THE JUNGLE LEADER IS ACTIVE AGAIN!

Mr Sumanthiran declared that Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa should be arrested. Did he ever ask that LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran ought to have been arrested? Any law needs to be common to both sides. When we apply one law to ourselves and another to someone else, we separate ourselves from them. This means that we no longer have the moral authority to ‘judge’ the other person. Relatively speaking, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa declared in a free environment that he had taken Equal position to LTTE leader :

In his Daily Mirror article ‘The Solheim claim: ‘Mahinda planned to offer the North to Prabhakaran’ dated 05 November 2015, Mr M S M Ayub claimed:

[Former Norwegian Development Minister and peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim dropped this bombshell days ago claiming that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had been willing to give self-rule to Tamils without calling for elections in the North………

Recalling his engagement in Sri Lanka at the launch of Mark Salter’s book “To End a Civil War – Norway’s Peace Engagement with Sri Lanka” at the University of London on October 28, he had said that Rajapaksa had told him that he was ready to hand over the North to Prabhakaran ‘as he did not want a long and protracted peace process, which would undermine his support in the South’.

The undiplomatic nature of some of the comments made by the former Norwegian minister, whether they were true or not, must be the result of his somewhat bitter last encounters with the former president. To mention a case in point, during an interview former “The Hindu” Editor N. Ram had with Mahinda Rajapaksa in July 2009 the latter’s secretary Lalith Weeratunge had intervened to say:  “It was about March 2006 when Mr. Solheim came to see H.E. after he became president and had also said, in the midst of other things: ‘Prabhakaran is a military genius. I have seen him in action etc., etc. to which the President had responded: ‘He is from the jungles of the North. I am from the jungles of the South. Let’s see who will win!’ It was very prophetic. Later the President met Minister Solheim in New York and reminded him of their conversation on the ‘military geniuses,’ of the jungles of the North and South, and who would win. The East had by that time, in 2007, been cleared and the President had said: ‘Now see what’s going to happen in the North,[ it will be ]the same.”]

The only Chief Minister that Northern Province had – Mr C V Wigneswaran also presented himself as the LTTE leader’s brother. In other words, he also embraced ‘Guerrilla leadership’. Hence his failure to develop a Democratic Administrative system’ Likewise, Mr Rajapaksa. Tamil elders have said ‘Kalavum Katru Mara - களவும் கற்று மற’/ learn also to steal and then forget’  Most ‘forget to forget’.

As per Ceylon Today news ‘President should stand down immediately – Sritharan’:

[President Gotabaya Rajapaksa should hand over his resignation letter immediately, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP S. Sritharan said.

Speaking to the Media yesterday (10), he said the country’s violence level has peaked, and the people have to deal with the consequences of violence. He emphasised that the law must be upheld in all instances, and that the forces must prioritise the protection of the people.

Not only people in the North and East, but also people in the Upcountry, have taken a stand against the Government and its members, and they have attacked their homes and properties. However, violence on violence is never a solution, and our country’s youth must act peacefully.

“We have successfully completed a 30-day peaceful protest and will continue to do so to bring victory to the country. The Rajapaksa family and the irresponsible rulers should be ousted democratically, not violently. We must seek solutions to the crises and avoid causing additional problems,” Sritharan said.]

If indeed Mr Sritharan ‘includes himself and his clan’ – with the protestors – then he loses the right to be a member of Parliament. Here is my reasoning why:

The Parliament is a Sovereign body and hence is entitled to make laws on behalf of those whom it represents. In this instance Mr Sritharan represents Jaffna district well known for its deep investment in higher education. As per that investment Due Processes need to be followed from beginning to end. The initial protestors were without official portfolio and their protests could be taken as raw-truth. But later they were joined by others – including University students and professionals – directly or through the media. This includes Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Centre for Policy Alternatives who confirms it through the the presentation headed ‘If Rajapaksas Don’t Go, There Could Be Violence in Lanka; Country Is Bankrupt; Poverty Over 50%’  - https://www.cpalanka.org/if-rajapaksas-dont-go-there-could-be-violence-in-lanka-country-is-bankrupt-poverty-over-50-video/

The above is NOT an alternate Policy. It is criticism of the government through the ‘policy’ expressed by the ‘protestors’. It is the parallel of the ‘jungle law’ that worked for Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa. Those who then accepted that outcome without Opposing it  demoted themselves to ‘jungle law’. This applies to Tamils who ‘benefit’ from the outcomes delivered by the LTTE.

Most of us make laws and rules for our ‘home-units’. The fundamental purpose of a law is for us to unite as a team. It is like a ‘plan’ at process stage. Outcomes that have different forms confirm that they were produced by different teams. In Democratic Parliament the outcomes by the ‘Opposition’ is rendered Equal status as that of the Government due to recognition of the Sovereignty of Belief. An Opposition driven by Belief would ‘show’ different outcome to that of the Government. This confirms different pathways  - as in different religions leading to one God.

The Protestors claimed to ‘show’ their ‘Economic hardship’ That Economic difficulty is the natural outcome they were entitled to ‘show’. This entitled them to ‘Freedom of Expression’ without any Administrative intervention for or against. But they claimed Parliamentary status by asking the ‘President to Go Home’. That is outcome stolen from the Parliamentarians – especially the Opposition in Parliament.

The jungle warrior in Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa – shared with his followers naturally surfaced when he came out of his Prime Ministerial uniform. This would have been prevented if the Opposition – including the Tamil Parliamentarians who are permanent Opposition in Parliament – had worn their Lawful Uniforms instead of opposing at the level of protestors who represented the Sinhala Buddhist community – that the President claimed to be a leader of.

None in Opposition qualify to take the position of PM – with or without Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa stepping down.