Grace Mugabe has taken over Zimbabwe, opposition leader claims

Morgan Tsvangirai quoted by South African media saying the president’s wife has ‘surreptitiously but willingly’ taken charge

Murithi Mutiga-Wednesday 23 December 2015

Morgan Tsvangirai said that the 91-year-old president’s wife is now effectively in charge after a “palace coup”, and that the government has been paralysed as members of the ruling party jockey for position.

“No one in government is thinking of solutions to the national challenges as everyone is preoccupied with issues of who will succeed this tired man steering the ship of state,” Tsvangirai was quoted by South Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper as saying.

Grace Mugabe has been an increasingly prominent presence on Zimbabwe’s political scene in recent months, taking up a key post in the ruling party last December and going around the country addressing rallies and handing out gifts.

Her aggressive statements against those she deems insufficiently loyal to her husband come at a time when Africa’s oldest leader is looking increasingly frail.

The famously austere Mugabe has long been in robust physical and mental condition, but several mishaps in recent months have sent tongues wagging.

Bodyguards had to rush to stop him falling as he stumbled while reaching out to shake hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last week of October. A month earlier, he read the wrong speech during the opening of parliament without realising his error.

Mugabe is still expected to be endorsed as the ruling party Zanu-PF’s presidential candidate in 2018, when he will be 94.

But with the end of his rule inevitably drawing nearer, a furious behind-the-scenes succession battle is underway.

Local media have reported two competing camps forming around army chief Emmerson Mnangagwa and Grace Mugabe, despite president Mugabe’s warnings that the jockeying for power “threatens to split the party”.

Amid this battle, Tsvangirai’s claim that Robert Mugabe wife had “surreptitiously but willingly” assumed power appear designed to take advantage of the current rifts.

Grace Mugabe has managed to rally a group of younger party members around her, dubbed by local media as “the G-40”, but she is generally unpopular with the wider public thanks to her lavish shopping trips overseas at a time when the country’s economy is struggling to recover from a devastating period of hyperinflation.

On Tuesday, Zimbabwe announced it would make the Chinese Yuan legal tender, as one of a basket of currencies that replaced Zimbabwe’s own dollar, which was abandoned in 2009 with inflation running at 500bn%.

It’s time for the private sector to buy in to the COP21

Haze from forest fires in Indonesia by CIFOR @flickr

A fireman works to contain a wildfire on a field in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015. Pic: AP.

by Alistair Denness-24th December 2015

THE 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) concluded on December 12 with the European Union and 195 countries agreeing on limiting greenhouse gas emissions to a point where the global temperature rise is capped at less than 2° C. The agreement has a strong basis in the principles of shared responsibility and transparency as well as collective oversight in the form of periodic assessments. 

It’s Time for the Private Sector to Buy in to the COP21 by Thavam Ratna

66 People Lost Eyesight After Being Operated In Barwani District Hospital, Madhya Pradesh

Independent Investigation Report of Gross Violations of Cataract Surgery Camp, jointly organized by Barwani District Hospital and Lions’ Club

Photo courtesy by Hemant Garg,Barwani

By Representatives of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and Narmada Bachao Andolan-

17 December, 2015

An independent investigation was carried out by representative of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Narmada Bachao Andolan and Swasthya Adhikar Manch into the serious matter of a large number of patients losing their eye sights as a result of an eye cataract surgery camp which was jointly organized by Barwani District Hospital and Lion’s Club between 16th to 24th November, 2015, under the District Blindness Control Programme, part of National Blindness Control Programme. A committee is formed under the District Blindness Control Programme which is chaired by the District Collector. This committee allocates budget to NGO-s for the camp and procures drugs, injections, and other necessary items through state level tender, or local tender or direct purchase under the guidelines set by the Government.

66 People Lost Eyesight After Being Operated in Barwani District Hospital, Madhya Pradesh by Thavam Ratna

Sri Lanka’s year of democracy, reconciliation and rebalancing

2015-12-22
By David Brewster It is no exaggeration to say that 2015 will be remembered as a major turning point for Sri Lanka as a nation.  

The Sri Lankan people made a decisive choice towards democracy and good governance, towards communal reconciliation and for moving the country back towards its traditional foreign policy orbit. It was a reassertion of the values that could make Sri Lanka the success story of South Asia. 

