The Parliament is designed for for trouble (More On The Architecture
Crossovers are total bullshit. In a democracy where people vote for parties, it just makes no sense You elect a guy from one party, and he starts voting with the other party. It’s like buying an elephant and getting a pile of… bullshit. Milinda Moragoda was elected as a UNP MP who favored peace talks and fiscal management. Now he’s the Tourism Minister of a government waging war and bankrupting the country. He has betrayed the people who voted for and believed in him. If Milinda had ran as SLFPer in favor of corruption and war people wouldn’t vote for him. But he didn’t care, and he crossed over for his own personal benefit and power. It has nothing to do with the people who voted for him. Ranil is a limp dick for sure, but betraying the people who vote for you is something else. And it should be constitutionally discouraged. Switching for principle is one thing, but switching to the government gives MPs a cash incentive to betray their voters. So we really need a money-back guarantee. If I vote UNP I want UNP. So sorry if you don’t get a nice car, but frankly, fuck you and your filthy lucre. Milinda Moragoda, GL Peiris, Duminda de Silva (not surprising), Karu Jayasuriya – you have betrayed the people who voted for you. You have betrayed your democracy.
As an addendum, Ranil Wickremesinghe is well worth breaking away from. He is probably the worst political leader the UNP has ever had. He’s a good manager when in power, but he totally sucks at getting power. Guy can’t hold a baby, let alone a rally. He’s a closeted homosexual closeted with in a circle of ‘old school’ yes men. Abandoning him is a good idea, because he can’t win and he sucks at leading or inspiring people. Whatever. Leave the UNP, abstain, sit somewhere else. But voting with the SLFP, while claiming you’re still in the UNP? Please. You can’t have your cake and eat it too – especially when flour is so expensive for normal people. Y’all are liars, and with your ministries you’re now thieves.
What we have is a Parliament where MPs have pure economic and survival motivation to join the government. They simply get paid more to do so. The amended Constitution also requires only a rubber stamp from out megalomanic Chief Justice and then it takes an impossible 85 votes in Parliament to really throw someone out of the party. So it makes things corrupt. As voters, we vote for a party and then candidates, but we have no guarantee that that our votes won’t end up on the complete opposite side. It’s a total corruption of democracy, and people like Moragoda and Peiris – who know better – should be ashamed that they lack the principle to serve the people that elected them. You know, don’t forget who’s taking you home, et cetera. It boggles the mind.
anther fantasy has ended, so indi.padshow blames others while being blind to the real faults and reality.
he continues to call appeasement of terrorism “peace”. he talks about politicians giving up principles but he is willing to give up the participles of human rights, justice, freedom, and democracy when he advocates handing over million to the oppression of a convicted mass murderer so that he and family can enjoy “peace” and corruption here.
milinda was already corrupt(according to cope) and was a pocket politician of maharajas ( as everyone could see ) when he was in the cabinet of ranil ( same one that made the political appointment of allegedly corrupt family member of indi padashow btw ). but indi was blind. but then he was always blind. for instance he was blind to already well documented thuggery of mervin silva and his son when he went like a groupie( read words used in his own post) to hear the thug’s speech in peacenik pro appeasement rallies last year .
blinkered vision and fantasy will always end in disappointment . don’t blame others.
Again, you might try to get the little fact rights if you’re trying to inflict a bigger slander. I never heard Mervyn speak at that rally , read the post. I walked around and took some pictures as they were marching, then left before any speeches. I wish I had stayed caused it seemed interesting.
Again, if you have any proof of corruption in my family, please address it, otherwise it’s just a big ‘padashow’.
Sitting- Nut or Standing-Nut,
The terms ‘terrorist’ or ‘terrorism’ are not universally accepted and you certainly cannot take the ownership of the definition. A ‘terrorist’ to one is a freedom fighter to another. Depending upon the angle you look at either PLO or Israelis may appear terrorists/freedom fighters to you. Doesn’t mean that everyone agrees.
