Editorial - Sleepwalking; Are we ghosts or buffoons?

5 July 2013 06:30 pm - 8 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Over the past few years and especially after the illegal impeachment of Chief Justice 43 Shirani Bandaranayke, the rule of law has broken down with the judiciary and the police not being able to or allowed to act independently or impartially. The Rajapaksa regime’s charges for the impeachment of CJ 43 related mainly to the alleged non-declaration of assests, but recently a senior leader of one of the parties in the ruling UPFA confessed that the action against Dr. Bandaranayake was initiated because of the ruling given by a Supreme Court bench headed by her on the controversial Divineguma Bill. This law gives sweeping powers to Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, with the Divineguma Authority not being accountable to Parliament or the Treasury, and independent analysts saying the powerful minister now has a little empire of his own.

The crux of the crisis is that there appears to be one law or no law for the ruling party politicians, top officials and their henchmen including underground criminal gangs, while there is another law for millions of other people. It is similar to the situation in France where the notorious French King Louis XVI, when asked about the law retorted “I am the law”. He lost his head because of wielding absolute power, and was finally beheaded in one of the greatest revolutions of modern times.
The beheading of the rule of law in Sri Lanka began after the scrapping of the 17th Amendment, which had been approved unanimously by Parliament and was widely regarded as one of the most enlightened sections of the Constitution to consolidate democracy and its vital principles such as power-sharing, good governance, accountability and transparency. In terms of the 17th Amendment, an all-party Constitutional Council was appointed by Parliament to nominate members to an Independent Elections Commission, an Independent Judicial Services Commission, an Independent Police Commission and an Independent Public Services Commission.

Tragically after President Mahinda Rajapaksa was re-elected in 2010 in the afterglow of the defeat of the LTTE, he patched together a two-thirds majority in Parliament by offering all sorts of perks and privileges to leaders of other parties or forbidden apples to turncoats and pollvaulters who obviously are in politics not to give but to grab, not to serve the people but to dominate them and plunder their wealth and resources.

With absolute power, President Rajapaksa enforced the 18th Amendment whereby he could go on for an unlimited period, while the independent commissions lost their independence. That is why social justice crusaders like the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Nayake Thera are calling for the immediate re-enactment of the 17th Amendment to restore the rule of law and save Sri Lanka from plunging into a hellhole of a dictatorship.

With the twisting and undermining of the rule of law, some strange events happen. We saw a minister apparently suffering from the delusion of grandeur, tying an official to a tree and then forcing the poor man to say that he tied himself to the tree. Then we had the case of the controversial politico who miraculously recovered from serious brain damage when he was bailed out in a murder case. We also saw the scandal of the rural politico who forced a teacher to kneel before her students, and last week Sri Lanka was hit for a six when a minister’s son allegedly tried to open the cabin door of an international flight while it was in mid-air, with some reports saying the minister’s cricketer-son was drunk, and others saying he was sleepwalking. Ghosts or buffoons they may think we are, but the people of Sri Lanka should be ashamed of themselves for remaining silent, while deception, hypocrisy and plunder of the worst order are taking place. This week we saw how more than 15 million civic activists in Egypt forced the removal of the President for dragging the country into an economic mess while rewarding his cronies. We need to remember that cowards die many times before their death, but brave people die but once.

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Comments - 8

Reza Saturday, 06 July 2013 12:01 AM

Good read

Mutu Saturday, 06 July 2013 12:05 AM

Idiotic cowards not only die many times but go on to vote many times to bring crooks to power.So they deserve what they get.

Gunasekara, W Saturday, 06 July 2013 11:59 PM

Most of the ministerial brats have taken an upperhand due to the influence of the black money their fathers have accumulated and being accumulated continuously. Instead of trying to safeguard his sleep walker son, the minister should have publicly apologies to the nation, for his son's misconduct.

M.O.A. Careem Saturday, 06 July 2013 01:30 AM

sports - strength the cultural relationship among the countries - sports participation is vital to the economy of any country - the factor sleepwalking may spoil the whole sports sector

mayomee Sunday, 07 July 2013 07:13 PM

when the election time our peoples elect sum buffalos to the parliament now says itching

Jay Saturday, 06 July 2013 01:57 PM

It is in the geans. So don't blame the son. No wonder the fsther talks nonsense in sleepwalks.

UPFA in sleepwalks.

GO RAJITHA GO.

One an only man with Back bones in Srilanka politics.

Dulip Perera Saturday, 06 July 2013 01:56 PM

A proud Minister Father complted the attept over 25 feet and the son nearly did it at 55,000 ft !!! One is a sleep talker other is the sleep walker,,, hik! hik! hoooo! blood suckers!

ling Saturday, 06 July 2013 10:37 AM

too bad, we have weak oppositions.:(

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Editorial - Sleepwalking; Are we ghosts or buffoons?

Comments - 8

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