Sri Lanka started 2015 with a corrupt and authoritarian regime, led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, which seemed likely to be in power for another decade. In 2009, Rajapaksa had successfully brought to an end Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war through the ruthless destruction of the Tamil insurgency. Rajapaksa’s military victory, and regular scare campaigns about renewed Tamil militancy, gave him what seemed to be an almost permanent stranglehold over the Sri Lankan polity. S

ince 2009, the Rajapaksa family had extended their hold over key political and civil institutions, undermining the whole fabric of governance in Sri Lanka. Over the years they became more and more corrupt, ultimately bordering on a kleptocracy. 

Rajapaksa also moved Sri Lanka out of its traditional foreign policy orbit — that of a non-aligned country that was broadly pro-Western and generally prudent about its relations with India. In recent years, Sri Lanka’s relations with both the United States and India had become increasingly tense, largely over Rajapaksa’s refusal to reconcile with the Tamil minority or investigate claims of war crimes. 

Rajapaksa became ever closer to Beijing, awarding Chinese companies profitable infrastructure projects in return for large kickbacks. The relationship increasingly extended into the security realm, including giving China control of strategic ports. Visits of Chinese submarines to Colombo in late 2014 seemed to signal that Sri Lanka may be on the way to becoming a key defence partner for China in the Indian Ocean region. 

Screeching halt 

But all this came to a screeching halt in January 2015. When Rajapaksa called a snap election in November 2014, the result seemed a foregone conclusion. But in a dramatic reversal he was challenged by one of his own cabinet ministers, Maithripala Sirisena. In the space of a few weeks Sirisena managed to put together a rainbow coalition and ultimately beat Rajapaksa convincingly. Rajapaksa made another run for power in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections in August 2015 but again was soundly beaten, allowing Sirisena and his allies to consolidate their positions. 

These events are an indication that democratic instincts are deeply ingrained in Sri Lankan society. Rajapaksa’s defeat was the result of several factors: a rejection of Rajapaksa’s endless triumphalism over the civil war and his refusal to reconcile with the Tamil community, the blatant corruption of Rajapaksa and his family, and anxieties over growing Chinese influence in the country.

 For his part, Sirisena has done remarkably well for someone who came to power at the head of a coalition whose main point of agreement was opposition to Rajapaksa. Sirisena signalled a new era in the governance of Sri Lanka by reversing the centralisation of power that had occurred under Rajapaksa. He pledged to only serve one term as president, transferred many presidential powers to the prime minister and established independent commissions to oversee the judiciary, police and elections. Key members of the Rajapaksa family were arrested on corruption charges. 

Some important steps 

The new administration also took some important steps towards reconciliation with the Tamil community. Tamils are gradually being brought back into national politics. There are plans to establish an independent domestic truth and reconciliation commission to examine atrocities committed during the civil war, as well as to compensate victims. This remains a contentious area, but the right signals are there. 

Sirisena also decisively repositioned Sri Lanka’s international stance, particularly in reassuring New Delhi that Sri Lanka would take a ‘balanced’ stance and not allow itself to be used by China to threaten India. Narendra Modi made the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Sri Lanka in almost 30 years. 

Sirisena has also tackled some controversial foreign investments. Plans to build huge casinos were scrapped. And the Colombo Port City project, awarded to Chinese companies under dubious circumstances, is being reviewed.

 Sri Lanka’s apparent move away from authoritarianism, kleptocracy and communal division augurs well for its future. Sri Lanka is the wealthiest state in South Asia in per capita terms and despite suffering decades of civil war its social indicators are among the best in the region. Although economic growth slowed slightly to 6.3 per cent in 2015 as a result of political uncertainties, the Asian Development Bank a rebound to growth of around 7 per cent in 2016. 

Prospects 

If political stability and good governance can be maintained, Sri Lanka seems well positioned to take advantage of the growing economic integration between East and southern Asia. Its geographic location, educated workforce and relatively open economy make it an attractive destination for low cost manufacturing industries that are moving out of Southeast Asia and China. Sri Lanka could be a major beneficiary of China’s Maritime Silk Route initiative, which involves developing infrastructure and new special manufacturing zones, although it will need to ensure that in doing so it does not antagonise New Delhi. In the coming years, Sri Lanka has the potential to become a ‘Bengal Tiger’ to rival some of the East Asian economic tigers. 

