‘JO’ Must Show The Way Out
There will be much desperate prognostications thundered across Galle Face Green from the stage of the so called Joint Opposition tomorrow about burying the UNP-SLFP government under the garbage of the Meetotamulla dump and their alleged misdemeanours in the past two years. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the ‘Joint Opposition’ (JO) leader, has pledged toppling this government in January this year. Time and options it seems to be fast running out.
A May Day tradition of the past has been the pronouncement of the obsequies of the capitalist class by committed Marxist revolutionaries. Today’s tradition is that any nincompoop on stage pronounces the demise of any one or things he does not like. They should be ignored.
The people are well aware of the follies of the incumbent government. There have been massive rallies, protest marches, demonstrations that were more like street dramas staged against it which were lapped up by the media, particularly the Kept Rajapaksa media.
What the people would want to know from the ‘JO’ is not about the mistakes about the incumbent government but about how the current national crises – the billion dollar debt trap and charges of human rights violations before the UNHCR on Sri Lanka are to be overcome. These two issues are no doubt the legacies left behind by the would-be saviours clamouring to come back. We do not expect any response in this direction because nary a word has been uttered by the leadership other than severe criticisms about proposed solutions of the government. This is political bankruptcy.
Answers should emanate from the leader himself, not self-appointed defenders of the Rajapaksa faith in new-fangled Sinhala gibberish delivered with foreign accents to sound authoritative to Yakkos. Typical of Fake News or Fake Information sold to the gullible masses are: Billion dollar loss making Hambantota projects, SriLankan or government projects even running at colossal losses are Jatika Vastu (National Treasures) that shouldn’t be touched.
This fake information provided to gullible Rajapaksa enthusiasts is the reason to block all kinds of private investments being made, local or foreign. This is done purposefully to stall any progress being made by this government.
May Day in most western countries is considered to be a holiday for workers. It had its origins in Sri Lanka with Marxist parties rallying their party followers for the cause of socialism. Now it has been reduced to an occasion for hurling political abuse at opponents, making false accusations and now spreading false news among their faithful following. Sri Lankan politics have polarized to the extent that anything what their leaders accuse the other party of is fervently believed. This is indeed dangerous because the climate will be extremely favourable for demagogues. And demagoguery, unless checked, leads to fascism.
The SLFP rally at Kandy and the UNP rally at Campbell Place could be used to expose the fake news and information now being disseminated among the gullible. People should be asked why the Joint Opposition uses the adjective ‘Joint’ to describe itself if it is the real Opposition in Parliament. Surely they could with their majority, elect their own Leader of the Opposition? Why Not?
Many attempts are being made to bring down the government with the help of biased trade union leaders like those of the GMOA. The people should be told at these rallies that their bluffs are being called off. If hospitals are paralysed due to no fault of the government and patients suffer or even die, who are to blame? The government or strikers? The people will decide.
If petroleum bowser drivers decide on foreign policy and brings the entire nation to a halt, let the gullible public awake and decide who is at fault.
On Friday some of the Rajapaksa kept journals carried a huge denunciation of Maithripala Sirisena’s role after taking over the leadership of the SLFP from Mahinda Rajapaksa. To non SLFP party observers, it appeared that on losing the Presidential election, Rajapaksa realised that he could no longer lead the party as a loser. That is the nom de rigueur followed by most democratic parties when their leaders lose a national election. But Rajapaksa, it appears, did not want to give up the de facto leadership. He appears to be convinced that he is still the king – Mammai Raja. Despite not being its leader he wants to direct the party in his own direction which is quite contrary to that taken by the leader Maithripala Sirisena. Hence Sirisena holds the SLFP rally at Kandy tomorrow while Rajapaksa will thunder tomorrow on Galle Face that he is the leader.
May Day rallies should not only be used to lambast the government by those whom that do not like it. The government should not waste time by attacking their critics. They should call upon to pretenders of saving Sri Lanka to provide solutions to problems they have created and show the way out.
