Insight by Sunil Kumar

 Is this some kind if joke that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)

 General Secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam has said that if former

 President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is willing to engage in politics with the

 Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) after his return to Sri Lanka, the

 SLPP will gladly accept him?

 Or is this some ploy by those who are devious enough to condemn the

 corrupt actions of the Rajapaksa Administration in public but covertly

 hope for their own agendas to succeed and for the” Rajapaksa Nation

 Destructive Scenario” to commence all over again? as it certainly was

 near nation destructive in the end and the country in a shambles,

 bankrupt, fearful of insurgents perhaps waiting in the shadows towards

 another takeover bid and the IMF as well as other prospective

 supporting sources debating  the pros and cons of supporting a Nation

 devoid of proper leadership and a solid financial base as a result of

 misappropriations and mismanagement by previous administrations and

 consequently not trusting the present.

 Curiously  the current president, virtually a lame duck clutching at

 straws and attributing everything to prospective meetings, get

 togethers, seminars and many wait and see type of promises where to

 date little or nothing had been accomplished through his leadership

 which incidentally was virtually bought not won quite visibly in the

 run off to the presidency. Resources like petrol, gas and food items

 are trickling in but hardly sufficient to appease the vast majority of

 the suffering masses where the backlog could take months to clear  and

 that with much blessings and good fortune if it prevails in Sri

 Lanka`s favour.

 Either ways it is perplexing and troubling for Sri Lanka as a return

 of Rajapaksa to the country he so  fearfully abdicated from could

 spell further disaster for any chance that remains for Nation

 rebuilding after the major crisis of the past that left her virtually

 n international beggar at the mercy of sympathetic sources who have

 sustained her even in some small measure. It is hardly likely that the

 masses who literally drove him out will tolerate his return without

 some accountability – Ranil Wickremasinghe`s tough rhetoric

 notwithstanding.

 So what was the uprising by the masses all about and what was the

 expected end result of relative calm, peace and stability returning

 under Ranil Wickremasinghe beyond a pipe dream where despite his

 rhetoric he seems to be in favour also of the return of the Rajapaksas

 his erstwhile buddies where severe reprisals could await him far worse

 that what Rajapaksa faced if he made any false moves and he should

 take heed  to conduct himself in a Nation friendly manner rather than

 incurring the wrath of the masses all over again as it could be

 curtains for him if lessons were not learned from the past.

  While President Ranil Wickremesinghe has told the US-based Wall

 Street Journal that it was not the right time for Rajapaksa to return

 to the country, as it could inflame political tensions there also

 seems to be a double standard attached as he has been going about

 covertly illustrating the merits of the Rajapaksas known to be his

 allies so despised by the general populace. where a comeback by the

 Rajapaksas has even been hinted at but with  no confirmation of this

 and of course a near absurdity.

 Wickremasinghe has remained in contact with Rajapaksa to deal with

 administrative handover issues and other Government business, the

 report said which also seems odd with a man of Wickremasinghe’s

 political experience or is this a “De Ja Vue“ of some kind related

 to the past affiliations between him and the Rajapaksas where at any

 cost contact needs to be maintained as a subservient dog to a master!!

 His exclamation I don’t believe it’s the time for him to return,”

 Wickremesinghe said in an interview with the newspaper. I have no

 indication of him returning soon.” could also be interpreted as his

 long sought after quest for the Presidency he now seems to want to

 hang onto at any cost as many analysts believe!

  As a former Sri Lanka President, Rajapaksa certainly has the full

 right to return to the country which many believe he devastated

 through his policies of mismanagement aided by his corrupt consorts

 and advisors. As a matter of fact it demands the right for him to be

 even forcefully brought back to stand trial for criminal liability

 together with his allies who perpetuated Sri Lanka`s near demise and

 plunged the nation into untold suffering for the impoverished and a

 struggle to exist even for those of means!

 Quoted Flash back- “Amidst the most drastic economic collapse the

 country has witnessed since Independence, Rajapaksa fled the island on

 13 July following the massive protest demanding his resignation which

 was attended by millions of people on 9 July in Colombo. During the

 protest, the people occupied the President’s House, and the

 Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. Rajapaksa had then been taken to

 a safe location by the Security Forces and he had left for the

 Maldives in an aircraft belonging to the Sri Lanka Air Force on 13

 July. He then flew to Singapore, where he has extended his short-stay

 visa.` -end of quote It would be a Travesty of Justice if Rajapaksa

 and his allies are granted impunity and are free to walk around as

 though they were the masters of everything they survey as they once

 did and Ranil Wickramasinghe was their redeeming saviour where angers

 could be easily unleashed again by those who sent Rajapaksa packing!

 which does not augur well for the Nation from any perspective.