{"id":54717,"date":"2017-08-19T19:04:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-19T23:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=54717"},"modified":"2017-08-19T19:04:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T23:04:46","slug":"wijeyadasa-rajapakshe-has-the-unstinted-support-of-the-slfpjoint-opposition-and-buddhist-establishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=54717","title":{"rendered":"Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe Has the Unstinted Support of the SLFP,Joint Opposition and Buddhist Establishment."},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

C.A.Chandraprema<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was evident from the time the present government came into power that the UNP as a collective entity was not in its proper senses. In 2001, when much the same individuals in the UNP came into power, they were a stabilising force which doused the flames that had been ignited by Chandrika Kumaratunga in during her blighted seven years in power from 1994 to 2001. At that time, it was the UNP that put an end to the cycle of political reprisals and revenge taking between the UNP and the SLFP and also nursed the devastated economy back to some degree of stability after CBK had run it to the ground. After 2015 however, the old cycle of persecution and reprisals that we thought we had seen the last of after 2001 has resumed with a vengeance under the very UNP that put a temporary stop to it in 2001. We have to assume that the UNP which was a sane and stabilising force in 2001 has taken leave of their senses after 2015. <\/p>\n

The clearest sign of this was the stormy joint session of the UNP working committee and the parliamentary group last Thursday which was held to discuss the conduct of Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe. It had been akin to a feeding frenzy \u2013 no less, with virtually every one who spoke, tearing into Rajapakshe and no one rising to his defence. There was no let up even in the \u2018voice cuts\u2019 given by UNP Ministers and parliamentarians after the meeting. They were all out for Minister Rajapakshe\u2019s blood and wanted him out of the Justice Minister\u2019s job. The events that took place in this Joint session of the UNP working committee and parliamentary group was best summed up by SLFP deputy minister Nimal Lanza who used the phrase \u2018gon relak\u2019 (herd of bovines) to describe those baying for Rajapakshe\u2019s blood. And indeed that was the most appropriate way to describe the collective conduct of today\u2019s UNP.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Both the SLFP and the Joint Opposition have already said that they will not be supporting any motion of no confidence brought by the UNP against Wijayadasa Rajapakshe. The draft resolution that was unanimously accepted expressed a lack of confidence in Rajapakshe for five reasons the gist of which was as follows:<\/p>\n

1. Inability to fulfill the responsibilities of the Minister of Justice<\/p>\n

2. Failure to bring in new laws to curb corruption as pledged in the UNF manifesto<\/p>\n

3. Failure to introduce laws to nationalize the proceeds of crime<\/p>\n

4. The displeasure expressed by the people due to the inordinate delays in concluding criminal cases.<\/p>\n

5. The fact that the UNP has been brought into disrepute among the people due to the conduct of the Justice Minister.<\/p>\n

What we are now seeing are events that never took place in the UNP or indeed any political party before. But then there is nothing strange in that because from the time that this government came into power, we have been seeing things that we had never experienced under any previous government. Having just lost one party stalwart to a corruption scandal, the UNP is trying to rid itself of yet another party stalwart of their own accord. And this party stalwart has the complete support of the Bhikku community which for the UNP, should be a factor that overrides every other consideration. In fact the UNP parliamentary group and working committee passed a unanimous resolution of no confidence against Rajapakshe in a situation where the bhikku community was unanimously expressing confidence in him. He\u2019s the only politician in the UNP with that kind of backing from the Buddhist establishment.<\/p>\n

A final decision about his fate is to be announced tomorrow (21st) and Rajapakshe is also expected to make a public statement. Whether the UNP leader will be able to resist the moves being made to remove Rajapakshe is yet to be seen. Even though Rajapakshe does not have the support of the persons deputy minister Lanza described as \u2018bovines\u2019, he has the unstinted support of the SLFP, the Joint Opposution and the Buddhist establishment. In fact Rajapakshe has never been in as high demand as he is at present and this controversy has not brought him down but actually taken him to new heights. Even if his colleagues in the UNP want him out, will the President who is obviously aware of the unstinted suppo<\/strong>rt that Rajapakshe has from the Buddhist establishment, consent to remove him from the cabinet?<\/em><\/p>\n

