Ranil — snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
Until the bomb went off at Town Hall on the night of December 18, according to established political analysts — both local and foreign present here — the UNP was on its road to victory in the December 22 Presidential election — to put it rather uncharitably - inspite of Ranil. A fatigued public, clearly angry at being taken for a ride by a trail of failed promises unkept in a long 6 year spell, was hell bent on hitting back by voting in a change of the administration. What indeed then resulted in a victory for Chandrika? A victory indeed it was for her, inspite of the widely expected stuffing of ballots, large scale intimidation of voters and poll agents; irrespective of foreign poll watchers or not.
The marginal swing of the sympathy vote for her after the blast-particularly from the female voters is conceded though if it was to those extents that could have changed the final configuration of victory would have remained debatable. Unfortunately, for the large number of UNP voters, supporters and workers in the field it was less Ranil’s lacklustre leadership, devoid of even minimal oratorical skill, so necessary to swing voters to his side, that denied the UNP of a sure victory but more the visible absence of clear leadership capability in him. His ill-timed and suspect humour only compounded matters for him and these cost the UNP dearly.
His British advertising counsellors did not fail in doing their job in projecting the right image, attractive billboards etc but once the man began to speak you could not stop him from faltering. His unimpressive style of public address, punctured by a virtual speech impediment, is excusable. But during his public addresses, that received wide TV coverage at the latter stage of the campaign, when he reached the climax of his addresses he looked a possessed man waving his hands in the air and screaming sometimes incoherently.
In many instances, UNP seniors and supporters were clearly embarrassed by his performance. Against advice of some of his close friends indeftly repeating his supposed joke of handing over Chandrika to Prabhakaran cost him many votes.
UNP’s Sirisena Cooray summed it up well when he said "Ranil inflicted a disastrous defeat on the UNP by his pathetic leadership." While few will compare Ranil’s to the style and depth of leadership like those provided by UNP giants JR and Premadasa, it is clear the other contender Chandrika is streets ahead of Ranil in style, communications skills and effectiveness in the peculiar art of contemporary politics. This culture in the sub-continent has ‘developed’ to an extent where principals, ethics and morality take a back seat......To remain in positions of power nowadays one must have a fair appreciation of ‘street savvy’ of politics, which has developed its own but strange codes of conduct differing from scene to theatre. In this environment applying John Stuart Mill’s victorian principals of conducting politics on the basis of "a public trust" will be a ludicrous joke.
Chandrika added many points to her victory when she took the calculated risk of even bringing into her Cabinet and unto her fold such controversial men as Wijayapala Mendis, Nanda Mathew et al embroiled very deeply in highly publicised issues affecting their public image and personal integrity. She did this to the obvious discomfort and private questioning of many of her Cabinet colleagues.
In the final analysis she gambled and won. Her leadership claims within her Cabinet colleagues - some of whom many decades senior to her in parliamentary politics - has never been higher and this she will use as a bargaining tool during times of inter-play of power politics within her rank in the coming years.
The UNP, like the tottering Congress Party in neighbouring India, is arguably the only national party in the country. For the several hundreds thousands of UNP party workers throughout the country the party is more important than the future of a single individual. Sooner than later the party, for the sake of its own future and existence, must decide on an articulate, convincing and results-oriented leader; one who will be capable of uniting the party’s divided factions to obtain essential cohesion within her seniors and inspire her demoralised party cadres.
The UNP today finds itself in the same position as when the SWRD’s 1956 Government dwelt a near-lethal blow to the UNP. Rode in JR then — to a UNP without Sir John and Dudley — and painfully re-structured the party to rise from the proverbial ‘ashes’ — demonstrating the tremendous capacity of outstanding leadership that was inherent in his personality armour.
In fairness to Ranil, his personal reputation and his future claim for a place in the UNP hierarchy will remain perhaps unquestioned and readily accommodating. After a trail of embarrassing defeats, referred to in recent days ad nauseum by former colleagues, it is now time to hand the mantle over to others more deserving and perhaps capable of delivering the goods for the UNP.
K. Arvind
Colombo 3.
