LankaWeb Weekly EditorialƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ April 10th 2010

Yes its happening again!! The Mahinda Rajapaksha led UPFA are winning the GeneralƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Election resoundingly andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ mowing down all opposition andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ easilyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ confirming that the UPFA with its leadershipƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is indeed regarded by a majority of voters as the one they see fit to guide the Nation towards all the aspirations and hopes they have previously pinned on him and his team and this time around perhaps with a more powerful mandate!

Once more as is the tradition in this Resplendent Isle of ours the firecrackers are exploding, the temple bells areƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ pealing as thoughƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in joyful jubilation and the cries of Jayaweva! resonate fromƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ many corners of the Nation to usher in another term for the noblest son of Sri Lanka today.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ One who deserves much recognition towards the title based on his patriotic strengths alone apart from his valiant and noble efforts to uphold Sri Lanka as a beacon in many aspects of her proud sovereignity, protecting it from marauding terroristsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ whileƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ standing up to all his critics and foreign interferenceƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where he has given it his all without compromiseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and once again confounded many of his critics ever ready to denigrate his image and vision towards their own ungainly agendas or myopic perceptions.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ True to form the results of Sri Lanka’s first parliamentary elections in the aftermath of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ annihilation of the Tamil Tiger terroristsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ have swept the UPFA into power.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is a significant victory which is not yet finalised in its entirety towards seat count although its magnitude could be far greater than the projected eventuality andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  even deliver greater powers to the President much to the chagrin of some who fear and opposeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ this on the grounds of an impending autocracy which might be deemed a fallacy based upon the wisdom and pragmatism of the President.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is a conceptƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ perhaps evenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ containing many beneficial effects for a Nation in need of a strong leadership, aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  trusted team of prudent legislatorsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and a downsized cabinet over a period of time and beyond the feeble perceptions of his opposite camp afraid of a dynasty as they see it which may well prove to be the best thing that happened to Sri Lanka where the nomenclature may be imposing but the long term effectsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of a consolidating nature.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This said on the basis of non betrayal of the Nation to her enemies nor the compromising of her Sovereignity and Territorial Integrity which many leaders of past opposition repute have come very close to accomplishing whether inadvertently or not andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ far removed from the objectives of the Rajapaksha Vision for Sri Lanka which now seems etched in stone.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ After all andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in retrospect, what has the opposition done over the past many decades beyond providing obstaclesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ towards the Nation’s development,blundering their way from one Administrative Faux Pas to another to put it mildlyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and in the name of free enterprise permitted avenues for wasteful and dangerous NGO’s to infiltrate the country on various pretexts but often with hidden agendasƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and bargaining with deadly enemies to near Nation destruction.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ They now seem a beaten lotƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ whose chances of bouncing back into administrative power unlikely to surface for a very long time with a paltry tally of electoral seats attesting to their national unpopularity bearing testimony to this conclusion!

The same needs to be said of the Marxists and the rest of the bandwagon which rallied round the deposed Military leader Sarath Fonseka whose transparencies towards being a very self centred and dangerous individualƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ on various tangible grounds are now emergingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  have found themselves in a political dilema which may take a long time towards repairing and depicted by the scoreboard of single or double digit tallies and no more than a complete routing!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is a followup to theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ resounding victory of the January 26th. Presidential Election whereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ there seemed little doubt from the inception about the outcome of Thursday’s general election which statistics indicate is by far the best performance by a political party or coalition in a general election since 1977 and attested to by many media reports to the effect.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The President who campaigned forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a two third majority with the objective of changing the National Constitution mustƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ now be pondering upon itsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ real possibility as itƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  may well be within the UPFA’s grasp. ParticularlyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ if the phenomenonƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of party cross overs, as was the case after the previous election, once again transpires to supplement the shortage of won electorates and something the opposition parties would rue towards apprehensions of their own dismal futures if this were to be the case and the ruling party would obviously relish with gusto!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And to the many pundits already attempting to direct the victorious Rajapaksha Admiinistration about the Tamil issue may it be said that a leader of Mahinda Rajapaksha’s perception, compassion andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ pragmatismƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ must surely be aware what the Nation’s currently imperative needs are including resolving the grievances of the Tamil Community which to a greater part was brought upon themselves through misguided leaderships from within their own camp and a lust for secessionƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ towards which they supported a terrorist insurgency and paid a severe price inasmuch as the rest of Sri Lanka’s general populace.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The question of devolution of power and a sharing of privileges by all Sri Lankans which by no means is a recent issue,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ greatly hampered and curtailed by the devious ploys of the Tamils themselves if one were to be realistic,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is one which existed perhaps to an extent incongruously tilting towards the minorityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ going back to colonial times in a Nation with a vast Sinhala majority and something which needs very delicate handling towards a stable equilibriumƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in order to appease all concerned andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ evidently the root cause of many an ethnic conflict which must never ever surface!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is indeed a challenge for the New Administration and one needing prioritisation to pluralise the privileges andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ opportunitiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ towards equality between all Sri Lankans with no better leader to implement it than the present President and someone very equitable to the task where administrative power has already been devolved between different ethnicitiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  within the present administration in case those calling for it have been oblivious to the reality through their own impaired visions!

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