Les Misérables

President Maithripala Sirisena

By T. E., Kotte

So, finally the cats are out of the bag. Bravo Mr. President for offering to name those who were unwilling to support the 20th Amendment, in the public interest. The public is possibly wondering what happened to 20A. Some light shed on the missing provisions enshrined in 20A will no doubt be appreciated.

There is no doubt in the public minds as to who the real saboteurs in the country are. They are the few discarded leftists who have nowhere to hang their hats anymore and those within the PA who have nowhere to hide and thus seek the protection of their erstwhile guardian. 

This includes the elephants who crossed over to avoid being prosecuted by the last regime. One wonders whether the elephants would have supported the amendments so arduously had FCID investigations been mooted for the two years they were in power. No shortage of skeletons in that cupboard either.

Are there still too many miscreants entrenched in the system with crimes both fiscal and extra judicial to hide? Is it possible that even some members of the Judiciary including the Supreme Court remain evasive? Is it possible that they are still insecure because they harbor the thought that the former status quo may well return to persecute them? Why else?

As one of the learned monks astutely pointed out on TV recently, the rot will remain as long as the perks and illegal benefits derived from criminal activity are accessible as Parliamentary privileges!

As the learned bhikku says, remove the source of temptation and there will be no incentive for robbers and murderers to seek Parliamentary seats. Thank God the total number of seats have been restricted to 225. One supposes it would have been too much to expect a reduction! It is still 25 members per province! 

Hopefully the majority of National List appointees will be seasoned professionals who wish to serve the country and not nondescript, uneducated cronies. This is the opportunity to civilise the Parliament and entice the right caliber of citizen to come into politics. 

It would also help to enforce the amendments, uphold the authority of the independent commissions and set the stage for respectable individuals to enter politics to uplift the country without fears of thuggery in politics. No more thugs sleeping in Parliamentary pews, please.

The thought on every citizens’ mind is why the President doesn’t use his powers more forcefully, knowing that he has the goodwill and support of every decent citizen in the country who trusts him to do the right thing even by use of presidential authority as required. He can get a 2/3 majority at a referendum on his agenda without wasting his time stirring the collective muck he is stuck with.

The President’s biggest enemies are in his own party. The whole country knows this. Trying to maintain the integrity of his party with the current hierarchy is a mindless exercise which he is doubtless aware of. They have only their own agenda of self-preservation in mind and little regard for the party values he is defending. 

He would have been evicted from the party in 24 hours (if not worse) had he lost the election. He is the head of the party because that was the only alternative available to the hyenas in emergency mode.

The President has proved to be extremely eloquent and credible in his speeches. The general public are surprisingly more knowledgeable than once thought and the president should spend more airtime with interviews on all TV networks or even collectively to educate the public to vote only for capable, honest people. It is the only way he can get rid of the rogues who surround him.

The country deserves better than it has had for the last 40 years. To be ruled for the people; not for the thugs currently in politics. The time to decriminalise politics is now. We may never have another chance. 

Every decent citizen whatever race or religion is with you, Mr. President. You have already achieved more in the interest of the people than any other president. It remains our right that you exercise your power to deliver on the rest of our hopes. A free, fearless, fair society, where every citizen can live a peaceful and tranquil life.