Ranil ‘The Great’
All patriotic peace-loving citizens of Sri Lanka should raise their hats to honour that great man Ranil for his bold, wise and far-reaching decision to start teaching English to village boys and girls from Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Estate areas, so that they can seek profitable and respectable employment abroad as teachers, nurses, telephone and computer operators, technicians, tradesmen etc. rather than seek menial employment as housemaids, street-cleaners and prostitutes.
Many people are unaware that the Colonial rulers wanted to restrict English education to make governance possible, and banned English education in the Pirivenas. This is the reason why even the Mahanayakas are not competent in English.
SWRDB banned education in the English medium in govt. schools for the same reason.
President Chandrika keeps on repeating that the LTTE war started in 1983. The LTTE war was really started in 1956 by her father Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who introduced the disastrous ‘Sinhala Only’ bill in 24 hours which infuriated the Tamil people leading to Tamil-Sinhala hatred, riots, arson, looting, rape, murder culminating in the LTTE-war.
At that time Chandrika was a sweet school-girl and may not be aware of the tragedies that occurred. Most people who witnessed the disasters of 1956 because of the ‘Bandaranaike policy’ are dead and gone.
Mr. SWRDB wanted to grab power at any cost over Sir John. He left the UNP and founded his own party - the SLFP.
Mr. SWRDB knew that he achieved his position in Ceylon because of his English education in Oxford. SWRDB’s father Mr. Solomen Dias B. achieved his position because of English education. SWRDB educated his 3 children - Anura, Chandrika and Sunethra in English which helped them to achieve their positions today. Sirimavo too had her education in English at St. Bridget’s Convent. Chandrika’s children are also studying in UK.
Children of affluent SLFP/PA/UNP ministers and MPs are educating their children in UK or in local international schools in the English medium. Where is the Bandaranaike policy?
Ranil is the only man who realised the hypocrisy of the Bandaranaike policy, which is only for the poor people who can easily be deceived by false promises. Education in the Sinhala and Tamil media has always been free in ancient Lanka. During the colonial era, parents had to pay for the education of their children in the English, which was the medium of instruction only in the big schools of Colombo, Kandy and the main towns.
Mr. C. W. W. Kannangara, who was the father of free education in Ceylon, was Minister of Education in the State Council of Ceylon in 1945. He realised the injustice done to the poor Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim masses from the villages by denying to them education in the English medium. Against stiff opposition by the British rulers, CWWK was able to get the Free English Education Bill passed in the State Council. For this reason, CWWK called his bill - The Pearl of Great Price. CWWK was offered a Knighthood by the British govt. which the great philanthropist refused to accept.
With the implementation of the ‘Sinhala Only’ bill of the Bandaranaike policy, CWWK’S Pearl of Great Price got thrown overboard into the Indian Ocean and no one speaks about it now a clique of ungrateful people.
The Bandaranaike policy denies English education to everybody in govt. schools in Sri Lanka, causing havoc in our ‘once upon a time’ Isle of Paradise.
Ranil the great, a former Education Minister, has gone one step further than CWWK, when he declared that he is going to introduce English education in the Pirivenas, so that Buddhist monks could take Lord Buddha’s message of ‘loving kindness’ across the world, thus contributing to global peace.
Yasodhara Ratwatte,
Kandy.
Soja Com-Soja Gwo
(a thought for the millennium)
I stole that head line from Chinua Achebe. It appears in his Booker nominated masterpiece "Anthills in the Savannah". The line somehow woke me to a unadmitted reality. "Soja Com-Soja Gwo". That is the African military version. Achebe talks about the Banana Republics and what Soja serving the dictators do. What about ours?, that’s where my awakening began. Ours is a little different. We too have Soja Com-Soja Gwo. Unfortunately it doesn’t stop at that. There is a bit of a sad addition to our version. It spells out as Soja Com-Soja Gwo... Soja die.
WHY????
Fifteen years have gone by. Leaders have rolled and re rolled in power. Promises were made, and promises have vaporised; making way for more promises to be fed to the pipe line. The debates go on, in a thousand tones, the vociferous dominating the voiceless, cleverly commenting unreasonable argument in the comfort of the ivory towers. Colours change. People change. Then colours and people change. Many a proselyte does come to life. Who runs where? and why? and with whom? no one knows. (Our polytheistic faith in the political leadership begins to fade. The reasons become forty three billion strong. The results, a mere count of coffins.
