Pseudo socialists defend: Crime,

Corruption and Lawlessness?

by Latheef Farook, Couretsey: Sunday Oberver

At the January 8 presidential elections,

people voted for the common candidate Maithripala Sirisena who promised good
governance, restoration of law and order, end to crime and corruption and create a
good society. Though ambitious, it is an uphill task in view of the mess created by the
Rajapaksa regime, which virtually ruined every government institution, society and the
country. However, riding against the popular wave some pseudo socialists
who were ministers in the defeated government wanted to bring back former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa, perhaps to ensure crime, corruption and lawlessness continue to
pave the way for a dictatorship?
During a joint press briefing on Monday, February 9, four United People's Freedom
Alliance (UPFA), allies announced their desire to bring back defeated president
Mahinda Rajapaksa to power by fielding him as the prime ministerial candidate at the
forthcoming general elections.

They included National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and MP Wimal Weerawansa,
Democratic Left Front (DLF) leader and MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Mahajana Eksath
Peramuna (MEP) leader and MP Dinesh Gunawardena and newly formed Pivithuru
Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila.
Fear
Their announcement shocked the already shocked nation, which voted President
Mithripala Sirisena to power in an unprecedented peaceful revolution and saved the
country from sliding into dictatorship.
The previous regime was known for lawlessness and crime when people lived in an
atmosphere of fear.
They were afraid to express their anger fearing revenge attacks. The ever rising cost
of living and economic hardship were unbearable. The mainstream media virtually
ended up as government bulletins.
Only political parties like the Janatha Vikumthi Peramuna (JVP) and Jathika Hela
Urumaya (JHU) were in the forefront bravely highlighting injustice, crime, corruption
and demanding regime change.
The overall mood of the people was to free themselves from the oppressive
government to ensure justice and rule of law prevails so that they could live without
the fear of being waylaid, kidnapped and even killed.
It was under such dark political environment that the unexpected presidential elections
were held and there was jubilation all over when Maithripala Sirisena was elected.
The oppressive atmosphere changed overnight with the restoration of freedom.
Corruption
Since the unprecedented January 2015 political change, exercising their newly won
freedom, mainstream print and electronic media opened the floodgates of allegations
accusing the former president Rajapaksa, his family and his associates of widespread
corruption, crime and lawlessness the scale of which was never known in the islands
history.

These shocking disclosures include large scale plundering of the nations wealth,
lawlessness and injustice, pilfering billions of rupees, unprecedented waste of tax
payers money, mismanagement of almost every institution and organisation incurring
billions of loss, racist attacks on minorities especially on Muslims and much more
shocking and shameful revelations. Since then never a day passes without some
disclosure of corruption, crime, plunder and looting and that too not in thousands,
hundred thousands and millions but in billions of rupees. The more the disclosures, the
worse the public anger.
The never ending exposures diminish the chance of bringing defeated president
Mahinda Rajapaksa to power though they would deploy every means towards that
end.
It was under such circumstance that these four UPFA allies expressed their support to
Mahinda Rajapksa as prime ministerial candidate.
This shows they are living in their own world.
Now the question is how come these so called socialists are going against the newly
elected government, which is struggling to establish good governance, communal
harmony and put the nation in the proper footing and move the country forward.Even
ordinary people ask whether these four UPFA allies dont read newspapers or watch
television. Some even ask whether they are living in this planet or not.
One should not forget that two of them, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Dinesh
Gunawardena, belong to parties which produced legendary politicians, known for their
great intellectual caliber, honesty, integrity and their sacrifices in serving the country.
They spent their own wealth to be in politics and fight for the rights of ordinary people.
The country will never be able to forget or erase their great contributions though under
the fast changing political, economic and social environment in the new order not
much attention was paid to them.
Some of them include Communist Party chief Pieter Keuneman, Dr S.A.
Wickremasinghe, Lanka Sama Samaja Partys Dr N.M.Perera, Colvin R de Silva,
Bernard Zoysa and Mahajana Eksath Permuna leader Philip Goonewardene to name
a few.

I remember the speech made in parliament by the founder of MEP and then Industries
Minister Philip Gunawardena following the former Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
around August 1968. It was such an enlightening one that most of us, parliamentary
correspondents, bought the Hansard copies of that speech which I preserve to date.
It was his son Dinesh Gunawardena who is keen on bringing former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa back to power.
Once a journalist colleague of mine asked a Muslim housewife at Dematagoda for
whom she would cast her vote in the 1970 general elections. Her abrupt response was
my first vote is for Pieter Keuneman and then for Faleel Caffoor.
When asked why she gave top priority to Keuneman her response was, "he is a very
good man, known for honesty and integrity and helps the poor without any
discrimination, be they Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims .
It was around early 1970s and Dr N.M. Perera was the Finance Minister in the United
Front government led by Prime Minister Mrs. Srimavo Bandaranaike.
Listening to his speech winding up the budget debate, the Arab League Ambassador
in New Delhi Abdullah Murad who was in the Speakers Gallery told me that "Sri Lanka
is too small a country for Dr Perera who deserves to be the Finance minister for the
whole third world".Vasudeva Nanayakkara who declared his support to bring former
President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power began his political career under this very
same Dr N.M. Perera.
I still cant understand what really happened to Vasudeva Nanayakkara whom I knew
since mid 1970s.Of course MP Wimal Wirawansas political ideology and career is
known to everyone and thus needs no comment.
However in the case of Udaya Gammanpila his frustration is understood as the defeat
of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa shattered his dream to commemorate the
unfortunate 1915 Sinhala Muslim riots this year, 2015, with an Aluthgama, Dharga
Town and Beruwala-style attack on Muslims islandwide.
Time and again he claimed that the attack on Muslims was inevitable this year to mark
the century of 1915 riots.
This is the sad plight of todays socialist comrades who incidentally belonged to two of
the oldest political parties in the island.
Pic: Courtesy Lankabusinessonline.com

Posted by Thavam