(David Brewster is a Visiting Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, The Australian National University) 

TNA; ‘Paddy & The Paddy Husk’

By S. Sivathasan –December 22, 2015

S. Sivathasan

Reference is to the developing schism, which is now a yawning chasm in theTNA. The split is real and earth slip is next.

As a political alternative to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Tamil Peoples Council (TPC) was launched in Jaffna on Saturday, 19, December, 2015. Justice C. V. Wigneswaran, CM of Northern Provincial Council, is the chief person among three co-chairs. The above news having a wide reach, stunned the Tamils. The following article is an immediate response to it”.

A grain of rice is well ensconced in a husk of paddy. Once separated there is no germination even when both are put together. Bringing them again is of no avail is the undisclosed moral. This is the wisdom of Auvaiyaar the Tamil poetess. She has shared it for posterity with an inimitable simile of rice and husk. “Even a person of great ability cannot succeed when not supported by capable assistants”. Who is what, readership can discern. How it may develop can be waited for.

“Only God can save the Tamils”. So said SJV Chelvanayagam soon after results were announced in the General Election of May 1970. Since then on every occasion that came my way, I have said “Not even God can save the Tamils”. It was always received as of good humour. No; I was dead serious. Now we see “The God That Failed”. From age 10, I have heard ad nauseam, ‘Tamils are not united’. Yes; Jews too were never one. The holocaust also failed to make them whole. One can read the early history of Israel from 1948. The Reparations payment of Chancellor Adenauer was spurned with street fights and Begin in the lead. We will do the same with whatever is on offer, now with credible people on both sides among Tamils. When such a stance ceases to be taken mechanically, there is a chance for new ground to be plumbed.

When issues arise among the Tamils, either personal or political, how are they striven to be resolved? Through the pedestrian and hackneyed device of splintering. This has been so from 1949 through yesterday, though the first one had a sound ideological base. The last act of forming the Tamil Paeravai at this point of time, seems the unkindest cut of all upon the Tamil body politic. United effort seemed to be coming about and yet its consummation got dashed.

Was the eruption sudden? My conjecture was and which has strengthened now is that origins are traceable to the PC MANIFESTO, which was an inept and more a manipulated fiasco. A historic document was anticipated. What came out was a washout and feathers were ruffled when CM came out in poor shape. If my information is correct, not without reason were sensitivities ruptured and have remained so. The space is 30 months which is quite long. Time is not far when truth will be out.

While accepting this harsh reality of the Tamils never solidifying into a single entity or coalescing with any other formation, what next? Abandoning unity, precious, mythical or mystical; where to begin and how?

When the searchlight is thrown within, our infirmities centred around self will seem to abound. Burning them all, our concerns have to encompass the weakest in material wellbeing and the poorest in educational pursuits. Taking just these two areas amongst a myriad avocations, will time or energy be left to engage mere names that are labels for political vacuity? Needy hands are countless and opportunities aplenty. Yet self-satisfying political tirades are on parade. Truth will be out on 31st December, whether millions or billions were lying unutilized in the North.                                                                 Read More

Charge of the needle pricking brigade 

By Lalin Fernnado-December 21, 2015, 7:19 pm

The Health Minister, a dentist by profession, has spearheaded a potentially massive campaign to check the spread of HIV. That this was broadcast on First December, World AIDS Day was a significant coincidence. His aim was to subject around 300,000 students taking up their A levels and 100,000 undergraduates to compulsory HIV testing. The net would then spread to include O level students and even ‘members of clubs’ whoever they are. If he does so, a washing of spears will surely follow. His leading the charge of the needle pricking brigade has drawn no comments from either the medical or education fraternity.

Charge of the Needle Pricking Brigade by Thavam Ratna

Give life to Budget 2016 with marketing thinking

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Given that the Budget 2016 has come to a close with a mandate of over a hundred-plus, now the challenge is implementation. This can happen only if a strong private partnership exists and each of us agrees to take the country forward. 2016 will be a tough year for Sri Lanka given the global economic slowdown that is predicted. In my view, unless we keep politics away and drive economic growth via marketing, which means value addition, we will not do justice to the bold Budget that has been passed.

