What The Hell Is Going On?
Emil van der Poorten
Even in a country where corruption has become a part of its culture and where there has been, for a considerable time (at least since the reign of “Yankee Dick” Jayewardene) a total lack of anything resembling ethics, morality or principle in political practice, what has begun to unfold during the tenure of the current Yahapalanaya government is bizarre to say the least.
There is no comprehending what this lot, particularly its United National Party (UNP) component, is doing, even if one justifies the most blatant political opportunism. Often, it seems like an exercise in ascertaining how tolerant and/or stupid the Sri Lankan electorate is.
Take the matter of the Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe fiasco.
From the get go this man has proved as politically useful to the ruling coalition as the proverbial “teats on a boar.” He was complicit in the absolutely abusive impeachment of a Chief Justice whose “best before” date had passed insofar as the MR1 (Mahinda Rajapaksa) regime was concerned. Previous to this, subsequent to his residence being “shot up,” he was paid a visit by the earlier-mentioned MR1 at his most solicitous. The result of their conversation appeared to be Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s resignation as head of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka which had been making mealy-mouthed pronouncements on the need for the rule of law to prevail up to that point.
With the ascent of the Yahapalanaya lot to power, this man was made Minister of Buddhist Affairs and, don’t hold your breath, Justice! He proceeded to use the Buddhist Affairs part of his portfolio to fan the flames of a “Mahavamsa-driven, 2500 years of Sinhala-Buddhist Civilization” discourse in an attempt to dominate every element of life in our nation.
Wearing his other hat, as Minister of Justice he made the statement that as long as he held that portfolio, not so much as a hair on the heads of his namesakes in the previous regime would be harmed. This simply amounted to a proclamation of immunity for those who had presided over the most corrupt and violent government in our post-Independence history. The response of a government which had as its policy cornerstone bringing to book those who had raped and pillaged this country in the ten years before? None, nothing, nada.
Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe proceeded to provide tangible proof of his determination to follow through on his promise to his namesakes. He intervened in the Avant Garde investigation, letting off the hook those who sought to establish an extremely well- and sophisticatedly-armed floating paramilitary force off the shores of Sri Lanka under the guise of preventing maritime terrorism in West Asian waters. If you’d guessed the mastermind behind that particular adventure was someone with the last name as our erstwhile Minister of Justice, you’d have been right.
The other man providing the icing on the Avant Garde Flotilla scandal was none other than Tilak Marapana who, at least, displayed some decorum in resigning from Cabinet at the time. However, that retreat from the political limelight and power has proved to be short-lived because he is now back in Cabinet. Even in the annals of unprincipled political conduct in this country it would be difficult to find an act as bizarre and insulting to the collective intelligence of the electorate as Marapana’s restoration to a position of power and prestige.
Given the preceding, it might, at this point, be appropriate to ask whether this government has adopted the ancient Japanese cultural practice of “Hara kiri” in its governance practices because that seems like the only explanation for what it has done and seems to want to do in the future.
This much-publicized recent behaviour threatens to conceal matters of less headline-grabbing import that preceded it. Those actions should not be consigned to the back-burner of discussion, examination and action.
