The Authoritarian Impulse

By Dayan Jayatilleka -

September 7, 2013

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

“…The recent visit to Sri Lanka by the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner is another instance of this attention. This has been accomplished mostly by the actions of the LTTE linked groups, which have many trained LTTE cadres and operatives who are now fully engaged in propaganda activities.” – Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Defence Seminar 2013, Sept 3rd

The ancient Greeks were the first to draw distinctions between types of regimes. The three basic types were democracy, oligarchy and tyranny. Aristotle also introduced the concept of mixed regimes. Thus Sri Lanka could be said to be an admixture of democracy and oligarchy. Following in the footsteps of the political philosophers of Ancient Greece, the modern political thinker Hannah Arendt drew the clear distinction between authoritarianism and totalitarianism.

If there is a latent totalitarian thrust in Sri Lanka, I doubt that it comes from President Rajapaksa. One must fervently hope that he is not entrapped and eventually consumed by it.  Those who regard President Rajapaksa as the fount of all evil should consider what would change if he were no longer in office and if there were a power vacuum, who and what would fill it. At the risk of political incorrectness, I venture to suggest that not only would we not have Northern Provincial elections without agitation and blood in the streets were it not for the incumbency of Mahinda Rajapksa; much more importantly, he is probably the only one that stands between society and some form of ruthless, brutal militaristic rule, a glimpse of which we had in Weliweriya-Rathupassala.

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Billion Rupee Crisis: Central Bank Failed Once Again To Safe Guard Depositors

By Hema Senanayake -September 7, 2013 |

Hema Senanayake

Central Bank Failed Once Again To Safe Guard Depositors - Billion Rupee Financial Institution, the CIFL, Is In Crisis

In fact I wrote this article on August 15, 2013 and was saved in my computer hard drive at 3.51 p.m.  I wrote the first paragraph as follows. “Please correct me if I am wrong in this analysis. In fact I wished to be wrong here. My objective here is not to make public and depositors pessimistic about the financial institution they trusted. Trust is an essential element for banks and financial institutions especially that entertain deposits. The trust of customers, especially depositors is important to any financial institution than the Capital Adequacy Ratios stipulated by the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) which is responsible in making global conventions which are known as Basel 1, 11 and Basel 111 to ensure the stability of banking and financial institutions in each member country of BIS and Sri Lanka is a member country as far as I know.”

The article was about the grave liquidity crisis of Central Investment & Finance PLC (CIFL). My wife did read it. After reading the first paragraph, my wife insisted that I should not send it to Colombo Telegraph, by then. Her opinion was that if I sent it, then depositors would be panicked which would lead them to withdraw deposits and any significant withdrawal might lead to the collapse of CIFL even if the company could have been restructured successfully. I obliged to agree with her opinion. I did not send the article. But the CIFL has collapsed a few days ago without my involvement. Therefore, I am sending the same article now. The analysis I made by that time is still valid and shows the CBSL’s failure to take precautionary actions as far back as 2012. Also, let me put the entire article within inverted commas in order to intimate that I am quoting it.Read More