Further, killing terrorism is not physically eliminating the elements, but more of addressing the root causes. In most part of the world terrorism originated as a result of extreme poverty and without addressing the issues no point just killing people. Who are the people you call terrorists? Just the youth of the same country, who have joined a force, because they have no other economically viable path to take. Killing them at massive scale will not only a non-solution to the issue, but also is gross unfair. It is too inhuman.
What RW did was to pave the way to these misled youth to come into democratic mainstream, as was done in case of JVP. You might be too dumb to understand that but it is no reason to engage in verbal diarrhea. Mind you man, you do a serious mistake. It is not just supporting the war. It is justifying the Sinhalese Buddhist racism and advocating a mass annihilation of Tamils. The outcome of such a step would be disastrous for the nation.
Indi, I think you raise a point that relates to just one of the many inequities and distortions inherent within a third world majoritarian democracy. But its a interesting point nonetheless. I’m curious to know, do you advocate a legal restriction on cross overs or do you think it’s just up to these MP’s to stay true to their constituencies. If you are for the latter, that’s fine but any legal restriction would in my opinion damage democracy even further. A restriction that is placed on any MP of a party to vote with the party would in effect mean that the diktat of the party leader governs the party vote. That would be problematic, don’t you think. It would also prevent conscientious objectors like the Thero who voted with the UNP? and people like Wijedasa Rajapakshe( one could argue that he was under a greater obligation to tow the party line since he was a National List MP) Also, it would mean that an electorate who wishes to vote for the integrity or policies of one particular candidate would have their intentions thwarted by the decree of the party leadership. Given your ostensible revulsion to the leaders of either party, I don’t think that’s what you want.
I also don’t think you’re quite right to observe that people vote for the party. Sri Lankan politics is personality driven. Many of these jokers have crossed over many times and still retain their seats, regardless of which side they’re on. Mahinda Wijesekara, SB and co were PA types before they joined the UNP weren’t they, and they haven’t been punished by voters for their flip flopping. At the end of the day, the problem is an immature electorate. I know you follow US politics, and you realise don’t you that flip flopping (ideologically) can destroy a political career- read McCain. In Sri Lanka, its more like somersaulting (perpetually for money and power) and voters keep rewarding these jokers. In theory the disincentive to vote against the wishes of the electorate in the House is that you lose the next election. Sadly, the Sri Lankan people continue to rubbish political theory. People get the rulers they deserve.
Mayeb what is needed is the power of recall.
If a sufficient number of an electorate feel that their MP is not doing a good job, then a petition to recall teh MP and hold a fresh election in that particular electorate is a way of keeping them in check.
I’m not sure of the precise mechanism of how a recall should work, perhaps someone can enlighten us here?
Of course, this must come as part of a wholesale revamp of the constitution, which I have commented on elsewhere on this blog, is responsible for enshrining corruption, which is virtually impossible to do.
I think Sri Lanka has a tryst with destiny – and the destiny is to follow the rest of South Asia. Just look around at the immediate neighbourhood : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and further to the East Burma and Thailand, to the West Afghanistan. India is the only exception.
hey Sittingnut,
wern’t you the one advocating the methods of terrorism in your post here:
“resistance to that both passive and active (even violent), on the part of all sri lankans whether individually or collectively, is completely justified. and imo that resistance (even violent ones) should also justifiably target those who advocated and then in all probability will also collaborate with that intervention and coercion.”
http://llibertarian.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-if-peacenik-fantasy-of-un.html
Same thing that the LTTE keeps saying…..
Indi you are a brave man making these comments in a country full of abductions and disappearances. Ever thought of joining the political fray yourself ? We need someone who will step in and keep the bastards honest..
mcboom:
“Indi you are a brave man making these comments in a country full of abductions and disappearances”
– This is a clear witness that people of this country are free to comment and “abductions and disappearances” are simply creation of few idiots against the government.
“abductions and disappearances†are simply creation of few idiots against the government”, not so according to the Daily News.
