Showtime is over

: kurakkan shawl and Mubarak grin will not gain popular vote

by Pearl Thevanayagam

(March 15, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Pouring oil over the war wounds of the Tamils who are still reeling from the death and devastation in Wanni two years ago the government is holding a defence seminar on how it wiped out terrorism. Two master liars, Prof. G.L.Peiris who was caught with his pants down lying about the Nepalese government seeking Sri Lanka’s advice on how to quash its rebellion and Rohan Gunaratne, proven beyond doubt about his spinning yarns of insider knowledge of the LTTE and who wrote books on the LTTE without having met a single leader and who now struts the world stage as `terrorism expert’ will be among the speakers at the forum scheduled to take place between May31 and June 02.

That the President did not ask KP, Karuna and Pillayan to address the seminar could be an oversight but then there is still time. Why not add to the list Dr Mervyn de Silva who could offer his own defence solutions such as tying up dissenters to trees and banning veggies to promote home-gardens for self-sufficiency. Honoured foreign defence experts could learn a thing or two from the humble poosari turned politician.

The war hero who vowed to fight the LTTE to its last cadre and who ruthlessly ordered the massacre of several thousand Tamils in the process of wiping out the LTTE, Genral Sarath Fonseka, is now languishing in jail and his fate remains uncertain. No Tamil is weeping over his predicament. But he did perform his duty as the army commander and completed his orders.

The workings of the government becomes curiouser and curiouser not to mention downright risible as it tries to coerce popular support which is fast disappearing with the way the masses are fighting a daily battle to manage to survive the downturn of Lanka’s economy.

Consumer confidence is at an all-time low. No more can the average citizen provide the daily bread (rice is luxury these days) to satisfaction. From essential food items to utility charges, gas and even firewood have become luxuries. In this climate can this country afford any tamashas?

Last year it held IIFA at the expense of the public and it celebrated one year of the war victory with an exhibition of captured weapons and ammunition. Is there no end to the President’s inflated ego? Wonder who will tell the emperor he has no clothes on?

What exactly is the government’s plan for post-war economy? Transparency is not exactly the government’s forte. If the war was conducted with scant regard for international norms of war-time code of conduct the economy has become an equally botched area. When GSP+ was suspended over the horrific track record in human rights the government placated itself the tourism industry is booming post-war and exports to the West are up.

Tea and rubber are longer on the top list of exports. Our exports are mainly the migrant workforce in the Middle East and these workers slaving under very trying conditions help the government in its plush lifestyle.

Another fact hitting the headlines is the company which owns Colombo Hilton failed to issue annual account reports for 21 years!!!

The President opened a port in Hambantota in his name but not even a fly is entering the docks. How can Sri Lanka afford this opulence.

While there is an urgent need for the government to cut spending and pass on the savings to the public it is increasing its showcase activities such as the defence seminar. Martin Khor, that famous economist from Malaysia was the one who first highlighted the fact that 80 percent of the world’s resources are enjoyed by just 20 percent of the world population to a three minute standing ovation at the World Affairs Council way back in 1993 in the US.

In Sri Lanka just 10 percent of the population is enjoying the wealth meant for all; namely the President, his elected cabinet and his favoured subjects.

With just days to go before the local polls the government’s performance post-war has been utter failure both on peace-building and economic performance. It has no coherent mechanism to govern full stop.

If the government sincerely and truly examines its conscience it will realise that it has nothing to prove its voters that it can deliver stability and good governance on all fronts.

Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch director warned of the danger of holding this seminar while the international community is collecting evidence into human rights abuses during the war. It took several decades for Egyptians to overthrow a grinning leader who thought he was invincible. A decade would be too long for our President with his Cheshire cat grin to go unless he makes a u-turn and perform economic miracle. It seems too late now and his legacy would be his grin alone not unlike Mubarak.