Imagining That Third-Term

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara
On second thought lets not go to Camelot. Its a silly place.
The Knight o Camelot !ong "#onty $ython and the %oly Grail&
" October '() *(+,) Colombo) !ri -anka Guardian& The .a/apaksa-0erdict has arri0ed.
1o one assaulted Chris 1onis. %e drank too much and ell o a stool. T2enty eight
ello2-guests ha0e gi0en 2ritten e0idence to that eect .
$erhaps Chris 1onis) physician) diplomat) businessman) no2 has an inkling o 2hat it
eels like to be #ohammad Irshad.
#ohammad Irshad 2as the !amurdhi oicial 2ho 2as tied to a tree by #er0yn !il0a.
That outrage 2as committed in public) in the presence o many 2itnesses including
uniormed police oicers. The 0ideo o the ministers criminal conduct is still a0ailable
on 3ou Tube . 4ut a .a/apaksa committee ound #r. !il0a not guilty and concluded
that #r. Irshad tied himsel to the tree.
1o2) according to another .a/apaksa committee) Chris 1onis) like %umpty 5umpty)
6had a great all7 the Kings #an 2as blameless7 all the Kings %orses ha0e s2orn it
2as so.
8arlier #inister .ambuk2ella claimed that 5r. 1onis 2as a gate-crasher at the party.
1o2 an oicial go0ernment report accuses him o being uncontrollably inebriated. The
implication is that 5r. 1onis) incapable o handling the copious 9uantities o li9uor he
gu::led) abricated a story about being assaulted. 8rgo) 5r. 1onis is either a
liar;slanderer or he is se0erely delusional.
4ased on the report) !a/in <aas Guna2ardane can ile action against 5r. 1onis or loss
o reputation and mental trauma. =ho can doubt that -ankan courts 2ill ind 5r.
1onis guilty>
?ccording to the report in Ceylon Today) a letter signed by se0eral staers at the
-ankan %igh Commission in -ondon accompanied the report. One cannot but 2onder
2hat urther crimes the letter accuses 5r. 1onis o@
Arom #ohammad Irshad to Chris 1onis) 0ia B Tissanayagam and !arath Aonseka) the
path o .a/apaksa /ustice is clear. The guilty 2ill go ree and the innocent 2ill be
punished. There 2ill not be a lack o 2itnesses or /udges to enable this per0ersion.
Beyakumari 4alendran is still languishing in /ail) accused "though not charged& o
terrorism. The same authorities claimed that they cannot ind any e0idence against
Kumaran $athmanathan. #r. $athmanathan is 2anted by India and the Interpol7 he
2as the -TT8s chie money-manager and 2eapons-procurer C and <ellupillai
$irapaharans chosen successor. 4ut .a/apaksa in0estigators cannot ind any e0idence
linking him 2ith the -TT8. %e is innocent and ree) unlike the elderly #s. Beyakumari)
2hose only 6crime 2as her insistence on disco0ering the ate o her son.
Imagine the shape and the course o .a/apaksa /ustice during a Third Term.
5r. 1onis spent the last se0eral years 0igorously deending the .a/apaksas against
charges o abuse and impunity. 1o2 the same march o abuse and impunity has
claimed him. %e is reportedly too scared to return to !ri -anka.
That ate o sel-eDile 2ill beall many more -ankans during a third .a/apaksa term.
Gotabhaya .a/apaksa is on record stating that traitors should be gi0en capital
punishment. In .a/apaksa !ri -anka) a traitor 2ill be decided not on the basis o acts
and la2s but on the basis o the needs) interests and 2hims o the rulers. 5uring a
third .a/apaksa term) condemning .a/apaksa opponents as traitors) 0ia a Chris 1onis
type in0estigation) might become the norm - and be accepted as such by a ma/ority o
the populace.
?ter all 2e ha0e orgotten that there 2as a time 2hen the total remo0al o presidential
term-limits 2as unthinkable and a political solution meant more and not less
de0olution.
Arit: !tern argued that Eci0ic passi0ity and 2illed blindness 2ere the preconditions or
the triumph o 1ational !ocialismF. That 0erdict is apt or !ri -anka as 2ell. ?
ma/ority o !inhalese may belie0e themsel0es to be unaected by such .a/apaksa
phenomena as the militari:ation o ci0il society and the steady occupation o the
pri0ate sector economy by .a/apaksa kith and kin. 4ut the monumental all o Chris
1onis demonstrates that a third .a/apaksa term presents a clear danger to all
-ankans) including .a/apaksa acolytes. ? land in 2hich the guilt or the innocence o a
citi:en is decided by rulers according to their needs;desires is nothing but the /ungle.
