Govt. employing Goebbels’ theory to label patriots and traitors: Karu J

The Government is employing tactics used by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to label as LTTE sympathisers any politician or organisation that express opinions about democracy, rule of law and the freedom of the press, senior United National Party Parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya charged recently.

Referring to Goebbels’ ‘Big Lie’ theory, that people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one and repeated often enough, people will sooner or later believe it, Jayasuriya said the Government was using the state media to repeatedly announced that opposition politicians attending workshops and training programs abroad were conspiring with the pro-LTTE Diaspora to topple the ruling regime.

“A workshop conducted by the UNP has become an act of treason as interpreted in the state media,” the UNP MP said, adding that it was not treacherous or criminal for an opposition political party to attempt to attain political power through democratic means.

Jayasuriya said it was ironic that the Government was attempting to label democratically elected politicians as LTTE conspirators when two former LTTE commanders hold ministerial positions within the ruling alliance.

“It is not possible to deceive the people of this country every day. For instance, it has been revealed that it was the presidential candidate of the ruling alliance that made a secret deal with the LTTE during the 2005 presidential election, even though it is opposition politicos who are being labelled traitors,” he charged.  Jayasuriya said political freedom was a fundamental feature of a democracy.  “In a monarchy or a dictatorship, things are completely different. Civil and political rights are suppressed. Criticising the ruling regime is considered treasonous. The media is totally controlled by the regime. There is no room for opposing views and opposition political parties cannot exist. The judiciary is not independent. This is the path Sri Lanka is now on,” UNP Legislator said.

Jayasuriya said Sri Lankans were experiencing an age when there was a construction of ports with no ships, airports without aircraft and the import of luxury vehicles for extravagant night races for the elite because of the increasingly autocratic nature of the country’s rulers.

“The behaviour of the ruler and his family members indicates the behaviour of a monarchy. Seating arrangements of the members of the ruling family at state functions compared to that of the Prime Minister and the Members of the Cabinet are clear signals about the path on which Sri Lanka is headed,” he charged. (DB)