“The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) yesterday made a major breakthrough in their investigations into the multi- million rupee extortion racket targeting Tamil and Muslim businessmen when they took into custody an ex-Airman.
The CID intensified its probe into the allegations of disappearances of Colombo businessmen followed by ransom demands by their captors on IGP Victor Perera’s orders.
The special CID squad deployed by CID DIG D.W. Prathapasinghe is investigating to ascertain whether there were other Airmen involved in the extortion racket. ”
more here:
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/06/20/news16.asp
I spent a bit of the morning looking into that part of the the constitution regarding expulsion of party members. I can’t find anything in the ’72 Constitution about it, but I must not be looking right.
You’re right that it shouldn’t be illegal to cross parties or vote your conscience, but I don’t know how to reconcile that with a system that gives such obvious economic rewards for joining the government. MPs literally get cash and cars for crossing over, and there are no similar incentives for joining the opposition. So it’s not an especially moral choice, it’s more of a corrupt one. I really don’t know, and I haven’t seen such a dysfunctional and bloated Parliament in any other country. Tell me if anyone can find what the passage in the Constitution used to be, before the second amendment.
This cross over thing was started by UNP at the first place,maybe you have forgotten, GL & SB gang crossed over to UNP to topple Chandrikas government.Obviously this must have involved huge some of money , Ranil is dawning in his own SHIT!……… this is a good example for our stupid politicians & their supporters, DON”T EVER DO THINGS THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO STAND IF YOU ARE IN THE OPPOSITION.
Its actually Article 99 (13) a of the Constitution that says that a member of a party from which he was elected ceases to be a member of parliament by reason of expulsion from the party. Of course, there’s an appeal to the Supreme Court where you can challenge your expulsion from the party as violating natural justice and/or the party Constitution.
I share your frustration about the sheer immorality and selfishness of cross overs in Sri Lanka, but it seems to me like there’s no alternative to having voters severely punish the infidelities of politicians. Sadly, the Sri Lankan electorate just doesn’t give a toss. Surprise, surprise.
Nothing hurts more than the crossover of Karu Jayasuriya. If there was one politician with integrity in this country, that was him. Was. Et tu, Karu? Then fall, Sri Lanka! Sigh…
indi.padshow:
allegations about your family’s corruption is as substantiated as the allegations of corruption you make here. as i said before if you substantiate them i will show how they can be applied to your political appointee family for same results. that is why i don’t make those allegations elsewhere.
simply put – your blog, your standards of corruption.
only i apply them to everyone equally instead of hypocritically like you.
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we have the ‘honorable’ word of padashow blogger that he walked in the march, along with mervin silva, his thugs, and others (btw normally when political thugs are not invited pro-appeasement protests have about 20 ppl in total if that) and not stayed to hear speeches. sure!
btw are you saying you were not supporting the purpose of the march and did not know who was participating?
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thiru:
where did i take ownership of the word “terrorist” ? don’t imagine things. look what happened to indi.padashow’s fantasy
“A ‘terrorist’ to one is a freedom fighter to another. ”
yes, you can call them what you want and nobody is going to prevent you, if you are in sri lanka (except in areas under the ltte )
however when a person calls a convicted megalomaniac mass murderer and fascist who intentionally attacks innocents and who has directly caused more suffering to ppl he claims to be freeing, a “freedom fighter” we can make a pretty good idea about that person’s attitudes and state of mind. so if you want to call them “freedom fighters” and class them with gandhi and mandela pl do . you are welcome. :-)
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poverty (or discrimination, grievances, ’83, etc etc) is no excuse for terrorism. it like saying poverty is an excuse for thievery.
and more than that saying so is a grave injustice (and yes an inhuman act), to most ppl who have suffered from those things ( which would include most minorities and most ppl in sl( and world)) and not resorted to violence or thievery to get their rights and prosperity. and it is certainly inhuman to hand over innocent sufferers and peaceful fighters for their rights and prosperity, to those who have taken to violence and thievery. that is what ranil did and indi and peaceniks justify
those who resort to violence has to be defeated if they do not stop. and use of violence by legitimate armed forces of a democracy against such criminals is justified, as use of violence against thieves who do not submit.
jvp had to be defeated first and its leaders had to be killed first before others agreed to work within democracy- remember that
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you are the one who is racist when you imply that tamils support the terrorism ( or what you want to call ltte violence ). or that sinhala buddhists want to annihilate tamils. only racists ( whether tamil or sinhala or other ) equate tamils with ltte terrorists. are you one?
