GREEDY POLITICIANS

 

IT was really hilarious if not disgusting to learn from the media recently of a statement made by ex-“Maharajano” Mahinda Rajapakse whilst he was in Japan that his ambition now is to become the next Prime Minister as he is debarred from contesting for the Presidency.  When questioned by a journalist  as to his age  of 71 years now, he is reported to have quipped that politicians never retire!  It is obvious that such politicians never give up not because of their desire to serve the people but to serve themselves and their kith and kin. What a shame indeed, what greedy fellows these politicians have become in this country.  After holding the highest position in the land for a decade with unbridled power and having amassed a lot of wealth for himself and his family, any other person would have retired gracefully keeping his status intact. But what Mahinda Rajapakse has done is an utter shame in becoming just an” honourable” MP for Kurunegala, which is akin to a graduate going and sitting for the fifth year scholarship examination!

If one is to closely analyse his statement that if it is proved that he robbed even one dollar,  he will cut his neck – a more appropriate reference would have been “Harakiri” as he made the statement in Japan -  it is apparent that he is not saying he robbed – instead he is saying that there is “no evidence”.  In other words, no tracks are left as all the corrupt transactions had been done with the help and connivance of competent accountants, manipulators, lawyers etc. with the strong backing of ex-judges like Sarath Silva and Mohan Peiris.  Therefore, he can make such statements as slashing his neck without any fear.  It was not so long ago that Mahinda Rajapakse earned the sympathy of the electorate saying that he was willing to sit on the electric chair for the sake of his people knowing very well that there was no such danger.

Obviously, there are no qualms for such a politician who openly robbed Tsunami funds by transferring foreign donations to a private account ostensibly for a “Helping Hambanthota” project, and the judge who saved his skin later on had to cry “mea culpa” for his “misjudgement”. 

What greed, what craving: “Thanhaya Jayathi Soko”

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Whatever said and done, one is inclined to marvel at the ingenuity and craftiness of the politicians who were ruling the roost in the previous administration under the Rajapakses, in transforming even any misery or disaster into a  bonanza.  One classic example which comes to mind is how the Tsunami donations ended up in a personal account of the highest in the land under the cover of a fictitious project called “Helping Hambanthota”

The other day, ex-Media Minister, Keheliya Rambukwella, was summoned by the FCID to probe how he claimed  a compensation amounting to Rs. 20 million from the President’s Fund for an accident which occurred whilst he was in Australia on a private visit to obtain treatment for his son.  It became all the more invigorating when one considers the fact that he somehow managed to obtain compensation for his injury from the hotel he stayed in Australia and not stopping at that, also got his local insurers too pay him compensation for the injury.  Ingenuity par excellence in turning a tragedy into a bonus!

What is more interesting is as to how he injured himself.  It is common knowledge in the country that this particular minister was attempting to jump from one balcony to another in an inebriated condition emulating the “Superman”.  Considering that he still managed to obtain compensation from the hotel makes one wonder if  guests of that particular hotel were covered against acrobatics as well.

Such incidents only goes to prove how callous the previous Rajapakse government was when it comes to country’s finances, dishing out millions and billions to all and sundry as long as they keep the Big Boss happy and allow him to make merry at public expense.

It is high time that such callousness is exposed and the guilty punished by forcing the exploiters to restore to the Treasury the ill-gotten money, if possible with interest, which after all belongs to the poor people of this country.

If the authorities fail to do that, then one cannot stop the perpetrators  from loudly singing “Catch me if you can”!

"KUDU RAAJJE"

Italy had its  MAFIAS – and Latin America and Mexico had their drug cartels.  Unarguably, these Mafias and cartels virtually controlled and ran the affairs of their countries with the politicians just as fronts, making and unmaking them according to their whims and fancies.

As one might rightly say, what prevails today is criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals.

Currently, racketeers smuggling Heroin and Ethanol are having a hey-day while the ordinary people are struggling for existence against different odds and are not in a position to have two square meals a day.  Ruling party officials often take the law into their own hands and mete out injustice to the people who are living in constant fear of the threat of politicians.

In fact, people are now facing more hardships than during the North East war, despite the government’s promise to provide relief to people after the war ended.  Instead, vices including drug, Casinos and prostitution are increasing in alarming proportions.  Lawlessness is the order of the day.

Apparently, the rulers are drunk with power – in spite of the so called “Mathata Thitha” – and hallucinating with all sorts of drugs in order to fatten their pockets. 

Instead of the much touted about “Miracle of Asia”, we are now forced to live in a “Kudu Raajje”.  Truly, indeed, the Debacle of Asia!

 

ELECTIONS: A BIG FARCE!

Democracy does not simply mean holding regular elections : even dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe held elections in which they claimed to have won almost 99.9% of the votes (No one dared to ask what happened to the rest!)

