It is reported that the United Nations at New York is concerned with the attempted impeachment of the CJ. Whom are the officials at UN trying to fool? Is it the dispersed Tamils in the western cities? Is it the TNA or somebody else or all of them? Are these officials trying to scare the Sinhala people? Or is it the Sri Lankan government? Or is it the President? It is now known to the west that they cannot defeat this government through elections. They tried Sarath Fonseka as the alternate candidate for Presidency but they have found that he has become a one man party within a course of mere two years.
The west first thought that they could make Sarath Fonseka a witness for the so called international community and try both Mr. Mahinda Rajapkase and Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakse against war crimes at an “international” tribunal. They tried to create “facts” using the media such as Channel Four and ‘journalists” of the caliber of Marie Colvin. They have failed in their attempts to create “facts” on the last forty eight hours of the humanitarian operations but we should not think that they have given up their exercise. It is money spinning exercise for many “journalists” both local and foreign and it unlikely that they would want to give up their source of income.
It is not a secret that the west does not like the Rajapakse government which they call the Rajapakse Regime following their political scientists, and insist on good governance, transparency and democracy with so called human rights not because they practice those qualities but simply because they want to make a case against the present government in the eyes of the “international community” and the Sri Lankan public. However, unfortunately for them the Sri Lankan public in general cannot be misled by the western media and of course the NGO pundits in Sri Lanka. Only those gullible educated people who think of no end of their so called education could be fooled by the west.
As we have said the impeachment of the CJ is neither unconstitutional nor undemocratic and it should be left to the Parliamentary select committee and the Parliament to take a decision on this matter. A Parliamentary Select Committee has already been appointed and the members of the committee sit as judges in this particular instance. It is the western system that tells us that when a matter is subjudice it should be left in the hands of the judges. The west through the UN agents is trying to influence the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee by expressing its concern of the matter.
Meanwhile a petition has been filed in the Court of Appeal praying for an interim order to prevent the Parliamentary Select Committee proceeding with the review of the impeachment motion. We do not know what would be the outcome but it could lead to a tussle between the Judiciary and the Legislature. I suppose this is not exactly what the westerners want as they are not interested in a clash between the Judiciary and the Parliament.
What is the objective of the UN, and hence of the western powers in trying to express its concern over the impeachment as if this is the first time it has happened in this country. I cannot remember any body from the west expressing his/her concern over the impeachment of Mr. Neville Samarakoon. When the impeachment motion was handed over to the Speaker of the Parliament, the relevant standing orders were not ready and the Parliament had to adopt the relevant standing orders while the impeachment motion was being considered by the Parliamentary Select Committee.
Politics being politics it is no wonder that the politicians who opposed the impeachment of Mr. Neville Samarkoon are behind the attempt to impeach Dr. Shirani Bandarnayake and vice versa. The politicians are not known for consistency and that type of behaviour could be expected from them.
However, though we criticize the politicians for inconsistencies we are no better as we are also influenced by our politics in spite of the fact that we are just ordinary citizens. Most of the so called ordinary citizens have political views whether they are political animals or not, and our positions are determined by our politics.
So are the attitudes of the western diplomats, statesmen etc., and international community meaning the western countries that are not devoid of vested interests. The west is not employing double standards in deciding on so called human rights, good governance, transparency, freedom of expression etc., but is interested in keeping their system in tact. The west does not like the “Rajapakse Regime” and would do anything to bring this government down.
The west knows that in spite of western style development for want of an alternative, the present Sri Lankan government is not following their own Chinthanaya. Unfortunately the government does not have its own Chinthanaya and it is not consistent in its policies. It is to be expected as the national intelligentsia not only has to overcome the system that has been built by the westerners during the last five centuries, but most of them still believe in the so called educated rural youth to take this country forward.
The educated youth or anybody else is not one versed with knowledge created within our culture but consist of those who have gone through the school system and the universities set up by the English and nothing much could be expected from them. For most of them and their mentors knowledge created in our culture is not scientific, and is nothing but myth. Myanmar that has not been able to come up with an alternative system of knowledge and development has failed, and Obama is visiting that country in order to celebrate the capitulation of Burma to the west.
As mentioned above the west wants to see this government defeated but so far fortunately for us they have not found a method to bring the government down. They tried various springs including the academic spring but instead of springs they have had autumns. FUTA is complaining that the government is not fulfilling the promises but what the leadership does not tell the membership and the public is that apart from withdrawing some circulars, naturally after studying them, the government has not given any other promises. So much for the academic spring of some juvenile lecturers.
Now we are witnessing a forced Pakistan Spring where there was a clash between the judiciary and presidency. In Sri Lanka the Parliament has more power than the Judiciary as the sovereignty of the people in judicial matters is exercised by the Parliament through the courts and not by the courts directly. Those who went before the Appeals Court against the Parliamentary Select Commiittee would not serve the cause of the west as the latter is interested in a clash between the Judiciary and the Presidency.
It is not difficult to understand the concern of UN over the impeachment of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake when they were not concerned with the impeachment of Mr. Neville Samarakoon by the J R Jayawardene Regime! What the west has so far failed to understand is that Sri Lanka does not experience springs and autumns and that Chandrika Bandranaike is not a Suki though both are daughters of national figures, and that Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sarath Fonseka, Tilwin Silva , R Sambandan are not alternatives to Mahinda Rajapakse at present.
Copyright Prof. Nalin De Silva
