Mahinda and his chauvinist friends accused us of supporting the LTTE to earn a living, when we stood for autonomy. On that basis they hunted and tried to kill us. Now Mahinda is hunted by his friends and masters.
by Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne
(June 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The leadership training programme of the government for the fresh under graduates exposes the problem faced by the government. Clearly, the excuses given by the regime to justify the use of military for this purpose, were lame; to tell the least. No clear reason was given about the specific use of military environment for this training. But the vehemence 17-4shown by the government to defend the scheme they have started indicates that there is a hidden agenda behind it. The government is facing problems in many directions. This I explained two weeks back in this column. What they started with the advice of the IMF, the pension scheme for the private sector, created the biggest workers struggle in the recent period. Mahinda has dabbled enough with workers in the past, to understand the message given. So, he gave orders to his adjutants including the labour minister to retreat. However they cannot postpone this project indefinitely. IMF is blowing hot air behind his neck. It will be a serious setback if the global management institutes assume that Mahinda is incapable of implementing the package that they suggested.
A historic opportunity
After crushing the Tamil insurrection Mahinda sent signals internationally claiming that stability has arrived and it will continue for decades. The 18th amendment and election victories gave impetus to this message. Global capitalist forces answered to his appeal and substantial number of international economic players arrived to grab the opportunities claimed by the Mahinda regime. However the fragile nature of his political power, could be seen in the crisis created in the government ranks by the pressure exerted by India and other global powers, to implement a necessary democratic programme. The government is under obligation to India and the pressure comes from Delhi too to implement a substantial devolution. The recent agreement signed by both governments spells out a solution to the Tamil national problem. The agreement signed by Prof G.L. Perris states “Both sides agreed that the end of armed conflict in Sri Lanka created a historic opportunity to address all outstanding issues in a spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation imbued with political vision to work towards genuine national reconciliation. In this context, the External Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka affirmed his Government’s commitment to ensuring expeditious and concrete progress in the ongoing dialogue between the Government of Sri Lanka and representatives of Tamil parties. A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation.”
If the government is to implement devolution as promised in the agreement then the political programme of the Mahinda regime as explained when the war started will be nullified. Mahinda then has to admit that his political programme to liquidate devolution of power is thrown out. On the other hand he has to explain why he made such an all sided destruction when the problem has to be resolved by devolution. He has to answer not only the Tamils but also the Sinhala families who have lost their youth in the war. It is claimed nearly thirty thousand soldiers lost their lives in the war, while over fifty thousand became disabled. While all these tragedies have taken place the country was enslaved by the forces that came to help in the war: India, America and others. Helpers have become plunderers of our resources. In addition Mahinda regime has become a slave of international money lenders. The pension bill is a classic example of an outcome of this bondage. Mahinda had to face the wrath of workers to whom he was offering this bogus pension. It was hilarious to see Mahinda forcing pension on worker by brute force with guns and tear gas.
Tried to kill us
Mahinda and his chauvinist friends accused us of supporting the LTTE to earn a living, when we stood for autonomy. On that basis they hunted and tried to kill us. Now Mahinda is hunted by his friends and masters. Those who instructed him to follow a genocidal war policy are threatening him for war crimes. I shall reiterate that stupidity has no limits. Mahinda was not prepared to negotiate with the rebels on Lankan soil. With advice and resources from the global powers, he started a war which turned out to be a genocidal war that destroyed a civilization. Now it is clear that this war brought nothing even to Sinhala people except misery, hunger and foreign domination. Even after the tragedy the policy of the Mahinda regime was to hoodwink the Tamil people. In spite of all misgivings, the leaders of the TNA tried hard to negotiate a minimum from the regime. But they were made fools. Thus he opened the door to foreign intervention.
It is clear that Mahinda has extended the Tamil national problem beyond Lankan borders to the international arena. He celebrated death and destruction with pomp and pageantry. But now international plunderers are intimidating Mahinda regime. Chauvinist fools who ruled this country have brought hunger and slavery to all of us. If we do not solve the Tamil national problem our selves, then we are giving space for alien powers to intervene. Even today it is not too late to think of a solution based on equality, autonomy and the right of self determination of the Tamil people. However Mahinda believes that he can control every thing by militarization. His commitment to take university newcomers to military camps arises from this commitment. Can this militarization save his regime?
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