With the criminalisation of politics and politicisation of every sphere of activity in the country including law enforcement and justice system as well,  as a result of the infamous 18^th amendment to the constitution, holding elections has become a big farce where the powerful government politicians openly misuse state property to carry out election campaigns of their offsprings, kith and kin and the hangers on who are determined to win by hook or by crook to show the world what a popular government  this is. 

To add to the woes, there is an Elections Commissioner who is helpless in taking necessary action even under the watered-down rules of elections as almost all the violations are done by those with political clout and obviously the current EC does not want to end up like his predecessor who at the end of the day had to suffer from a health condition called “Aathathiya”

With the elections law as it stands being helpless in taking actions against candidates who are sentenced to jail terms and influential public servants engaged in electioneering to support candidates of the ruling party; the whole process of elections has become  a big joke.

Democracy:  The state of affairs in which you consent to having your pocket picked, and elect the best man to do it.  ~Benjamin Lichtenberg

TAKEN FOR A RIDE ....

In simple terms, an election promise is a promise made to the public by a politician who is trying to win an election. They have long been a central element of elections and remain so today. Election promises are also notable for often being broken once a politician is in office.

A great number of election promises are broken. Many regard this as a severe issue that disaffects people from the entire political process, increasing apathy and lowering voter turnout. Election promises have been broken for as long as elections have been held in this country and this is likely to continue.

In our country, we have had a plethora of funny promises made by politicians desperate to win elections,  ranging from Rice from the Moon, free measure of rice, 8 varieties of grains etc. which the poor voters believed in toto and voted them into power.  All of these finally ended up as “Puswedillas” although the politicians who made these promises remained powerful and continued to take the masses for right royal rides at every election.  People, indeed, have very short memories and this fact is very well exploited by the crafty politicians.

Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason.  ~José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, translated from Portuguese

PEOPLE CANNOT EAT LIES

It was the 19th century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disrael, who said “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics”


Going by the way the masses in this country are being fooled and taken for a right royal ride, the government and its coterie of ministers in the Jumbo cabinet, seem to be doing a marvelous job in keeping the lie factory going. One only has to listen to daily disinformation being disseminated via the government controlled media – both electronic and print – to find out how effective they have been in keeping the profession of Goebbels alive in this country. Not bad – not bad at all – for a country which survives on borrowed money, and borrowed time depicting a picture of “ all is rosy in this miracle of Asia”

While the cost of living is going sky-high – even surpassing the recently launched Satellite which carried our flag – those who are elected to serve the poor masses are really serving themselves with the biggest spoons available, with not even the crumbs being spared to those who are euphemistically called the “sovereign” public.

With almost all the essential items such as fuel, electricity, water and foodstuffs going up through the rooftops, the government ministers are preaching patriotism to the hungry souls. This is typical of how Hitler, who won a big mandate and came to power, tamed the people with large doses of patriotism and preaching hate politics against the Jews – all aimed at consolidating his own powers and not with any love to his people. The pattern is, unfortunately, the same in this country now which is rather pathetic.

Most of us are aware how our poor people were taken for rides during the seventies and made to utter slogans such as “we will drink tea without sugar”, “ we will eat curries without chillies”, “ we will eat manioc and bathala” etc. just like wound robots. But that circus did not last long as had seen later on.

The trouble is the ordinary people had not learnt their lessons – most probably because they are being brain-washed day in and day out with the Big Brother beaming falsehoods and pseudo patriotism to their drawing rooms to lull them into a false sense of satisfaction.

“ A lie can travel half-way round the world while the truth is putting its shoes”: Mark Twain

THE CURSE OF POLITICAL PATRONAGE

The British Labour MP, Simon Danezuk, who visited Sri Lanka recently came up with a scathing indictment on Sri Lanka’s justice system which is now for all practical purposes controlled by the ruling politicians who have declared supremacy and sovereignty over anything and anyone under the Sun in this once resplendent island. He has also outlined his plans in further pursuing the matter of the brutal murder of his constituent in Tangalle by a local politician who is close to the highest in this land, and his marauding gang of thugs. These measures include taking up the issue with the Queen which may have repercussions on her attendance at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government to be held in Sri Lanka, and adverse reactions from those who wish to come as tourists from the UK.


No doubt, these concerns would be dismissed by the self-appointed patriots as rubbish as we are no longer under British Imperialism, the blah-blah of our 2500 years history as a civilized nation, with one even volunteering to teach human rights to the Europeans. But the fact remains that no man is an island and, in this 21st century, each and every country has to exist as a comity of civilized nations.

The government has no one to blame but itself. With this kind of gun-toting animalistic elements in its ranks, it does not need any other enemies. The crying need of the hour is strengthening of the judicial system and allowing it to function without political interference. It is useless trying to put the blame on so called “international conspiracies” when the conspirators are within the ranks of the government itself. It is high time that these beastly elements are tamed and controlled if Sri Lanka is to march forward as a civilized nation.

The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.