All this while, Soja DIE.
A bomb explodes. Batticaloa, or maybe in some unknown Vanni village. The news comes in measured milligrams, as the news caster cautiously mouth the nation’s sorrow. So many Soja dead, so many missing. Missing means less numbers to admit. That is the future dead. We listen, nod sadness, and go back to talking cricket scores. Life goes on, away from the battle field. In township and shanty, the war is far away. In any case, it is not our war.
No doubt he is our Soja; but, it is his war.
The motives vary, but there certainly are many who support the pitiful Soja’s battles. Too many greedy gutter snipes rise from their rat holes for the crumbs, and watch with shiny eyes and twitching whiskers in happy expectation. They wait for Soja to become the prospective martyr, the posthumous Captain, and contribute to everyone’s coffer.
Let Soja Pay. Let Soja pay with his life.
Do I have answers? No I don’t. But then, does that deny me the right to express an opinion? I was never elected to high office nor promoted in gold braid to find solutions. I am just another denizen mired in this shambolic situation, waiting for the distant dawn to bring peace to the land of my forefathers. I’m sure the feeling is the feeling, same for most of us, which include the people north of the border. The sadness cannot be geographically separated. It scorches all of us, and leaves us with scars of shame for the unprotesting acceptance we manifest for our Soja’s fate.
Fifteen years is a long time. Fifty thousand dead is a sad count. It is not a matter of who is in power or who is not. It is not a matter of what happened and what will happen. It is not a victory, nor a defeat, or even a stalemate.
It is simply a matter of Soja Com, Soja Gwo, Soja die.
On both sides.
Isn’t it time we realised?
Elmo Jayawardana
Our born-again President
Quite recently when I visited a Buddhist Research Institute, I came across a pamphlet on which was printed the follwing:
A short course
The six most important words
‘’I admit I made a mistake’’
The five most important words
‘’You did a good job’’The four most important words
‘’What is your opinion?’’
The three most important words
‘’If you please’’The two most important words
‘’Thank you’’
The one most important word
‘’We’’The least important word
‘’I’’Mrs Kumaratunga, in her acceptance speech, after she was sworn in as President for a second term, has referred to her belief that the time has now finally come in this country for ‘’the goodness of man to reign supreme throughout this nation’’.
Indeed, indeed, it has. As a matter of fact, the triumph of the goodness, inherent in every man, is long overdue in this small island. One feels so relieved and delighted therefore that she has awakened to the need for people here to be raised from the level of bestiality to the realm of spirituality. No easy task, though. She must set the example and show us the way.
It is hoped therefore that Mrs Kumaratunga realizes that for goodness to blossom one must awaken to the profound truth expressed in the last sentence of the ‘’short course’’ quoted above — namely, that in our daily lives, the least important factor is the ‘’I’’ and the ‘’mine’’.
The country is in shambles because in national life, there is not even a handful of individuals in positions of authority who can honestly claim that in whatever they do, they are motivated solely by their concern for the public good.
Goodness cannot be bought in the market. It is not the product of learning. Where the ‘’I’’, the ‘’me’’, and the ‘’mine’’ are not, there goodness is. Put differently, for goodness to blossom, there must be a transcendence of the ego. If anyone is personally ambitious, lusts for power and is therefore ruthless and insensitive, if one seeks to dominate and rule, he can hardly be said to be good.
The President’s passionate espousal of the need for goodness to triumph in the life of the nation may very well be the spontaneous outcome of the near-death experience she has had when one of Prabhakaran’s suicide bombers attempted to assassinate her after the Town Hall meeting. Obviously she has been rattled to the core by the ruthlessness and suddenness of the attempt to murder her.
Every cloud has a silver lining, they say. If the shattering experience has awakened Mrs. Kumaratunga to the liberating truth that in the midst of life, we are ever in death, the suicide bomber would not have died in vain. In one split second the President has evidently awakened to the implications of a fact of life which even the recitation a thousand times of the Meditation on Death in the Buddhist Texts could not have provided her with. Else she could not have spoken so convincingly and eloquently of hatred as being the common enemy that ‘’walks so freely about in our land’’.
