Sidestepping the issue that Navi Pillay raised
September 16, 2013, 8:22 pm
By Jehan Perera
The country is heading towards provincial council elections in which the government is the strong favourite in two of the three provinces where elections are to be held. The victory in war enables the government leadership to have a strong hold over the larger number of voters in the country, who continue to be grateful that the government succeeded in what once seemed impossible. But unfortunately, the government has been unable to broad-base its political support to extend to the ethnic minorities. The pragmatic political calculation of the government appears to be one of continuing to rely on Sinhalese nationalism to deliver it the votes. But if the country is to be truly united, the government has to show that it is embracing all communities, and not just the largest one.