Mahinda Chintanaya and a Prisoner’s Dilemma!

C. Wijeyawickrema
cwije7@yahoo.com

Under the bahubootha viyawastava of 1978 the president of Sri Lanka became a prisoner. Prior to 1978, the chopping down of limbs of the 1947 constitution one by one and the Colvin-Felix drama of 1972 made the people of the country prisoners. A. T. Ariyaratne’s 1988 booklet “The Power Pyramid and the Dharmic Cycle,” aptly describes with diagrams what had happened to Sri Lanka since 1978.

Tragedy of the Commons

What party politicians did to Sri Lanka under a Colombo paradigm can be identified as a tragedy of the commons. Politicians and their supporters thrived while the common pasture suffered. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in the jail. There are two photographs of Abraham Lincoln’s face, before he became the president and after he won the Civil War. The second photo shows an aged Lincoln, mental agony he went through to save his country. Martin Luther King Jr. at the time of his death at age 39 had a heart, so overworked as if it was of an old man’s. How many politicians in Sri Lanka lost all their wealth by going in to politics as public service? I know only one man, K.D.D. Perera of Bandaragama.


King Pasenadi Kosol’s sixteen dreams

What has happened to Sri Lanka reminds one of the King Kosol’s sixteen dreams. Sri Lankans
live in what we call an abuddassa kalayak. Read for example the Dream No. 10.

“….Your Reverence, I dreamed I saw rice cooking unevenly in a pot. Some was overcooked,
some well-cooked, and some still raw.”

“Don’t worry Oh king; this dream foretells a time when all will be unwholesome, not like to
day [5th Century B.C.]! Kings will be unwholesome, and so will officials and ministers, priests
and homemakers, city and county folks. Amazing as it may seem, this dream indicates a time
when holy men will be unwholesome too! In addition, even the gods, tree spirits and fairies
will be unwholesome and wicked!”

Presidential candidate facing three imminent deaths!

At the 2005 presidential election the “jatika” candidate MahindaR was in a situation similar to the man who ate honey while sitting on a limb of a tree facing three imminent deaths. He was sure to be arrested for the “helping Hambantota bank account” if he lost the election. If he won he knew he will be in two other prisons. He will be in the Temple Trees prison unable to move freely because of the suicide bomb threats. He will be a prisoner of the parliament MPs if he does not have a majority of votes.

Disappearance of the War is not winnable lobby
He is coming out of the land prison due to the brave acts of the GOSL security forces. All what the president had to do was to let the security forces do what they were paid for. It was that simple. The war is not winnable lobby has now changed positions to demand a unilateral ceasefire from the armed forces. The security forces proved that Tamil terrorists are actually paper tigers. Minster Douglas Devananda told us how some western agents tried to prevent the security force advances in the Eastern Province. It was like the Vadamarachchi withdrawal for a second time. The president proved to the world and India that he has a backbone.

Sri Lanka is a failed (failing) state lobby

Winning the war could be easy, but wining peace could be much more difficult. For war purposes there are two Sri Lankas created by the infamous CFA of 2002. Prabakaran’s country as his real estate and Prabakaran’s country claimed by way of suicide bombing and claymore mines. But there are several other Sri Lankas as well. Colombo versus villages is one division by space. Rich versus poor is another by struggle to survive. English educated and international schools versus Sinhala/Tamil schools in villages are a third division. How can the president take the disadvantaged out of this prison? Mahinda Chintanaya is the blue print he gave to the people as their escape route. But he cannot implement it without he himself first escapes from the bahubootha viyawastava prison. He found a solution—the jumbos’ in the jumbo cabinet!

Prisoner’s dilemma

What the president did to escape from his prison is attacked by all kinds of people. The silliest are the ones who say they are ashamed to be in a jumbo cabinet! But two important groups are with the president—JHU and the Karu Jayasuriya fraction of UNP. JVP leaders are making the same kind of tactical mistakes they made in 1971 and 1989. Perhaps this time the JVP movement—those who were fed up with the Colombo politicians and looking for a third party alternative— would not be lambs that follow the leaders who are misleading them.

Honey comb on the Kohomba tree

JVP leaders, UNP crybabies, disgruntled SLFP members, western agents, NGOs and INGOs are making a big mistake in the way they interpret the Mahinda Chintanaya program. It is not the property of MahindaR. It is based on proposals and comments submitted by thousands of people in the country. It is not a static document like the Bible or Koran. It is an evolving program. It is based on the philosophy of the Pancha Maha Balavegaya of the nation which received a big boost from the life sacrificing work of the late Ven. Gangodawila Soma. It is in agreement with Buddhist economics and Buddhist politics.

MahindaR’s father once wrote a letter to one of his sons who wanted to join the police force. He said, “Son, police is not a good place to work, it is corrupt and bad, but if you want to join it I will not try to prevent or discourage you. Because, just like a honey comb on the kohomba tree will still be sweet and not bitter, a good person will remain above corruption and other evils even if he joins the police.”

How many other PMs and Presidents of Sri Lanka had fathers who could talk like that? Perhaps, Sir D. B. Jayatilake was the rare exception. The late Ven. Balangoda Anandamaitreeya Maha Thero once said “if DBJ was the first PM of Sri Lanka the fate of the country would have been different.”

Immoral experts on constitutional reform work

A husband-wife team has signed the majority expert report. This is unethical. All those who knew this and kept it a secret from the president are unprofessional and unethical people. The 2005 election did not expect a resurrection of the already rejected Neelan-GL devolution package of CBK era. The Mahinda Chintanaya expected a home-grown solution where Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists all live in one home land, with equality, freedom and equality of opportunity. It does not mean Sri Lanka’s 2500-year old heritage had to be given step-motherly treatment.

A village council based (Indian Panchayati Raj), river basin-watershed bounded real devolution of power to people could come only if 800 or so peoples’ proposals are examined and by appointing a non-law group of people to study constitutional proposals with a fresh start. The sooner the Vithana committee disbanded the better.