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jack point:
yes i justified resistance ( even violent ) against foreign coercion against sl democracy ‘if’ there was a foreign intervention disregarding the expressed will of sl democracy. ( read the post in full) .( i also said such a thing is highly unlikely in spite of all the wishes and daydreams of peaceniks and terrorists )
anyway by equating that kind of resistance with terrorism are you saying ltte is fighting for democracy? or for tamils ? really! do be clear
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you seem to have a confused idea about abductions as well. there are criminal abductions but there is no proof that military or gosl has a project to abduct ppl as in absurd white van conspiracy theories propagated by llte and believed by indi and co. it is good that several such criminal rackets seem to have been busted.
Indi,
I share your frustrations but what does Ranil’s sexuality have to do with his competence/incompetence as a leader? I wouldn’t think of you as homophobic.
Jack Point,
I like the idea of a recall…now wouldn’t that be something! But ultimately, the sad truth is that most voters in this country are damned fools.
Sittingnut,
While your constant rants are hilarious, when even the Daily News uncovers support from certain elements of the armed forces for the abductors and the Nishantha Gajanayake episode, it is pretty stupid of you to claim there is no proof otherwise. You are the kind of idiot that the LTTE loves…. you go around calling people traitors for merely not agreeing with the GOSL on an issue but the truth is that you’re the ultimate traitor…the kind who aids and abets the ‘down the pallam’ slide of the country by the blind and sycophantic support of the GOSL. Wake up and smell the coffee boy….
Can someone explain to me how this crossing works? Article 99 of the Constitution says:
(13) (a) Where a Member of Parliament ceases, by resignation, expulsion or otherwise, to be a member of a recognized political party or independent group on whose nomination paper (hereinafter referred to as the “relevant nomination paper”) his name appeared at the time of his becoming such Member of Parliament, his seat shall become vacant upon the expiration of a period of one month from the date of his ceasing to be such member…
How is it that the crossers are not expelled from Parliament then? Is it because they go to the CJ and he invalidates the expulsion? If that’s the case, I assume he works with the UPFA Govt to help them to get people to cross? If that’s the case, surely people who have crossed from the UPFA like Mangala, Sripathi and Wijedasa Rajapakse can be expelled and replaced with more loyal UPFA MPs?
I don’t get how they are staying in Parliament after crossing. Sorry to seem dumb but can someone please elaborate?
Oi, Sitting Nut,
I assumed you have some sort of brain, but it looks like you are just a another ‘gona’ like typical JHU/JVP.
The words ‘legitimate’, ‘convicted’, ‘state’ etc are only subjective terms defined by Sinhala racists for their own convenience. They have no validity beyond Omanthai. If people in N&E do not recognise Sinhala government what legitimacy it has in N&E?
The security forces of any country can fight against anti-govt elements but there is an acceptable way of doing that. If anyone has done a crime there is a formal judiciary process to address it. Forces cannot just go and drop bombs everywhere they like killing at random. (including innocent civilians) Also forces have no licenses to abduct people at its will and kill them, as and when they like.
If any idiots goes to war, when there were enough opportunities to solve the ethnic issue through negotiations, one can only call him a ‘gona’. His followers are even bigger ‘gonas’.
Wouldn’t it be sensible to make it illegal to change parties mid-term, but OK to vote with one’s conscience? That way an administration could not buy a vote with a portfolio.