UNP\u2019s self-destructive impulse<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reason why the UNP is out for his blood is because he has not been expediting legal proceedings against the Rajapaksas and their followers. Obviously, what the UNP expects him to do is to direct the affairs of the AG\u2019s Dept and even the judiciary in such a manner as to give priority to the cases against the political opponents of the UNP. No senior lawyer with any sense of responsibility will ever try to do anything like that as that will undermine the very foundations of the law. Minister Rajapakshe has explained that trying to single out cases pertaining to the Rajapaksas and their followers will go against the principles of the equal application of the law and the presumption of innocence – both of which have been enshrined in our constitution. What is quite surprising is that there is virtually nobody in the UNP who seems to be willing to take a rational approach to things.<\/p>\n

During the first days of this government, only the UNP was acting rationally while the JVP and JHU were running amok. Only a handful of UNP politicians went on \u2018raids\u2019 in the first couple of days and that too stopped quite quickly. Usually, after an election, there are a few days of disturbances. Under this government, things were never allowed to settle down and normalize. The UNP started playing ducks and drakes after the JVP and JHU had quietened down. Where the UNP started losing its marbles was when the FCID was set up with a committee made up of politicians and political activists to direct complaints to it. This committee was made up of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe as its head, with Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Champika Ranawaka, Rauff Hakeem, and parliamentarians Anura Kumara Dissanayake, R. Sampanthan, M. A. Sumanthiran, Sarath Fonseka, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, J. C. Weliamuna and Malik Samarawickrema. The Urgent Response unit of this committee was made up of MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake as its Coordinator the urgent response team comprised of financial specialists and officers of the CID among others.<\/p>\n

We saw this insanity at its height last Thursday. Even though the UNP has been collectively gnawing at its own backside because of the lack of progress with regard to any of the cases against the Rajapaksas, there are cogent reasons for why this has happened. Firstly, there is the issue that virtually all allegations of corruption made against the Rajapaksas during the elections were completely false. Most, if not all the allegations they are being investigated on now are new accusations that came up after the elections. Even with regard to these allegations, evidence is in short supply which is why these cases are not making much headway either at the level of police investigations or court cases. Quite a few cases have been filed without a snowflake\u2019s chance in hell of succeeding and there is no point in flogging the AG\u2019s Dept. or the police investigative bodies for that. <\/p>\n

In the meantime, the water seems to be closing over Ravi Karunanayeke. A new minister of foreign affairs has been appointed and the two lotteries institutions that were attached to the Foreign Ministry at his request have been given back to the Finance Ministry. Even though some speculated that Ravi K\u2019s removal from the cabinet would only be temporary, it seems to be working out into a permanent situation. Ravi K\u2019s main problem is that he has this scandal simply hanging over him with no likelihood of resolution any time soon. If it had been subject to court proceedings, he could have expected to be either declared guilty or acquitted. As it is, there are no legal proceedings against him and no way that he can shake off the allegations against him either.<\/p>\n

The IGP has literally been in hiding since a video showing him threatening and manhandling an employee of police headquarters was leaked to the media. With the whole government having collectively taken leave of their senses, one cannot really expect the IGP have his wits about him. We have an IGP that suits the government he serves under. The whole apparatus of the Constitutional Council with representatives from the government as well as the opposition was set up with the expectation that the best candidate for high positions would be appointed. Yet on appointing this IGP, everything seems to have gone horribly wrong. From the very beginning, it was obvious that he was not suited for the position of IGP. When the IGP was appointed by presidential fiat in the past, there were no jokers like this holding such a high position because he would have been removed by presidential fiat. The mere fact that the IGP is still holding office, and that the police spokesman has had to trot out lame excuses on his behalf, is an indictment of the whole system.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Sunday Island<\/em><\/p>\n

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By C.A.Chandraprema It was evident from the time the present government came into power that the UNP as a collective entity was not in its proper senses. In 2001, when much the same individuals in the UNP came into power, they were a stabilising force which doused the flames that had been ignited by Chandrika …<\/p>\n

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