By Gomin Dayasri

Human rights, war crimes, accountability, judicial intervention are the modern mittens in the post war ring after democracy, transparency, good Governance and Corruption was dumped as discarded gauntlets from the war phase. Why the change of gloves?

An Opposition too feeble and splintered to pound on a gifted punching bag, left it to the foreign funded NGO set, reputed for aiming poison darts at spider targets. They naturally failed to score a bullƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s eye, being too alienated and lacking in credibility. The wrong people entrusted with the right issues, turns it into dust. It was the unkept media that carried the campaign to a respectable distance, slashing it when short of sensational news, making the reading public bored by treating it as a routine diversion. Vibrant issues were made non-issues, by not going beyond sound and fury. Miscreants, with the Government leading the dirty rat pack, got away with blue murder!

Why have they imported whipping instruments branded with humanitarian logos to enter the local market? It has a simple dear Liza answer. Uncle Sam, Union Jack, Europes Band of Brothers, Scandinavian Scoundrels, with their satellites and sidekicks shifted the goal-posts to launch a new ball game. Winning a war that was chartered to lose and dismantling terrorism destined to be preserved: was not according to a script texted by the West, meant executors of such disruptive designs have to be disgraced and displaced.

Human Rights to War Crimes reaches the offenders and can be orchestrated from abroad with threats of dire consequences without domestic assistance, not easy to come. Does the West require a replacement of a PA Government, that provided the architecture for a successful war? Happy homes of the PA and the UNP, being no better or worse than the other; both would gladly be servile sycophants prepared to shift residences, if goodies are offered on a platter. Minister of Investment of one is the Minister of External Affairs of the other? A regime change in Sri Lanka is merely changing the color of the shirt for an appearance on a political platform. West is comfortable in either home except for the pressure exerted by the Diaspora on their voting registers and the scripture in their varying humanitarian gospel to which they adhere when convenient.

The long range sharpshooters of western intelligence, realize after focusing their telescopic lenses, that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-bad boysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in their terminology, that call for the head chop for master-minding the war anatomy, are the President and the Defence Secretary. Two have once saved the country from foreign interferences and are unlikely to cave in to foreign pressures: not good enough for a West that requires servile obedience. Taint them in war paint as Butchers of the Wanni that used their carving knives to disembowel the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”SaintsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that went passing-by! Take both out of the equation, rest are in the fold willing to be penned. Hitch is, the Big Two, roller coaster high on national acclaim for taking the military option.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So a new Game is on, with fresh issues structurally fabricated for a specific purpose. It has to be at a road show after the showing in the Middle East, where too an alternative leadership had not surfaced. Amass the masses on the centre of the city. ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s the market to tap for a regime change in the decade of Twenty Ten.

The GovernmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s source of strength comes more, from an uninspiring Opposition than from a 2/3 majority in Parliament. Worst, the President plays to perfection a crafty role out of Dale CarnegieƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s best seller ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-How to Win Friends and Influence PeopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ while the Leader of the Opposition seems to be learning lessons from Toby YoungƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s little known offering of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ A charismatic leadership from the Opposition is not on offer, for sure. ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not to be found elsewhere for the moment.

Making the people walk to the polling booth is unlikely to bring the desired result with the UNP still dazed and glazed after being on the wrong side of the war. The West knows, however much they desire, the Opposition leader cannot be sold to the people from a show case even if dolled as a mannequin; his value is in the role of a consultant since possessed of a keen incisive mind; a title offered to employees honorably discharged for non delivery of goods. He would always be welcomed for consultations but his electable eligibility is like that of a best-man of many times who never becomes the bridegroom.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A virtual leader of the Opposition in permanency. A contemplated regime change has to come off the streets, now familiar along the dusty avenues of Libya to Syria, Cairo to Tunisia. Ranil Wickremasinghe, a gentleman and a true democrat is not their kind of person to parade on the streets. Western embassies learn much from their locally recruited moles operating from front NGO offices sometimes headed by Le CarreƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s style undercover of a Smiley, betwixt a CIA and MI5. Modern SmileysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ have the common touch so distant from a flamboyant James Bond and so near to an unpolished NGO captain being chauffeured in a four wheel drive. They have the common touch to reach out for the common people. The head hunting is on for vernacular youth for community projects to indoctrinate for the future following the evangelical route that modern missionaries took successfully to increase their stock, with a load of bread and butter. We are living in times where revolutions originate from taps on a Twitter or Facebook manipulated by Al Jazzera or BBC to reach a global audience authorizing western powers to interfere or intervene.

The new generation of youth- not the yuppies among the Colombians – hold the key to the future: talent the embassy circles have recruited as the opinion makers in the making. Courting season has commenced to prime them as they are being toasted at embassies instead of the Government, as the coming generation of weather cocks to test political winds.

Middle East has show-cased how an insignificant incident can bring a crowd to a junction. A small crowd can grow rapidly by manipulation with the internet society becoming activated and diverse political operators entering the field to fish in troubled waters. JVPsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ campus kids and their predecessors can give instant leadership at a street drama to be destructive. Few police goons in the act can accelerate the process by design in acting stupid. To get the middle class to become a restive class, so as to bring them to the party will be the strenuous task; only the Government can do it – which they are doing presently more successfully than the Opposition. The Youth Circle is toilet trained to throw hay at a coming fire.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Hardly a day passes without the middle classes been battered on many fronts giving rise to fresh grievances. The Government has no greater enemy than itself. Fortunately, the plots that western embassies hatch on their coffee tables arouses patriotic fervor. Being targeted on humanitarian issues Sri Lankans at home and abroad rally around the country.

As long as war cries on war crimes are heard from foreign quarters, the Government is safe as the People will insure against any revolt. The challenges mounted from the West can be offset by laying a domestic mechanism within our judicial stream to test any charge. We are at fault in being belated until taken to the wall. Are we over reacting to Western demands if that is their highest common denominator? Is there more to it, with the mannerism and methodology of the local diplomatic channels blowing weird smoke signals? Is there a communication breakdown with misreading on all sides? ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a combine we have miserably failed to comprehend.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