The Choice For A Nation: A Return To Tyranny Or True Yahapālanaya
Hilmy Ahamed
Sri Lankans in January 2015 delivered what was believed to be an impossible task, A REGIME CHANGE! This was possible because a common opposition formed a broad coalition to ensure that Sri Lanka returned to the rule of law and democracy. It consisted of parties and people, who believed that Sri Lanka needed to rid it of unprecedented corruption, nepotism; abuse of the judiciary for political expediency, politicization of the police force and those who believed that rule of law and justice had been compromised.
They nominated Maithripala Sirisena as their common candidate for the Presidency. Sirisena, though a seasoned politician had only a regional base in Polonnaruwa and was never considered a national leader. The common opposition led by the United National Party (UNP) propelled him to the pinnacle of political office and now president Maithripala Sirisena is accused of betraying the common opposition by allowing former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest, enter parliament and stake his claim to be the next Prime Minister.
Media reports quoted Maithripala Sirisena as having said, “If Mahinda Rajapaksa comes back to parliament as Prime Minister, my life is only a bullet away.” So, what has made him change his mind?
While accusations of corruption and other charges of abuse of power against ministers and members of parliament of the Rajapaksa regime was the main theme of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe campaign, none of the major culprits were brought to justice after their election in 2015. There were also delays in implementing the promises of the 100-day manifesto that included constitutional and electoral reforms, the right to information act, etc. leading to a flux in parliament. The opposition also threatened to block the appointment of the civil society members to the constitutional council that would have started the process of immediately enforcing the 19th amendment. Read More 