Give Life to Budget 2016 With Marketing Thinking by Thavam Ratna

The Ranil Wickremesinghe Factor in 2016 and beyond

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray

(Lanka-e-News -21.Dec.2015, 11.30PM) One year ago, around the time of Christmas, there was tension in the country.  The people were about to vote in a presidential election which would decide the destiny of the country, one way or the other.  Today, one year later, we are celebrating Christmas and enjoying the festive season without any of these tensions.   

The Ranil Wickremesinghe Factor in 2016 and Beyond by Thavam Ratna

Reconsidering Colombo and Sri Lanka's Political Rollercoaster

Taylor Dibbert -12/22/2015

I recently read an interesting piece about Colombo.

After having read the article, I felt like searching for flights online to purchase a plane ticket with money that I don't have. Then you realize what an unrealistic idea it is, spending a week in Colombo right now, at least with my own money anyway. So, instead of going to the American Airlines webpage to search for flights, you travel back in time. You look to the wealth of memories instead. You live vicariously through yourself.

There are few thought experiments quite as unpredictable as wholehearted daydreaming. The mind wanders, but it's not alone. Those things that make your heart flutter, those might be the ones in charge.

From 2010 to 2014, I was in and out of Sri Lanka quite a bit, though I was mostly in. I used to go back to the U.S. to see friends and family every now and then. I went to Thailand too. At the end of those various trips, as I was preparing myself to head back to Sri Lanka, I was preparing myself to go "home" or at least what I guess I considered home at the time. I was heading back into my comfort zone. I was looking to get back into my routine, or at least some semblance of a routine.

Now, I think that's one of the things I miss most about Sri Lanka. Without question, the people matter and the culture matters and the food matters and other stuff matters. But feeling like you're home, like you belong, even if it's in an ephemeral and sort of strange way, that's a nice feeling. And there are all those simple and small things that make up one's lifestyle.

For reasons I won't go into here, in 2011 I spent Christmas in Colombo alone. It was the first time I'd ever been alone on Christmas and certainly something I'll never forget, not that I'd like to repeat the experience. Nevertheless, if one's going to properly contextualize and appreciate the highs, it's helpful to not disregard the lows. My lows don't own me; they don't define me. Yet they're a part of me, a part of life.

There's such joy in the small stuff. Walking around Beira Lake. "Yes, I really am walking for exercise," I would say. A lot of people were genuinely curious. Clearly, it all looked a bit odd to them. What is this suddha doing? He's wearing jeans and walking around the lake in circles? And what's with that stretching? He's here almost every day. What a strange man he must be.

I walked all over the city, but Beira Lake was different. That was the (usually two-hour) block of time I would set aside for exercise. Any other walking outside of that was just a bonus. In 2014, there were even days when I'd get up really early and walk before I went to work. I usually had a lot of trouble waking up at 6 a.m., though it was worth it when I did. After I got back to my apartment and before heading off to the office, I'd have coffee and some short eats from Perera and Sons. On most mornings, I'd have pol sambol and bread, but the place I'd usually buy that was in Colombo 3, right across the street from the office. Since I was living in Colombo 4 at the time, I needed to modify my routine and Perera and Sons became a part of my early morning walking plan. Vegetable roti; that's what I'd go for. (If I exercised before work, I needed to eat breakfast right after that. I couldn't wait until I got to the office.)

Here in Maryland, I'm far from the island. Yet it doesn't always feel that far. In the Washington, D.C. area, more than a few people are talking about Sri Lanka these days. For starters, there's been a lot of lofty rhetoric from the Barack Obama administration. There's quite a bit of optimism. There's also been some misinformation floating around. The kind where commentators speak authoritatively about how Sri Lanka's just hitched a ride on the reconciliation superhighway. This is what genuine democracy is about, they tell us.

There are others who think differently, who aren't as sure about all this hope and change stuff. I'm one of those people. And I've got my reasons. Recently talking to a human rights lawyer in Colombo about the issue of Tamil political prisoners, for example. Really understanding that this is something that the administration of Maithripala Sirisena should stop dithering on. There are numerous other reasons for skepticism. However, this daydream has taken a sharp policy-oriented turn, which might merit another article.

