Playing The Devil’s Game To Exorcise The Devil

By Shyamon Jayasinghe -March 23, 2015

Shyamon Jayasinghe

This time it is a different strategic manipulation. The master stroke of picking Maitripala Sirisena as Common Candidate had an air of ethical quality: given that Maitri had to risk his neck and given that the then President must be stopped in his damaging track it had been a kind of relief operation. This time, the ethical air has to be evoked with some difficulty and amidst immense controversy.

Official sources urge that a National Government has be formed with the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party within one fold, under the President. The idea of National governments is both salutary and sine qua non in times of crises. War is the typical occasion. Sri Lanka has, for now at least, finished the war. The most imperative national duty is to eradicate the Executive President system. Revd. Maduluwawe Sobitha,Jayamapathy Wickremaratne and a host of others must be credited with having created the required social consciousness for the change. Left to the political parties, the latter would have preferred to engage in musical chairs for the office of (executive) President. The more educated classes, professionals, and writers had been quick to sniff the need for radical change. Revd. Sobitha’s movement gave leadership, direction and strategy to achieve the need that was flourishing in demand.

The promise was made formal during election time that the new government under the common candidate will within 100 days exorcise the devil in the constitution. It may be Mahinda Rajapaksa then but could be another next. The point is that there had been growing realization that it is the constitution that is the root cause. The constitution gives space and opportunity for even good men or women to be monsters. Before he became President Mahinda had been a very sporty guy; but with enormous power in his hands he morphed into something foreboding and frightful in possibility. Mahinda did one signal service: to bring to the public notice the danger of our constitution. The danger was felt under its creator, JR, and under CBK and Premadasa; but that was not palpable danger. Under Rajapaksa the danger came out into the open. MR carried the role to its logical and disastrous end like in a fated Greek tragedy.Read More