MR’s supporters still beating the communal drum

Few politicians in former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s clan thought that present President Maithripala Sirisena would come out of the presidential elections with a clear mandate. Or else everyone including the former president himself knew that they would lose, yet were in ‘denial’. Though his ‘Roads Economy’ was shown as a sign of the country’s development, the country had been through a grinding economic slump, intercommunity and intra-community relations were at the lowest ebb, nepotism was at its zenith, people were tight-lipped and the whole country was in disarray.

According to the prevailing political atmosphere, it seems the UNP and its allies would win most seats at the forthcoming general elections.

The political campaign of Mahinda Rajapaksa and the opposition, as it vehemently did at the presidential elections, seems to be to rustle up the minority communities of the country with so-called ‘patriotic speeches’ by those who dragged the former president into the com- petition merely for their own political gain. Mahinda Rajapaksa still lets his supporters beat the same rhythm that callously eroded the vote bank of the SLFP and the coalition. The grievances of the members of both the Tamil and Muslim communities were such that they felt unwanted and cornered because of such chauvinistic statements, which finally resulted in the SLFP losing their votes.

The collapse of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government was a direct result of such chauvinistic and inflammatory speeches by his ‘golayas’ who can also be held responsible for destroying the SLFP for their personal ends. Mr. Rajapaksa’s government was preoccupied with mere survival, as these outsiders dug up trenches of intercommunal disharmony, which finally led to the minority groups leaving the party. What has happened to the support the party had from the Tamil and Muslim friends during the period of Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s regime? She had genuine love for the country and so was her love for the minority communities of the country.

President Maithripala’s vote bag was also filled by intellectuals who were disgruntled with the affairs of the previous government. The intellectuals including university lecturers laid out a credible plan at the last presidential election for educating the Sri Lankan electorate and changing their mindset so that the people could become politically aware. Though many of the adults particularly from the rural areas were not able to get rid of their emotional political ties, the youth, the cream of the nation, began thinking intelligently and became politically aware through the social media.

The UPFA’s attempts even today are to instil fear in the minds of the people by trying to show the ‘spectre of terrorism’ and fabricating unbelievable stories of the LTTE’s rise. These are indicators of how Mahinda Rajapaksa and other frontliners think of the general public. It is time they understood that people are more intelligent today and that they cannot be easily hoodwinked with empty slogans. Wanton indiscipline orchestrated by the leader and his sup- porters particularly during the past years boomeranged on them at the presidential election.

There’s very little difference in what Rajapaksa’s supporters do and say even today. Anil Pagoda Arachchi

Hemmatagama