The rapidity of resurrection of the Rajapaksas following the self-inflicted defeat of 2015, no doubt, is a political event without parallel in Sri Lanka. Admittedly, the mess created by Yahapalanaya contributed to it but the process started even before Yahapalanaya’s withering. Whilst the dual-citizenship-holding kin escaped to the US, defeated Mahinda’s fate rested on his political kith, whose efforts led to ‘Mahinda Sulanga’ shortly afterwards. With the wind blowing in the right direction, the kith returned; Gota declared an interest in the presidency and Basil started overhauling the ‘joint opposition’.
Gota became president and Basil is rightly credited with being the creator of Pohottuwa, the expectation being that he would be the power behind the throne. Perhaps, the totally unexpected success of Pohottuwa, which mustered a two-thirds majority, gave Basil other ideas. This unexpected bonus gave the impetus for the 20th amendment, finally settling the status of the executive presidency. Voters did not mind this in the expectation that Gota, the strong man, would deliver the goods. However, there was one clause which troubled all those concerned with the security and the integrity of the country; allowing a dual-citizenship holder becoming even the executive president. There were very strong objections to this from many in the government, especially from two of the key players for the resurgence of Mahinda—Udaya Gammanpila and Wimal Weerawansa. Apparently, they were persuaded to drop their objections by the President who assured them that the measure at issue was aimed at squaring up with Yahapalanaya, which did its utmost to prevent him contesting.
Weerawansa and Gammanpila must be regretting that they did not campaign hard enough to prevent dual citizens from entering Parliament. Leaving a loophole for someone with an ulterior motive to creep through is not good politics. More so, because some countries demand more from their citizens than others.
For instance, to become a naturalised citizen of UK, an oath and a pledge have to be taken but even the combination is innocuous. The oath is: “I, [name], swear by Almighty God that, on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors according to law.” The pledge is: “I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.”
In sharp contrast, the oath taken for naturalisation as a citizen of USA demands total allegiance: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform non-combatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”
Perhaps, if our elected representatives had cared to look at the obvious, they would not have voted for a provision threatening the security and integrity of the nation.
The arrival of Basil through the backdoor was welcomed by his lackeys. When he snatched the finance ministry from his elder brother, Mahinda, they sang hosannas. Basil was portrayed as Aladdin.
Basil has shown total and absolute incompetence as the finance minister. Aladin’s lamp does not seem to work; he has even asked the heads of local bodies to switch off street lights! Some of the circumstances may be beyond his control but a clever finance minister would have taken anticipatory action, and that is where he has failed. The pandemic has had a crippling effect on the economies of most poor countries. To make matters worse, there is a war in Ukraine, which could have been avoided. Although the Western media has placed the blame entirely on Putin, what should not be forgotten is that Biden egged Ukraine on. British PM Boris joined Biden with glee, as he would have been out of office, by now for his misdeeds, if not for the Ukrainian war! The cost of living is spiralling in UK and very soon the sympathy for Ukraine is likely to be lost.
Ajith Nivard Cabraal too should share responsibility for the current economic mess. The two biggest mistakes have been propping up the rupee, leading to the development of a thriving black-market and not seeking IMF support for restructuring our foreign debt. Instead, Basil is going around the world with begging bowl and suddenly India has become very generous. The interesting question is what India expects in return.
Basil masterminded a questionable energy deal with a US company and this is not likely to make China happy. Whether Basil’s actions are planned with a sinister motive or not, the government is getting increasingly unpopular and he seems to be the most hated man, at the moment. The creator seems to have become the destroyer!
Gota sacked Wimal and Udaya, in spite of their crucial role in the resurrection of Rajapaksas, and Mahinda has stated Basil would not be sacked under any circumstances. Well, blood is thicker than water but it is a pity that both Gota and Mahinda fail to realise that it is their hard-gained reputation that would be lost, if the people kick them out at the next election, which is the most likely thing to happen unless a miracle happens!
by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
Extracted from – island.lk