? Calamitous 1ormalcy
? salary increase 2as among the many boons $resident .a/apaksa included in his
election-oriented 4udget. The pay-hike 2as to come 0ia an increase in the CO-
allo2ance and the inclusion o all allo2ances in the basic salary. Bust t2o days later)
the #inistry o $lan Implementation announced that the pay-hike 2ill happen only in
Buly *(+G) as the preparation o the ne2 salary structure 2ill take time. In the interim)
an allo2ance o .s.')(((;- 2ill be gi0en.
?re 2e to belie0e that neither the $resident nor the oicials realised that the ne2
salary structure cannot be implemented immediately> The truth is that the much
0aunted salary hike is nothing but a classic .a/apaksa-eye2ash. 4y Buly *(+G) national
elections are likely to be o0er. Then the regime 2ill ind some reason to abandon the
promised pay-hike) 2hile slashing the .s. ')(((;- allo2ance based on dubious CO-
igures. ? ne2 threat to national security rom terrorists;undamentalists;separatists
2ill pro0ide an ideal eDcuse.
The second .a/apaksa term sa2 the mushrooming o 44! type eDtremist
organisations. This phenomenon 2ill intensiy during a third .a/apaksa term. ?s
economic diiculties mount and hopes plummet) the need or di0ersions and
scapegoats 2ill increase.
.eligion) as a narcotic) has a dual unction7 it can induce slumber or unleash ren:y.
The irst 2as the traditional role o traditional religion. The o0ertly;eDplicitly
politicised religious maniestations) rom 44! to I!I!) aim at turning the 6aithul into
ra0ing hate-machines 2illing to embrace barbarism in the name o
undaments;purity.
%a0ing tried its hand at di0iding Tamils along religious lines) the 44! is no2 aiming to
ignite clashes bet2een Catholics and non-Catholic Christians. This 2eek Galagoda-?tte
Gnanasara Thera organised a protest against t2o e0angelical Christian centres in Ihala
Karagahamuna in Kada2atha. In his speech he portrayed himsel as the deender o
4uddhism and CatholicismH EThere 2ere no problems in this country bet2een
4uddhist and Catholic people. =e cannot allo2 colonialists to disrupt this coeDistence
and depict 4uddhists as barbariansF.. ?bout ,(( illegal organisations are operating
immorally) creating problems or !inhala-4uddhist and !inhala-Catholic peopleF.. I
the la2 does not help) "2e& 2ill ha0e to implement the la2 o the /ungle unoicially.
The implication is ob0ious7 those "Christian;#uslim& religious institutions considered
by the 44! to be 6illegal 2ill be attacked. ?nd the 44! 2ill do so in the name o
4uddhism and Catholicism. The act that the participants in this protest included a
=estern $ro0ince pro0incial councillor) the deputy chairman o the #ahara
$radesheeya !abha and a representati0e o the Catholic Church is indicati0e o the 2ay
-ankans 2ill be pitted against each other during a third .a/apaksa term.
?s eDpected) se0eral !inhala 4uddhist organisations including 4odu 4ala !ena and
!inhala .a0aya ha0e decided to back #ahinda .a/apaksa at the upcoming elections .
They and;or others o their ilk 2ill ha0e an e0en more critical role to play in a third
.a/apaksa term C 2iden;deepen the eDisting ethno-religious aultlines and create ne2
ones) so that -ankans become 0iscerally incapable o making common cause against
.a/apaksa rule.
.eerences7
1. httpH;;222.ceylontoday.lk;G+-IJ'*,-ne2s-detail-report-leaks.html
2. httpH;;222.youtube.com;2atch>0KK:I?3T(o8B,
3. -eo 4aeck -ecture
4. 4uddhist and Catholic $eople in danger due to the operation o ,(( illegal
organi:ations C -ankadeepa C *L.+(.*(+,
5. Tusitha .anasinghe) !ecretary) 3outh Organisation
6. httpH;;222.colombopage.com;archi0eM+,4;Oct*LM+,+,G*+G'IC%.php
$osted by Tha0am