The first lie of the Yahapalanists was ‘Yahapalanaya’

The Yahapalana Siamese Twins 

President Maithripala Sirisena is on a roll.  He said that he didn’t know who drafted the ‘100 Days Program’.  He hinted that Ranil Wickremesinghe had without his knowledge asked the Air Force Commander to release helicopters to transport Mahinda Rajapaksa (who had lost the presidential election the previous day) to Hambantota.  And on Thursday (May 31st), he said he would not hesitate to ban social media if there’s no self-regulation.

These statements raise interesting questions.  He is in fact claiming that he was a presidential candidate who has no clue who drafted the key programmatic content of his manifesto. ‘Clueless?’ are we supposed to ask?  

With respect to the helicopters, Sirisena himself bragged way back in 2016 that it was he who had arranged it.  A forgetful President, then?  The truth is that Sirisena had not yet been sworn in as President when the request had been made.  The truth is that Mahinda Rajapaksa, through one of his aides, had made the request.  A lying President, then? 

The statement regarding social media is not amusing.  The warning is directed at social media but it demonstrates scant regard for the freedom of expression and a willingness to throw babies along with the bathwater among other things.  A sinister President, then?  

In the midst of all this, President Sirisena, speaking at an event commemorating the late Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero, said that the Thero had not wanted the Central Bank robbed, a clear reference to the Bond Issue scam and another hint at the complicity of his Yahapalana partner, Ranil Wickremesinghe.  Begs many questions.

Did Sobitha Thero tell Sirisena to appoint his (Sirisena’s) brother as Chairman of SLT and Mobitel days after assuming office? Did Sobitha Thero tell Sirisena that it is alright to bring to Parliament through the National List people who had been rejected by the voters?  Did Sobitha Thero tell Sirisena to get together with his friends in the UNP and wreck the fundamental objectives of independent commissions by ensuring that the composition of the Constitutional Council overwhelmingly favor politicians?  Did Sobitha Thero advise Sirisena to effectively sabotage inquiry into the Bond Scam by dissolving Parliament before the COPE report could be released? Did Sobitha Thero instruct Sirisena to conspire with Ranil Wickremesinghe to include the ‘national government clause’ in the 19th Amendment and thereby ensure that the ceiling on the size of the cabinet becomes redundant?  

We could go on and on.  We could also ask what Sobitha Thero said to Ranil Wickremesinghe, the do’s and don’t’s for example.  The more questions asked, the more likely that Sirisena will have to squirm and moreover make Wickremesinghe squirm as well.  

Perhaps this is why Wickremesinghe has come up with the best possible response under the circumstances. He is reported to have told UNPers not to respond to the statement made by Sirisena. He had told the party’s working committee on Wednesday (May 30th) ‘ministers and MPs should not respond to the President but should resolve the problems faced by the people.’

That’s pragmatism. That’s the wisdom of a man who understands the gravity of the situation faced by the Government and by his party. It is an acknowledgment of failure; he’s essentially saying ‘we haven’t solved the problems of the party and exchanging barbs with the President is not going to boost our chances at the next election.’  

It is better to attack the possible (or ‘probable’ according to some) threat, namely Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Maybe this is why Mangala Samaraweera is taking potshots at the man.  Will that be enough though? 

Wickremesinghe probably believes that it is a necessary but not sufficient strategy. The problem is that the last three years have shown that this government can’t get things done and the blame cannot be placed at Sirisena’s door.  Arjuna Mahendran was Wickremesinghe’s choice. Wickremesinghe defended him. Wickremesinghe gave the impression that Mahendran would not go into hiding, that he, Wickremesinghe, can prevail upon Mahendran to come to court if necessary. The UNP tippexed key parts of the second COPE report on the Bond Scam. Someone prevailed upon the Attorney General to go easy on Wickremesinghe when he was summoned before the Commission appointed to inquire into the Bond Scam, and if it was not Wickremesinghe it is unlikely that he didn’t know who did it. 

The problem is that just as Sirisena can’t pass the buck to Wickremesinghe, neither can Wickremesinghe pass the buck to Sirisena.  They are the Yahapalana Siamese Twins, joined at birth, inseparable until Sirisena’s term ends or Wickremesinghe loses the Prime Minister’s post. Complicity is part of the twinning-deal.  Damage control, therefore, is the only option available for one when the other gaffes.  

In all this, Wickremesinghe has more to lose than does Sirisena. Sirisena told everyone that he was a one-term President.  We don’t know if he made that declaration personally to Sobitha Thero, but the statement was made before the Venerable Thero passed away. Unless Wickremesinghe goes for a second innings with Sirisena, the latter is politically doomed. Even if that’s the case, there’s no guarantee that Sirisena will win a second term.  

