{"id":28902,"date":"2014-03-19T18:00:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-19T22:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28902"},"modified":"2014-03-19T21:42:12","modified_gmt":"2014-03-20T01:42:12","slug":"court-jester-mervyn-vs-court-serf-hakeeman-epic-battle-of-comic-proportions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28902","title":{"rendered":"Court Jester Mervyn vs Court Serf Hakeem:An Epic Battle of Comic Proportions."},"content":{"rendered":"

by<\/p>\n

Vishnuguptha<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Rauff<\/a>

Rauff Hakeem-pic courtesy: AlJazeera<\/p><\/div>\n

“What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”<\/em>
\n ~James Madison<\/strong><\/p>\n

One is court jester; the other a court serf. One ridicules himself unknowingly while trying to ridicule others; the other is in a constant battle with his own supporters and arguing with them, to be or not be. One’s threat of permanent breakdown in relationship seems to have led to a detente and co-habiting; the other’s relationship with the powers that be is looming for an ugly divorce.<\/p>\n

Comedy, melodrama, stagecraft, lighting, acting and fighting, all the ingredients of a third-rate stage play are in evidence and being enacted before our very eyes, on the political platforms in the Western and Southern provinces. Who dare say that politics in Sri Lanka is dull and boring? Come again!<\/p>\n

\"Mervyn<\/a>

Mervyn Silva<\/p><\/div>
\n
\nThe latest fracas between two protagonists of the regime is hitting headlines; they are dominating the gossip columns and cocktail circuits. Mervyn Silva, the once darling of the ruling clan fell from grace a few months ago. Powerful constituents from his own electorate that included, among others, the President of the Kelaniya Pradesheeya Sabha ganged up against him and appealed to President Rajapaksa to remove him from the organizer-ship of the Kelaniya electorate. An investigative committee which was instituted by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) found him neither guilty nor innocent. Through the inscrutable mechanics of power politics, Mervyn managed to survive.<\/p>\n

Despite very heavy canvassing engineered by hometown leaders, Mervyn’s ability to withstand and survive many a scandalous storm is remarkable. Whether that survivability is directly attributable to an inherent trait of Mervyn or it is buttressed and cushioned by outside forces who realize that Mervyn has some very ‘special skills’ which come handy in difficult and unnerving circumstances is anybody’s speculation and guesswork.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the man’s normal behavior, his uncouth mutterings and downright callous disregard for basic human values sometimes borders on bestiality, making one wonder who on earth cast his or her vote for this ‘people’s politician\u2019.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Rauff Hakeem was the leader who took over the helm of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) after the demise of its illustrious leader M H M Ashraff. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is a political party in Sri Lanka founded by Ashraff. The party was formed at a meeting held at Kattankudy in 1981 by a small study group of local political leaders in the Eastern Province. At the General Elections held on 2 April 2004, the party won 2.0% of the popular vote and 5 out of 225 seats.<\/p>\n

The party is supposed to represent the Muslim community of Sri Lanka. Although the SLMC claims to be the sole representatives of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, its exclusive influence and popularity in the Eastern province has rendered it almost irrelevant in the rest of the country. It is generally believed that the Muslim community’s political affiliations and sympathies are more with the United National Party (UNP) than with any other political entity in Sri Lanka and for good reason too.<\/p>\n

The prestige and grandeur that the SLMC enjoyed, exclusively among Muslims during the time Ashraff sat at the top of the Party has been lost forever. Its promise is diminishing, the sheen fading and voter-block declining. Yet their foothold in the Eastern province is as solid as ever. But trying in a haste to do what Saumyamoorthi Thondaman, the leader of the estate Tamils and the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), used to do with Presidents J R Jayewardene and R Premadasa, Hakeem, the present leader of the SLMC, may well meet his political ‘Waterloo’. The divisive lines between the two communities, Sinhalese and Muslims, have been drawn too clearly and unambiguously.<\/p>\n