The cross overs in SL don’t really change parties. They just change loyalties and voting allegiances so there’s no legal way of telling the difference between a conscience cross over and a opportunistic one. Of course, one way out may be to stipulate that the Cabinet be comprised only of members of the party of the Prime Minister. But that would make it impossible to string together a coalition after an election which means perpetually hung parliaments.
To be fair, this ‘crossing over’ phenomenon is not unique to Sri Lanka. At least 2 MP’s have controversially switched parties (and subsequently recieved plum posts) in Canada over the last 4 years. These crossings have been followed by much controversy as well as hypocrisy by parties who deride it but benefit from it.
In both cases, neither MP fully realized the prominance they sought in crossing over. In both cases the hit their integrity took when they crossed was a major reason for this.
Either way, this occurred in Canada, a mature, stable democracy. There is an argument to be made that this type of crossing over is more harmful in an immature, less stable democracy like Sri Lanka.
Cross over are possible in the British parliamentary system as well, Churchill being a classic case, crossing over from conservative to liberal and then back again.
The problem in SL is that there is too much money in the system, and cross overs happen due to money and not principle. A good example is the CWC – they have been in EVERY government since 1994 – crossing over to the winning side in return for whatever they pay.
The system is now broken beyond repair, I can’t even imagine how things can ever be put right – it will take decades under enlightened leadership – something that is almost completely absent from the system.
Benevolent Dictator, the problem with Ranil is that he didi not leave after the last election. By clinging onto power he tarnished his image. Had he left gracefully, he would have been seen as a principled leader, who might conceivable have made a comeback.
The problem was, as far as RW was concerned was that there would be no possibility of cming back – because others in the UNP would have blocked it.
Either way, he is now a spent force. MR will have another 10 years anyway, after which it will be interesting to see who gets it – Basil, Namal, Chamal or Gota.
Ifthings turn really sour and MR is unlikely to win in 2010, there is a possibility is that he will extend the life of parliament (similar to what Sirima did, extending it from 1975 to 1977) or do a Musharraf.
Remember that SL has only a handful of True Friends, Pakistan, Burma and Thailand. The Generals see eye to eye on a lot of matters, and I feel there is real camaraderie between them. It will be interesting to see what lessons will be drawn by ‘our boys’.
For further enlightenment, read Neville de Silva’s “Thoughts from London” column in the Sunday Times .
see;
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/071118/Columns/thoughts.html
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/071111/Columns/thoughts.html
MR can’t do a Musharraf, ‘cos it’s next to impossible to unite the Army behind a single leader. Gota, as a former soldier, MIGHT have a chance, but even that’s a very big MIGHT. As I’ve said innumerable times before, worries about a SL military coup d’etat are unfounded. It will take a massive cultural change within the Army before that can happen, and there’s no such sign of such change.
Even if your point is taken about the likelihood of a coup(Musharaff style) being dim, isn’t there every chance that the military will not intervene and thus tacitly accept a potential unconstitutional power grab where the President doesn’t give up power at the end of his term. The real question is not whether the culture of the army supports this kind of thing, it is whether there is genuine respect for the Constitution among the people and the military for them to voice their discontent and take action over a gradual transition from a weak, illiberal majoritarian democracy into unconstitutional rule tacitly supported by the military. I don’t see the evidence for this deep respect for the Constitution in SL and as a result, i tend to think anything’s possible.
what I meant with ‘do a Musharaff’ was, an extension to his parliamentary rule by semi-legal or dubious means. Musharaff came into power by military coup and then he has extended/legitimised his rule since by a number of means – a referendum where the question is “do you support the creation of a Buddhist state” or perhaps “eliminate terrorism” (Musharaff’s question was a varient of this on Islam) or some such thing.
maybe “do a Mugabe” i s a better description tahn “do a Musharaff”
One man rule, repression of opponents and enough window dressing to convince a few to treat the frace as ‘domocratic rule’.
