tw news-features

By S.A. Robins
[Moratuwa]

It is said that power and money are the greatest agents of corruption. Nowhere is this more evident than in the political scene in Sri Lanka

Once in power, politicians are in the driving seat, and in a complete turnaround, the voters end up serving them. Who foots the bill for salaries and other perks of an absurdly top-heavy cabinet, the cost of jumbo delegations which faithfully accompany the President on visits abroad, the joyrides of family members and others on the fringes of each entourage, and all the lavish spending splurged around? It is the overburdened taxpayer.

MR and company are riding on the crest of power, and others wanting a share of the cake, vault over from other parties to join the bandwagon.

The burning issues of the day are not addressed — the peace process, the human rights violations, and most of all the spiraling cost of living.

MR and his faithful minions’ answer to every problem is the Chinthana. This panacea for all the country’s ills has been failing to deliver the goods. The Chinthana is a mirage, a carrot dangled in front of the masses — poor Citizen Perera.

The country is paying a heavy price, while a select few seem to be wallowing in the bounty that position and power has bestowed on them. It is a heady wine that bodes the nation no good.

Coming to the economy; the ballooning CoL and soaring inflation are supposedly being very effectively addressed by the policies of the Central Bank according to its Governor. However the veracity of the report of that august body for the year 2006 has been called into question.

Given the current situation in the country and an unhealthy atmosphere that prevails in the economy, it would take a Houdini to bring inflation down to a single digit figure as the Central Bank governor has vouched he would do. As in the case of many of its manifestations, the basis for the printing of fresh paper money boggles the mind of even economic analysts and consultants like Dr. Harsha. This might raise the question as to who is fooling whom.

Through intimidation of the media, we are being robbed of our freedom of expression to a great extent. Abductions, extortions and killings go on unabated, whilst the IGP assures that the people have nothing to fear as he has the manpower and arms to protect them. The irony is that not a single case has been solved, and his police force is unable to trace the staggering number of missing persons, neither have they been able to ascertain what happened to them finally.

The Defence Secretary says that under his guidance, the forces are in complete control of the situation and that Tiger fire power and the recent strikes are no great cause for alarm. Our defence mechanism is very effective, and only a few random cases of injuries to people and damage to property were inflicted by the retaliatory fire of our very own forces.

The people of this country have a slim line of hope that the force of international opinion may protect us from being robbed of our fundamental rights still further, for such appears to be the dangerous trend in our tiny nation. Even there, the powerful machinery goes to work, rousing the national feelings of the people against what is portrayed as foreign interference.

All in all, in every sphere the nation is being skimmed, for the welfare and benefit of a select few.

MR keeps harping on his Chinthana while the nation is burning. Is there a parallel somewhere in it? [a letter to the Editor, in sundayleader.lk]