Those ungodly divisions have been created willfully by forces beyond any one’s control or management influence. The divisions so engendered have so far created a widening space between the two communities and any reconciliation seems ever so remote. A community that had been in existence almost with ‘zero intolerance’ from the majority community today, is being treated with suspicion; their businesses are being attacked by mobs and places of worship vandalized. The ironical twist to all this is that these mob attacks and violent encroachments are being led by men in saffron robes, with the Thripitaka in one hand and ‘meditational beads’ (Nava Guna Vela) in the other. The inevitable division so provoked does not augur well, not only for those who profess these divisive ideologies but also for the majority Sinhalese Buddhists whose only religious aims and objectives are purely all-encompassing and inclusive.<\/p>\n

The manifest divisions so apparent between the two Ministers may appear to be superficial but the tit-for-tat exchange might end up in one of the two parties departing from this ‘grand coalition’. Such a departure on the part of Mervyn Silva certainly would not result in a major political upheaval in Parliament or the country but if the departing party happens to be the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, then it would surely be more than a storm in the teacup! There again it won’t be an event that would spell a collapse of the current administration but would surely reduce the number of votes necessary for a two-thirds majority in Parliament should Hakeem decide to leave the coalition or get fired by the Commander-in-Chief.<\/p>\n

Mervyn’s threat that Hakeem would face the same fate as Prabhakaran, should he, Hakeem, not toe the line with the accepted postures of the ruling circles is indeed a grave one. Its concealed threat is immense and sinister and when it cascades from the mouthpiece of the powers that be, it’s even more ominous. Hakeem’s reply to Mervyn was quite a dramatic one too. Ridiculing the Minister of Public Relations who is notorious for his garrulous demeanor and paying him back with his own coin, so to speak, he reminded the country that this Minister once proposed himself to Navi Pillai, one of the chief antagonists of Sri Lanka in Geneva, Hakeem must have hit Mervyn where it really hurts or but when one comes to think of it, does it really matter to Mervyn who seems to be covered with an unusually ‘thick skin’?<\/p>\n

A majority of Sri Lankans don’t think that this verbal tussle between the two Ministers would be over soon. The unrelated, yet contemporary circumstances do indicate that on the threshold of elections for the Western and Southern provinces, the flaming sentiments would not be extinguished soon. A Report said to have originated in the SLMC quarters may have led to this public tussle between these two personalities.<\/p>\n

A ‘damning report’<\/strong>, as this very newspaper described it, states that “during the 12-month period from January to December 2013, there have been approximately 241 anti-Muslim attacks in the country, which has been complemented by a further 61 anti-Christian attacks. The report articulates that 51 of the anti-Muslim incidents were violent, while the same has been said regarding 15 attacks on Christians. It connotes that the attacks, which were violent in nature, constituted either of physical violence against individuals or destruction of property. However, the annexure of the report highlights that there were no significant attacks against Buddhists or Hindus.”<\/em><\/p>\n

According to the report, “Around 118 attacks depicted in the report have been blamed on socio-political movements or politicians. The SLMC’s report has blamed law enforcement agencies and officials for their alleged dormancy by stating that in almost all incidents they had failed to protect the fundamental and constitutional rights of the respective victims or organizations.” <\/em><\/p>\n

Who would keep standing after the battle between Hakeem and Mervyn is over, would not be hard to guess. But the enormous damage it would entail and consequential political mess might have a slim chance of manifesting itself in the upcoming elections in the Western and Southern provinces. Then the comedy of the battle might turn itself into a real tragedy for all.
\n<\/p>\n

COURTESY:CEYLON TODAY<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Vishnuguptha “What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” ~James Madison One is court jester; the other a court serf. One ridicules himself unknowingly …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Court Jester Mervyn vs Court Serf Hakeem:An Epic Battle of Comic Proportions.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28902"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28912,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28902\/revisions\/28912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}