No, the military will not intervene per se. What I mean is if MR were to act alone (or with hiss brotherrs) and call on the military to back him in doing something as blatant as cancelling a general or presidential election in the face of a falling administration, the military will not go against the country so overtly for the simple reason that (reflecting the population) the military is very politically aware. So in such a situ the rank & file of the military (and particularly the junior officers and senior NCOs) would be aware that it was illegal. In such a case you would need a unifying leader to make the military act against the population. So far I see no unifying factor in the military that a leader could tap.
What is more likely or probable is that the administration could act in a way that is legally unclear. The way Chandrika acted when she disolved the UNP parliament. In such a situ, if it is unclear how legal the move is and open to debate, the military is likely to follow orders from the MoD. In such an event there will be no chance of the military acting on behalf of justice either; simply for the same reasons outlined in my first para.
The SL military will always remain a tool of the state, and will follow the orders of what it sees as the legitimate authority.
I thiink it is far more likely that we could move progressively towards a dictatorship rather than have one set up via coup d’etat. The population could be gradually coerced to give up it’s rights simply because the middle class is so weak, and the rural masses can be convinced of the necessity of maintaining the status quo until the defeat of the LTTE. Since the masses don’t necessarily connect rising COL and inflation to the war (thanks to the JVP and JHU), but to paranoid notions of western imperialism, they are open to it. Same as in Pakistan, where all the protests are by the middle class.
Conversely, Musharraf’s very existence as president is illegal anyway, so it doesn’t matter what he does. I’m not too sure the SL population would give into a referendum aagain after what JR pulled off.
Ya, I largely agree, but the problem is that there are so many ways of making a “legally clear” issue look like a legally contentious issue. I mean if you look at the the way the 17th amendment has been conveniently shelved by this administration, it’s apparent that a clever or technical argument can always be made out to justify the most unconstitutional decisions. As long as the President controls who’s appointed to the SC and he has a coterie of sophisticated lawyers to do his bidding, it’s always possible to convince the masses(and the military rank and file) that owing to extenuating circumstances the legal issues are not as clear cut as Colombo civil society makes it out to be.
Also, many lawyers have been toying with the idea of a Kelsonian revolution where you completely change the existing constitutional system, dispensing of the need for niceties such as 2/3rd majority etc. Basically all you need is a pliant populace who won’t take to the streets, and VOILA…we’ll have a new Constitution overnight. Really exciting.
Certainly. But my main point is that the military will go with what it perceives to be a legitimate government (ie backed by the population). In certain exenuating circumstances (and I can’t think of one) it might back a dictator against the population. Either way, the military itself will never take the initiative, and it’s extremely unlikely that a high-ranking military officer will ever be able to get military support for a coup d’etat to overthrow what it sees as the legit govt without overwhelming popular support.
As I’ve said before, the biggest argument against a coup is not whether it’s right or wrong, but simply that there is no way to unify the regimental system of the Army once state authority over it has been removed.
thiru:
your words do betray your prejudices and sympathies even though you avoid questions. i am glad that you oppose me.
anyway no wonder you going in a new direction sidestepping the issues raised in my last comment in reply to your first, .
i will remind them before moving on to your new comment, just so that you don’t forget them.
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i (as you say subjectively) consider ltte to be a terrorist group. but do you think ltte is a group of “freedom fighters”?
do you think tamils support them?
do you think poverty (or discrimination, grievances, ‘83, etc etc) justify ltte actions?
do you support handing over common ppl in north and east provinces to ltte in the name of ‘peace’?
do you think ltte is ready for “peace”and democracy as it is and don’t need to be defeated or its leaders killed ?
i have answered those questions and i have drawn the logical conclusions. why don’t you answer them and show that my answers and conclusions are wrong? no body will prevent you if you are not in a ltte controlled area.
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anyway to come to your new comment.
in the first place ltte and its leaders have been convicted through proper legal process. may be you think they never hurt a fly and that courts were biased ? if so please say so.
“If people in N&E do not recognise Sinhala government what legitimacy it has in N&E?”
how do you know that, sri lankan government (consisting of all the major democratically elected minority parties) is not recognized by ppl in north and east provinces? in fact the best way to know that is to hold elections. and imo that can only be done without an armed ltte. ( may be you think differently? and think tna was elected fairly with 90+% vote and presi.election boycott was free will of ppl ? ).
