14 September 2024 12:31 am Views - 526
Sadly, this is the political history of our country. What little good if any they did, is trumpeted from rooftops. Their misdeeds they hide -buried in the mass graves of victims killed during their periods of power
The presidential election campaign is in full swing. Many of the contestants are virtually unknown. For several years, the main candidates were able to milk a particular milch cow -the ethnic war- to gain public sympathy. This time around, voters have shown their disinterest in these political diversions.
A case in point is that of a rather loud-mouthed presidential candidate who carried his shrapnel-riddled car to a particular electorate to boast of his exploits during the civil war. He ended up speaking to an ‘empty stadium’ so-to-say. Since then, little has been heard from this candidate.
Even the son of the war-winning president Namal Rajapaksa- now a presidential contender, has shied away from this topic. He tends to speak of the achievements of his father, one of which is the construction of the ‘world’s loneliest airport’. Built at great expense, scarcely any aircraft uses the facility.
It is also charged that many a corrupt deal was made to construct this facility as has been the case in the construction of the highways and byways built during that period.
In addition, one can hardly forget the numerous bloodlettings which occurred during the near decade-long Rajapaksa family rule. It reduced Lanka’s international standing to one of a pariah state.
But then, all the main presidential candidates have common strands with each other. All of them have the blood of innocent civilians on their hands. None of them have apologised for the acts of commission and omission.
Sadly, this is the political history of our country. What little good if any they did, is trumpeted from rooftops. Their misdeeds they hide -buried in the mass graves of victims killed during their periods of power.
For instance, the incumbent President Wickremesinghe can boast of having saved the country from falling into a situation of anarchy in the aftermath of the ‘aragalaya’. He was also, through diplomatic, economic and parliamentary acumen able to end the dark era of shortages of food, medicines, cooking gas and fuel queues which wound around petrol sheds in the country.
The symbol under which Wickremesinghe contests -the gas cylinder- is a clever reminder of what he achieved during those days. But he too is no squeaky clean man of the people. While he made every effort to end the ethnic war during his ill-fated peace efforts with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he was part of different regimes under which thousands of Tamil and Sinhala civilians were killed by forces of the state.
Today’s NPP/JVP combine rose up in arms against the entry of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) into the country. Unfortunately, while their stated aim was to rid the country of the Indian forces, the then JVP of which presidential contestant Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) of the National People’s Power (NPP) leads today, never attacked the IPKF.
Rather it killed off thousands of Sinhalese civilians who did not subscribe to their political beliefs. Sadly AKD and his party have short memories. Lankans however, remember how schools, hospitals and other institutions were closed by a single ‘chit’ sent to public institutions. They also killed traders for challenging their diktat.
Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJP), promises a return to the Premadasa era (a reference to the days his father R. Premadasa was president of the country) -God-forbid and perish the thought.
During those days, he (Sajith) was safely ensconced in the UK. But in Lanka, thousands of bodies of young people littered the streets of Colombo and elsewhere -to terrorise the Sinhalese masses into not supporting the rebels.
We need to carefully decide whom we will cast our all-powerful vote for. ‘We need to consider who among the candidates is the best suited to lead our country into the future.
Who among them can lead us out of the economic morass we are now stuck in. Can any among them, rise above petty party politics and think of country? The decision and responsibility is ours.