Walking the streets of Colombo. Beira Lake. Pol sambol or vegetable rotti for breakfast. Enjoying the small stuff. And then somehow we end up at Sirisena's stalled reform agenda. Dear reader, when I was living in Colombo, I always remember hearing about how everything in Sri Lanka becomes politicized. Does that apply to daydreams too?

*This piece first appeared in Groundviews.

Follow Taylor Dibbert on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylordibbert

U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap Meets Minister of Megapolis and Western Development

U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap meets Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka.

December 18, 2015

U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap met today with Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka.  During the meeting, Ambassador Keshap and Minister Ranawaka discussed future infrastructure projects essential to Sri Lanka's prosperity, energy production and environmental protection, and progress on the development of a new constitution.  Ambassador Keshap stressed “the United States supports the Sri Lankan voters’ vision of a unified, peaceful, prosperous, and reconciled Sri Lanka with equal opportunity and human rights for all, regardless of ethnicity or religion.”

U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap meets Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Champika Ranawaka.

Legislation to Curb Hate Speech will be Re-introduced with Amendments – Deputy Minister

22/12/2015

The proposed anti-hate speech Bill currently on hold would be reintroduced with amendments, Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media Karunarathna Paranawithana said.

“The government has observed a surge of communally harmful sentiments in the recent past. The proposed law was put on hold after considering views expressed by the media and other civil society organisations that it would limit the freedom of expression. It is due to a technical fault that the PTA regulations were included in the proposed amendment to the Penal Code,” the Deputy Minister told The Island.

“We have not given up,” the Deputy Minister said, adding that the government expected to table a new Bill in Parliament next year after rectifying the technical default. Such laws were in existence in other countries and Sri Lanka also needed a regulation of that nature as a reconciliatory measure.  The draft law was in no way a hindrance to media freedom or free speech in the country, the Deputy Minister assured.

He said the government’s policy was to ensure media freedom while promoting harmony among all the communities living in the country.

The Bill which was presented to Parliament on December 11 states, inter alia: ‘Whoever, by the use of words spoken, written or intended to be read, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, intends to cause or attempts to instigate acts of violence, or to create religious, racial or communal disharmony, or feelings of ill-will or hostility, between communities or different racial or religious groups, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term exceeding two years.’

The Bill to amend the Criminal Procedure Code sought to introduce provisions of a two-year prison sentence for anyone guilty of ‘causing or instigating acts of violence or religious, racial or communal disharmony or feelings of ill-will or hostility by the use of words spoken, written or intended to be read, or by signs, or by visible representation or otherwise.’

The Human Rights Commission last week advised the government to withdraw the proposed amendment to the penal Code and substitute it with the relevant provision of the ICCPR Act of 2007.

By Subashini Samaranayake / The Island

Rishard lodges police complaint against National Sanga Council

DEC 21 2015

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen lodged a complaint at Cinnamon Garden Police on Saturday against the National Sanga Council for making false accusations against him.

Bathiudeen demanded Rs. 1 billion as compensation from the National Sanga Council and its Secretary Ven. Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara thera, if they fail to prove the charges made against him.

A spokesman for the minister told the Daily News yesterday, the complaint was made against two allegations by the Council, that Minister Bathiudeen was involved in the destruction and illegal occupation of forest land in Wilpattu National Park and that he was engaged in the drug business.

The spokesman said the minister refuted these charges as false and baseless.

He had requested the Police to investigate these allegations.

"These allegations are serious, and if they were not proved the minister will send a letter of demand for the damages caused to his image," he said.

The National Sanga Council had made these allegations, while taking part in a protest near the Viharamahadevi Park on Saturday against the destruction of Wilpattu forest land. Environment Conservation Trust Director Sajeewa Chamikara said about 15 environmental organisations took park in the protest in addition to the National Sanga Council.

"Altogether about 600 people participated in the protest which commenced at 9.30 a.m. The aim was to rally people against the deforestation of Wilpattu and urge the government to stop it. Evironmental organisations did not make any reference to the drug business, the said allegation was made by the Sanga Council. As of now, we were not informed of any police complaint or legal action against us," he said. Members of environmental organisations who took part in the protest pointed out that even though the encroachment near Wilpattu slowed down for a few months, it had now gathered pace again.