“The security forces of any country can fight against anti-govt elements but there is an acceptable way of doing that. ”
care to point out with evidence where and how security forces have transgressed “acceptable way” intentionally and as a matter of policy?
or are you saying that accidents do not happen and that bad apples never exist whether in police actions or war elsewhere when “acceptable way” is implemented?
“Also forces have no licenses to abduct people at its will and kill them, as and when they like.”
again do prove this, instead of parroting ltte propaganda.
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as i said you are free to believe what you will. even ltte propaganda
the benevolent dictator :
i prefer strong tea to coffee, and originality to clichés, and logic to irrationality.
i am sorry if my language was not clear when i said “there are criminal abductions but there is no proof that military or gosl has a project to abduct ppl ”
i will make it clear; certain individuals criminals in armed forces (several of whom has been arrested and face justice as they should along with others ) is not equivalent to the military. may be you with all your intelligence think they are equivalent?
to say that few individual cases of indiscipline and criminality (inevitable considering the numbers involved) is typical of thousands in armed forces, is like saying deserters and runaways ( let the hat fit on those who want to pick it up here) are typical of others who don’t desert and ran away. imo to say so is slanderous. you are free to think me stupid for saying so . :-)
btw please do explain why my challenging false slander against military (as the military itself is doing ) is traitorous and will help ltte to win? and where have i called anyone a traitor “for merely not agreeing with the GOSL”? i am sure you based those statements on logic and evidence that you can reveal for our enlightenment.
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is the country really “going down the pallam” ? for some ppl yes, but for most ppl no ( and that is a subjective statement, same as yours).
talking of subjective negativity, man this blog is hard to beat.
they talked themselves into an empty excitement about the budget vote ( result of which was predictable and was predicted correctly by saner ppl in touch with reality). now they are trying to talk themselves into all sorts of negative scenarios. it seems that, to these cocooned ppl everybody else is either stupid or in a conspiracy( prez, cj , army, etc etc ) and they alone are right, even though almost all things they they say has no basis in fact or reality and is mere imagination.
in my ( purely personal )opinion nothing of this stuff speculated here by these ppl is going to happen, we are going to have comparatively peaceful ( and credibly contested as long as ranil is not there) elections in due time ( perhaps parliamentary elections a little early ) and a more peaceful country with ltte terrorist power much reduced ( though not eliminated ). economy for all the doomsday scenarios of these ppl will be fine( though not spectacular ). political corruption will be the same as usual.
and finally indi.padashow will be working for buffalo bros bc his family has finally given up on other side in their pursuit of next political appointment :-)
Sittingnut,
Certain individuals in the military aiding, abetting and actively carrying out abductions and the like is certainly not proof of a conspiracy, but unless there is a proper investigation carried out to the end there will always be the suspicion that the military colluded with the Karuna/TMVP/ Pillayan (or whatever they are now) in these abductions. What’s happening to investigation now? Do we hear anything about it?
Your blind faith in this government is traitorous because by not questioning the various rackets going on (the MIG and other arms purchases), the blatant rape of the country’s assets etc, you have failed in your duty as a citizen of this country. Do you think it’s patriotism to buy de-commissioned equipment/planes, bullet proof jackets that aren’t really bullet proof etc? Some comfort for the poor troops to hold on to when their planes go down or their guns don’t fire or their jackets don’t keep the bullets out.
My dear boy, patriotism doesn’t mean blindly following any idiot that spouts nationalistic buzzwords. I don;t know how you can think you’re patriotic when you support a regime that is sending the country up a creek without a paddle. You must be incredibly naive.
I don’t think it is only this govt that has failed the troops and the nation. The UNP has done the same… the Athurigiriya fiasco that outed the LRRPs is a good example..