Quite obviously it is a born again Mrs. Kumaratunga whom we now have as our President. It could not be otherwise. For many of us had seen on T.V. the violent speeches she made in the course of her election campaign. They were so full of venom and hatred. On some occasions she even referred to ‘’cutting up into pieces’’ (Kudu karanawa), supporters of her principal opponent, if they tried to be funny. One could not believe that one was listening to the speeches of a Head of State and Government of country renowned the world over as the land where the Buddha’s Doctrine had taken firm root.
Prabhakaran is reported to have said that Mrs. Kumaratunga’s five-year rule from 1994 has been a curse for the Tamils. I cannot speak with authority on that aspect of governance by Chandrika. But for the rest of the country, in the light of the promises she made and the hopes she raised in the hearts and minds of the people, Mrs. Kumaratunga’s five-year reign has been an unmitigated disaster. But with her transformative experience occasioned by the assassination attempt, Mrs. Kumaratunga is now, if her words mean anything, a totally different person.
If that really is the case, it will be fair to presume that we, the people, can breathe a sign of relief. The generous words with which Mrs. Kumaratunga extended her hand of friendship to the Leader of the Opposition to join her government — quite in contrast to the language she used against him during the election campaign — are, we hope a sign of the things to come.
Stanley Jayaweera,
An Avadhi Lanka activist,
Rajagiriya.
Appreciation
T. N. De Silva
The recent suicide bomb attack at the Town Hall grounds Colombo created a vacuum in the Police Department by eliminating one of the most outstanding officers of our time. It so ironic that this dastardly act did succeed in the assassination of an independent officer — a person who was highly respected by all communities in the country being a native of Ambalangoda he served the people well irrespective of caste, creed or natonality.
Mr. T. N. De Silva Deputy Inspector General of Police who was incharge of Colombo Range at the time of his death, started his career as a police officer in 1963 as a Probationary Sub Inspector. I worked under him as a raw Sub Inspector whilst he was the officer-in-charge at Kekirawa Police station in 1973. He was a true disciplinarian and a firm believer in justice. It was under him I learnt that police officers do not have any fixed hours of work and are always on call right throughout the day to attend to various type of needs of the public.
He led his life in an exemplary manner whether on or off duty. He has instilled on us the importance of understanding and interpreting the law correctly to perform our duties impartially. He always used to tell his subordinates do the correct thing and then you will not repent for what you have done. There are many officers trained under this able and dedicated officer who have reached high position in the department.
"Impartiality" was the key word with him. He was never swayed by political pressure, monetary gains or publicity as he was a devout Buddhist. A fearless officer who believed that a police officer who carries out his duties honestly and according to accepted norms will always receive the respect of the public as well as of his subordinates and superiors. He has instructed us on the importance of our grasp in technicalities of legal documents in order to be good law enforcement officers.
Whilst I was the O.I.C. of Murunkan police station in the mid seventies, I still recall with gratitude how he sent me a copy of the book namely (Administrative Justice of Law 1974) with all the important sections highlighted. To this date, this document is being held by me as a memento sent to me by one of the finest officers of the department.
As a high ranking police officer he was easily accessible and was ever ready to give a patient hearing to any person irrespective of his standing in society. Mr. T. N. De Silva was much loved by the public wherever he served, for his fairness and simplicity.
During his career he served in most difficult parts in the country such as Trincomalee, Ampara, Vavuniya and Anuradhapura in which areas he was held in the highest esteem as a fair and strict law enforcement officer. It is indeed a great loss to the public to lose the services of an honest, dedicated, efficient and a fearless officer of the calibre of Mr. T. N. De silva specially at a time when the society needs more and more officer of this nature to eradicate corruption and thuggery for the proper maintenance of the law and order in the country.
I still remember to how he went out of his way to safeguard his subordinate officers from various outside forces in instances where the officers had discharged their duties properly and impartially. He never allowed the subordinate officers to fall into unnecessary difficulties for performing their duties in the name of the law.
When I congratulated him on his elevation as a DIG he had one advice for me, which to this day, I follow with much dedication. An advice which would enriched all police officers if followed to the letter. He said "Never do things that you cannot admit in the future".
May you attain Nibbana.
Lalith Lekamge
Superintendent of Police