Wickremesinghe on the other hand, having ‘passed’ twice (2010 and 2015) might very well believe he would be lucky the third time or else that this is his last chance to become President. He would love to disassociate himself from Sirisena’s memory-loss, his deceit and other pernicious comments, except that he is not squeaky clean either.  Neither is he competent. He’s no genius. He’s no expert on economic affairs. He didn’t even know that China holds the aces in the global economy, just to cite one example.

Sadly Mahinda Rajapaksa gets the last word on this and that’s more of an indictment of the entire political system and culture than the idiocy of the Yahapalanists. He simply said that Sirisena’s speech at the Ven Sobitha Thero’s commemoration showed that there is no government in the country today.’

One says something, the other dismisses it. One questions, the other refuses to answer. One proposes, the other disposes. Their unity comes only because they have a common enemy and shared fear over their political futures. It’s not about ideological or programmatic agreement.  

And no, they don’t give a hoot about Yahapalanaya.  They don’t know what the word means.  In fact, by omission or commission they’ve turned that splendid and noble concept into a joke.  Indeed, this may very well be the main reason for their failure, their confusion, their double-speak and the sharp drop in their popularity. They lied when they first uttered the word.  

Read Also....

The truth and dare of presidents, presidencies and the presidential
Constitutional reform poisons: parties, personalities and preferences
The real fears of Yahapalanists
Gota and the existentialist threat he poses
The 'scientific' logic of Ranil and Maithripala
Reshuffling incompetence, inefficiency and insecurity

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Rev Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero’s Amazing Logic

So it's not about good governance but a UNP government, haamuduruwane?

Rev Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero was one of the strongest advocates of ‘good governance’ and therefore lent weight and slogan both to Maithripala Sirisena’s presidential campaign.  The good Thero was a tad disappointed that the new government didn’t do away with the Executive Presidency but that can be put down to not taking the trouble to read the small print of Sirisena’s manifesto and being unable to unpack parliamentary dynamics.  He even expressed remorse over his ‘contribution’ to the January 8 result.  The Thero is now disturbed and that has nothing to do with fascination with the idea of a better social order.  It’s basic.  Base politics.  UNP politics to be exact.

Rev Sobitha Thero wants Maithripala Sirisena to be neutral during the upcoming election campaign.  He believes this would make it possible for him to bring ‘warring parties’ together after the results are announced.  Whether or not warring parties would want to tie some kind of parliamentary marital knot is not relevant here. What’s pertinent is that the Thero is essentially asking the leader of one of the major parties to absent himself.  That would obviously help at least one of the warring parties and none so much as the UNP.

If this neutral-call didn’t show Rev Sobitha Thero’s political preferences an attendant statement most certain does; the Thero is upset (!) that Sirisena has talked about wanting his party to do well.   Now that’s rich.  Rev Sobitha thinks it is odd and unacceptable that the leader of a political party should support that very party.  Has the good reverend left his sense in some place from which they cannot be retrieved, one wonders.  

Maithripala Sirisena appears to be ideologically and politically so confused that he can’t distinguish blue from green, thinking the latter is the former and the former is somehow the color of kurahan associated with his predecessor.  That’s a different matter.  That’s his problem and perhaps choice, the consequences for which he will no doubt have to deal with at some point in the near future.  The point is that Rev Sobitha has now openly backed the UNP to the point that he loses the right to talk about things like ‘national government,’ ‘good governance’ and the ‘unholy marriages of horrors’.

Rev Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero might be a tad tired.  He should rest.   Perhaps reason will return.  That would be phenomenal since he himself can no longer act as though he’s neutral.  

Now if only the good Thero had added something like 'he must also resign from the SLFP' it might have sounded decent.

This, avasarai haamuduruwane, is indecent.  

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The Common Candidate conundrum

The 18^th Amendment stumped those who thought ‘2 terms and MR is out’.  It was a master move on the part of the regime.  It made perfect political sense to ensure that the best bet remains eligible.  The 18^th Amendment,  never mind its democratic-worth, was the equivalent of many amendments pushed through Parliament courtesy a massive majority obtained in 1977 (democratically) and extended beyond 1982 (undemocratically and for undemocratic purposes).  The 13^th in terms of impact was the most pernicious.  But there were several rushed through when it was apparent that the two-thirds majority would be lost in 1989.  Politics. Distasteful, yes.  A reality, unfortunately.