David,
“I thiink it is far more likely that we could move progressively towards a dictatorship rather than have one set up via coup d’etat. The population could be gradually coerced to give up it’s rights simply because the middle class is so weak, and the rural masses can be convinced of the necessity of maintaining the status quo until the defeat of the LTTE.”
I think you hit the nail on the head here.
To add to what you’ve said above, the rate at which the middle class is migrating means that vocal opposition will dwindle quite fast. The Island newspaper holds a view that all rights must be suspended in order to ‘win the war’.
The degree of paranoia, evinced by the posters that came up before and after the budget vote is something I find very disturbing. The vote was-in my opinion, a walk over that the government was in no danger of losing – if they are this worried about a comparatively easy vote, then only god knows how they will react when under real threat.
My dear Standing NUT,
So you continue to eat the punnakku freely provided by the buffalo? Don’t you? Typical Sinhalese racist JVP. Libertarian, my foot!
Ok, now to your questions.
i (as you say subjectively) consider ltte to be a terrorist group. but do you think ltte is a group of “freedom fighters�
Me, No.
do you think tamils support them?
Depends. LTTE gets little support from Colombo Tamils (may be less than 10% even) But in N&E they have a support of about 65-70%. It is easy to argue from here, but the continuous harassment the Tamils of N&E undergoes is so severe that they will treat LTTE or even Al Qaeda compared to the SLA. Ask any Tamil from N&E.
do you think poverty (or discrimination, grievances, ‘83, etc etc) justify ltte actions? NO. But of course the discriminations fully justify the non violent actions of SJV and GGP.
do you support handing over common ppl in north and east provinces to ltte in the name of ‘peace’? NO. Who said so? Are you stiing on your tail?
do you think ltte is ready for “peaceâ€and democracy as it is and don’t need to be defeated or its leaders killed ?
Man, listen, LTTE will never come to the democratic main stream willingly and on their own. That is why GOSL need to force them to the negotiations. That should be done not by the use of guns but by opening doors and ensure normalcy in N&E. Ranil was exactly doing that when the buffalo decided to provoke the JHU/JVP racist elements to grab power.
Ok, now I answer your questions, let me ask some questions from you.
1. Do you seriously believe he ethnic issue in Sri Lanka will be solved by war?
2. If it can be solved militarily how many human lives will be lost before that? 10k? 50k? 100k? 200k? 1M?
3. what will be the economic cost? (in terms of % GDP)? 5%? 10%? 25%? 50%?
4. How many years in your opinion will such an ultimate war will take the country backward? 10 years? 20 years? 30 years?
I have answers to those questions, so let us see how realistic you are.
Sittingnut,
What is this ‘alleged’ family corruption you harp on about? And is it like your job to slander Indi and his family rather than concentrating on commenting on the actual post?
Indi,
Yeah I share your sentiments on the matter. Whats the point in voting for someone if they can (and will) choose to drop their policies and take up the policies of the power side? For the sake of…?
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/11/23/front/07.asp
Is this for REAL? A minister’s “fuel allowance” increased to PREVENT cross-overs? Is this like how these guys pad their salaries? A Minister’s pay is disclosed to be what Rs 50,000 odd? And then on top of that they get another “fuel allowance” to the tune of Rs 300,000 ??!!
Its real enough no doubt. Why do you think we have so many ministers? To administer the country? Remember that at independence we had a cabinet of 7 and JRJ’s cabinet was 12 plus 12 deputies.
We need 109 ministers because they are offered the perks of a cabinet MP (ordinary MP’s get a lot less) so that they rubber-stamp anything that comes up for approval. Once in a way, they ask for more, and in order to get whatthey want they vote against a bill or two.
Bump. Can someone answer my question above? I really would like to know why crossing is allowed to go on, when the Constitution says it shouldn’t work.
I understand how they are circumventing the 17th Amendment, I don’t understand how they are getting round this one.
Can someone please explain?
crossing is allowed as long as long as you don’t get expelled from the party and the SC has laid down some pretty stringent criteria that must be adhered to before expulsion from the party is held to be valid.