The collective of environmental organisations is also to start a campaign to collect one million signatures to save Wilpattu. 

X-files and excuses

Editorial-December 21, 2015, 7:27 pm 

Many thought the Jan. 08 regime change would pave the way for thorough probes into attacks on journalists and media institutions during the past few decades. But, regrettably, investigations into those dastardly incidents are being conducted very selectively.

Media person, Pradeep Ekneligoda, disappeared and national rugby player, Wasim Thajudeen, died under mysterious circumstances which must, no doubt, be investigated. But, the government must not lose sight of other such incidents.

The abduction of The Nation Associate Editor Keith Noyahr in May 2008 has not yet been probed properly. Keith should be able to reveal vital information about his abductors who held, questioned and beat him for hours before releasing him. The government which was blamed for his abduction is now out of power and he is resident overseas.

Keith, as a responsible journalist who took up the cudgels for media freedom, is sure to cooperate with investigators. There is reason to believe his abductors were involved in attacks on other journalists as well. Therefore, his help needs to be sought to identify those elements.

It is mind-boggling why the police are still groping in the dark. Two months after Keith’s abduction, the then Chief Opposition Whip and UNP MP, Joseph Michael Perera, speaking in Parliament in July 2008 held the then Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, responsible for attacks on journalists. BBC reported on July 28, 2008:

Sri Lanka's main opposition party has accused the country's most senior army officer of being behind violent attacks on reporters.

Opposition MP Joseph Michael Perera told parliament that the attacks were carried out by a 'special team' controlled by Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka.

Mr. Perera said the government should arrest the offenders and 'immediately bring them to justice'.

The army has denied that it is any way involved in attacks on journalists.

"We are told by those in the army itself that journalists are abducted and subjected to grievous injury by none other than a special unit under the army commander," Mr. Perera, a former parliamentary speaker, said.

The Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunga was killed a few months later in Jan. 2009. The UNP which asked the Rajapaksa government to make arrests at that time is in power today. It is duty bound to get cracking and ensure that former Chief Opposition Whip Perera provides the police with all necessary information about the ‘special team’ he mentioned in Parliament. What prevents the government from doing so? Let no lame excuses be trotted out.

Perhaps, the yahapalana grandees do not want to open up a can of worms because those they accused of killing journalists at that time are today in the good governance camp!

Unfounded fears

Convener of the Mawbima Wenuwen Ranawiruwo (MWR) organisation, Major Ajith Prasanna, has told the media that a plot is being hatched to arrest former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda.

But, it is doubtful whether the present government will ever do anything of that nature on the basis of mere allegations. It is compassionate towards even terror suspects. Detained hardcore Tigers are being released on the grounds that there is no irrefutable evidence against them.

Before the presidential and parliamentary elections this year, the leaders of the present administration made solemn pledges to arrest the self-appointed leader of the LTTE, Kumaran Padmanathan alias KP, for his active involvement in terrorist activities in the past. They also said Karuna Amman had been responsible for many crimes in the Eastern Province such as the massacre of Buddhist monks at Arantalawa and the mass execution of 600 policemen. But, they have chosen not to take any action against the two former Tigers.

The champions of good governance, currently ensconced in power, condemned the ministers of the Rajapaksa government as a bunch of rogues responsible for mega corrupt deals, killings, abuse of power etc. The new government would deal with them severely, we were told. But, today, those ‘rogues’ have been forgiven and made ministers of the ‘yahapalana’ government!

Thus, we don’t think the present government will ever abuse its power to throw its political opponents behind bars on the basis of mere allegations even though former President Rajapaksa is threatening to stage street protests.

Moreover, no less a person than UNSG Ban Ki-moon has spoken very highly of the present government; he considers the Jan. 08 regime change one of the most significant world events during this year! President Maithripala Sirisena has said he had the rare honour of viewing Queen Elizabeth’s private jewellery collection as a special guest besides being given a gloveless handshake. Pope Francis has also showered praise on him, we are told. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has always been in the good books of the international community.

So, the ‘yahapalana’ government led by President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe will not run the risk of blotting its copybook by arresting its opponents in the same manner as the Rajapaksa government.