fonseka and the UNP acting in unison, but maintaining their identities.

Will the UNP be suckered into playing this Rajapaksa doosra?