CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

RANIL- PRABHAKARAN'S LAST HOPE

ASOKA S.

In 1977 JR. was swept to office with a landslide pushing Mrs.B's SLFP to the 3rd place. JR. was quick to immediately get to work and introduce the Excecutive Presidency model along with the PR system for the legislature. He did also make the Presidency into a powerhouse with almost no checks and balances on his or hers activities which probably is responsible for some of Lanka's saddest moments.

JR's rise into the high office changed Lanka's political and economic landscape for ever. Long before India and China, JR introduced a capitalist Market Economy to Lanka. Despite still severe poverty among Lankan people Lanka's GDP shot up and the economy in general entered boom times.

JR. did something else too. As a favor to his long time friend and neighbor Osmand Wicramasinghe he allowed his son young Ranil Wicramasinghe to run for JR's own Kelaniya seat which he won. Ranil soon rose to be a Cabinet Minister and stuck to politics.

After losing a dozen elections including the last Presidential he is still in charge of the once mighty UNP where JR., Premadasa, Athulathmudali and Dissanayake all of whom were clever individuals once called the shots. Thanks to Prabhakaran except JR. the other three were exterminated. Hence Lanka fell into a vacuum of quality leaders and the likes of Chandrika and Ranil came into national limelight. Chandrika probably was the luckiest post independent leader of Lanka, broke all the promises made in 1994 and ruled this once serene country for 10 years curtesy of Ranil who lacked Political skill to defeat her. During her 10 years Prabhakaran continued his killing spree and expanded his front line. Characteristically he dressed Ranil into a total fool and got him to sign the shameless CFA. This was the ultimate blunder of Ranil - another scam victim of shrewd Prabhakaran.

Common man Rajapaksha - a non Cinnamon Garden Resident - but a son of the Ruhuna took the high office two years ago. He read Prabhakaran perfectly and did not fall victim to his con games but instead took the war to his doorstep. For the first time Prabhakaran is getting more and more cornered into the thick bush and looking for better hiding places. Kudos to Rajapaksha team and his Generals.

The entire country knows that the biggest curse to Lanka's progress for the last over two decades is Prabhakaran. For every step GOSL kept forward LTTE pushed it back two until Rajapaksha turned the big guns to LTTE heartland. The victory is tough but nearer than ever.

But what does our great leader of the Opposition do to help win this evil war. At every stride of Rajapaksha he makes it more difficult for him. History has shown that when countries faced common enemies all parties united to rid the enemy. Churchill's Britain and FDR's America during World War 2 are classic examples. Ranil is simply Power Hungry. He thinks he can come to power by simply playing the cost of living card or the corruption card. Cant he see that the need of the hour is eliminating the LTTE. It is his bounden duty to walk up the President and offer all possible help to win the war for the sake of Lankan people who are crying out loud for peace. If Ranil joins Rajapakasha those menacing barricades all over Colombo, those make shift one way traffic jams can all disappear in months and Lankan people of both Sinhala and Tamil speaking can get bak to living there lives in peace, their kids can go to school, the people can go back to see the 9.30 movies in cities again, the soldiers can return to barracks again, the 2 billion dollar war machine can redirect those huge sums of money to build highways, schools, universities, and provide the much needed infrastructure so that business can flourish again. Cant he see that the Lankan people are crying their lungs out for this.

But Ranil's hunger for Power and selfishness rules supreme. He would rather see his country drag into economic doldrums than ending the war. This is exactly what Prabhkaran wants and probably his last hope to keep his war and himself alive.

But I am confident Sri Lankan people can read between the lines and distinguish a true leader from a fake. Next election will be a victory election and seal Ranil's future into the political twilight zone. Perhaps he can still save himself the embarrassment as well his legacy in the annals of Lankan history which will be read a century from now. So it is now or never for Ranil W. May he have the wisdom for the sake our tomorrow's generation..

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