Abraham Lincoln (1861-65) and Sri Lankan Cabinets (February 2007)

C. Wijeyawickrema
cwije7@yahoo.com

Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln

On February 10, 2007 Barack Obama, son of a white mother and a Kenyan immigrant father, declared his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. From his Springfield, Illinois platform he compared his candidacy to that of Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and also to John F. Kennedy administration in 1961-63. Lincoln weathered so much for the benefit of his country and he could not live not even for a few months after the war was won. Some people even think that the Lincoln bedroom in the White House is haunted.

People compare the similarities between the administrations of Lincoln and Kennedy. Lincoln had a private secretary by the name of Kennedy. Kennedy’s private secretary’s name was Lincoln. A comparison of “social status” of Lincoln and his presidential rival in 1860 was like a comparison between M.S. Themis and Sir John in 1956. Lincoln grew up in abject poverty and misery. Lincoln was a “godaya” (not the Colombo class type).

Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic presidential candidate. He won the election by a razor thin margin. There were allegations of voter fraud but the defeated candidate, Richard Nixon, did not want to pursue that path. Obama comes as the first serious black candidate for the presidency. A trait common for all three (Lincoln, Kennedy, Obama) is their anti-establishment stand.

Mahinda Rajapakse and Abraham Lincoln

The dismissal of three ministers and then the February 14, 2007 letter from one of them to President Rajapakse could be examined from a Lincoln angle to better understand the current political environment in Sri Lanka.

Since 1832 Sri Lankan natives of the Colombo class worked under their colonial masters to “govern” Sri Lankan masses. In 1931, communal representation was replaced by territorial representation and in 1948 “freedom was granted.” But it was only in December 2005 that a non-Colombo class villager became the elected leader of the island. In this sense president R is an anti-establishment president.

Some talk about 1% margin of victory of MahindaR. They forget that in USA (2000 & 2004), Germany, Mexico, Italy, India, and all over the democratic world, recent election victories had only 1% margins. The important fact is that despite all the NGO-INGO money, false propaganda and the fear psychosis attempted, the Jathika forces won. The “Jathika” forces known otherwise as the Pancha Maha Balavegaya prepared a Mahinda Chintanaya document.

The late Ven. Gangodawila Soma’s dowry

Just before the December 2005 election, in a letter to the Island newspaper, an American-living, Sri Lankan-born, anthropology professor compared MahindaR as the Jathika (national) candidate and RanilW as the Arthika (economics) candidate. MahindaR section of SLFP, JHU and JVP jointly benefited from the dowry collected for them by the late Ven Gangodawila Soma.

Ven. Soma was “fighting” against a “temparadu” crowd of people who went on “tawalams” with “sudu nelum.” He was against the chief disciple Mangala S of the then president, who as a minister declared that the “Sinhala Commission Report should be put in the dust bin of history.” It is no wonder that MangalaS was therefore, one from the “war is not winnable” crowd and a federal lobbyist. Should a person with such mind set deserved to be the minister of foreign affairs?

This question brings another parallel between MahindaR and Lincoln. Lincoln’s cabinet was full of people who were his rivals and who worked against Lincoln even inside the cabinet. Why did Lincoln behave like that? Apparently he wanted the best and most experienced minds in his cabinet and may be he also thought that way he can have some degree of control over them. MahindaR’s cabinet with SLFP members was a collection of a fair amount of enemies with cabinet ranks. Unlike Lincoln MahindaR narrowly escaped from what is called the Kobbakaduwization in presidential elections. His own party did not work for him. Yet, after his victory he had to bribe so many undesirables with cabinet jobs.

Democratic prison

But unlike Lincoln, MahindaR had to face constitutional prison. As president he had the spatial prison of limited movement away from the Temple Trees. With the security forces exposing the paper tigers, Gotabaya R could make the “war is not winnable” lobby vanished so quickly. No one now talks about the “Sinhala Buddhist Chauvinists.” It was proven that the war was a beggar’s wound for the Colombo politicians and military crooks. All anti-Sri Lankan groups are now trying to stop the total defeat of terrorism. They want a piece of cancer saved for future troubles.

MahindaR had to find a method to overcome the hurdles created by the “bahubootha viyawastawa.” He did what village folk identify as “cutting pig’s flesh using its body as the cutting wood.” He used the constitution to create lot of ministries. Unlike his SLFP cabinet choices he did what Lincoln did to the letter by appointing UNP cabinet. He could tap people like Karu Jayasuriya to work in his cabinet. By taking the UNP dissident group he gained the good will of millions of villagers who vote for the UNP as a habit. It was like the proverbial four blind men and the elephant situation. These people will now support government initiatives because part of their men is in the government.

Brothers behind the screen

Is it a sin to utilize one’s brothers in politics? If in Sri Lanka politics is a father-son-mother-daughter-uncle-nephew game how can one talk of Rajapakse brothers in isolation? John F. Kennedy appointed his brother as the Attorney General of USA. Dudley was given the premiership as a result of a coup by his father and the Colombo crowd in which Esmnod Wickremasighe played a secret king maker’s role. Whenever Dudley became the prime minister his brother Robert played a big behind the scene role. When JRJ became the leader his brothers were all over. Even R Premadasa had to use his wife’s brothers. Dahanayake and SWRD did not have brothers. SWRD’s relatives were so mad at him. Mrs. B used her blood relatives to the tilt. In fact her nephew Felix Dias ran the show for her suggesting “little bit of flirting was OK.”

With enemies all around, including even office peons as spies, how can MangalaS accuse MahindaR for getting his brothers help? Did he forget that his own father, Mahanama S, was a politician and betrayed Mrs. B in a bribe-infested coup by the Lake House in 1965? Mrs. B lost by one vote and MahanamS was a minister in her cabinet. Rajapakses were party loyalists true to their surname.

Human Rights fighter

In a war with a worst form of terrorist one cannot be a Mother Theresa. Even Mother Theresa had problems with the District Attorney of Los Angeles. When she wrote a character certificate in support of the savings and loans thief Keeton, the DA pointed out to her how Keeton robbed millions of dollars of older people who saved their hard-earned money as retirement income and asked her to return the donations Keeton gave her which DA said was stolen money.

No Buddhist wants to violate human rights. One must but not forget Nanada Malini’s song where she states not to go to war with a navaguna wela. You first finish the war with your sword and then go into meditation. But on the other hand who was talking on behalf of Susantilaka when her human rights were violated so openly and so nakedly? My advice to the two dissident ministers who are like the monkey who removed the plug between the two wood planks with tail caught is to go into meditation for sometime as the national forces cannot be stopped by two cry-babies.