The 18^th is something the Opposition has to live with.  And so we come to the next Presidential Election.  And so the big-name behind-the-scenes agent provocateurs of Sri Lankan politics gathered.  They talked.  'In a parallel universe,' let's say.   

‘Common candidate – that’s what everyone is talking about,’ Manika Fernando, notorious regime-hater and well-known spokesperson for the ‘Let’s Call Sri Lanka Hell’ consortium of euro-gulping NGOs started off. 

‘Like Sarath Fonseka?’ Dr Mutukrishna of the Centre for Pouting Alternatives asked.

‘I don’t think we’ll have a chance with another SF.   Everyone knows that he was chosen because it allowed others to save face.  It has to be someone who is believed to have an outside chance at least,’ that was the ex-CTC man Surya Jayamanne. 

‘You are right Surya,’  said Mahendran Raja, boss of a TV/Radio network.

‘Hmm, although I was his party man, I agree,’ said Shiran Dougless, another media manipulating boss.  

‘So what do you people think about Sobitha?’ the ever-irreverent-of-bikkhus Dayal Gunatilleka wondered.

‘But he’s a Buddhist monk!  This is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country, don’t forget!’ Suharshi Gunawardena of Rent-A-Petition-Now pointed out, adding ‘non Buddhists and non-Sinhalese won’t vote for him.’

‘Come on, that’s what they said of SF who claimed he defeated the LTTE; but the LTTE-backers all backed him, some of us included and got the Tamils to vote for him. It doesn’t work that way,’ Dr Mutukrishna said with the authority of a political science PhD.

‘Sarath N Silva?’ chipped in Ivan the Not-So-Terrible, reputed dabbler in king-making endeavors (and of course queen-making ones too!).

‘That’s rich coming from you, given how you’ve attacked the man for years and years,’ Dayal chuckled, silencing Ivan.

‘Ivan, don’t get upset.  Sarath has a different role.  He’s part of Plan A.  His role is to provide legal objections.  Let’s face it, there’s no one out there who can beat Mahinda.  If we get him off the ballot, then we have a chance,’ Dayal continued.

‘And what’ Plan B?’ Ivan asked.

‘Shiranee!’ Manilka stood up for the women.

‘Old news – she can’t do what even SF could not do,’ Mahendran found his voice.

There was silence.

‘Sajith,’ Dayal hissed. 

Mahendran and Shiran said ‘Yes!’ as though on cue while the shrewd Mutukrishna figured that it was Dayal who was taking the cue from the approving duo. 

‘No way.  Not with Ranil around,’ Manilka objected.

‘How about Karu?’ Surya threw another name into the pot. 

‘No!’  both Mahendran and Shiran were so loud in their objection that Karu’s name didn’t figure in the rest of the discussion.  No reasons given.  None asked for. 

‘So what do we do?’  Suharshi asked quietly.

‘We hope like hell that Plan A works because we really don’t have a Plan B,’ Dr Mutukrishna said.

The meeting was adjourned for tea.  Shiran, Mahendran and Dayal found a corner to discuss progress.

‘It has to be either Ranil or Sajith now, because either way MR will win and this means we can position Sajith to take over the UNP,’ Shiran said.

‘People don’t take the long view,’ Mahendran observed, adding ‘we want a President who WE control and Sajith is almost like a puppy dog now!’

‘The two of you were brilliant, objecting to Karu!’ Dayal smiled.

Break was over but the hard work was already done.

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Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera expresses remorse

Wimal Weerawansa, the ardent defender of the regime, staunch nationalist, anti-imperialist and in fact the jaathiye panchaayudaya (self-proclaimed) had come.  He had seen, he had chit-chatted, he had posed for photographs and he had left.  Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera blessed them all with the customary ‘suwapath wethva’ and went into his bedroom.  It had been an animated conversation.  They had talked of the Executive Presidency and other constitutional matters. They had discussed the state of the country.  They had exchanged pleasantries.  The venerable thero was exhausted.  He reclined in an easy chair and reflected.  He thought.

‘What was that all about?  Why on earth did I agree to meet Wimal?  What was I trying to achieve?  What was his objective?

‘I met him in my capacity as the Convener of the Movement for a Just Society, this is true, but to what end?  Wimal is Wimal.  A good orator.  An excellent communicator.   He knows all about brands, brand building and brand positioning.  I was in the photographs that made it to the newspapers.  So what?  I am not the one getting the political mileage.  I am not the one who is getting brand exposure.

‘I should have known better.  After all I know Wimal.  I know his history. I know of his hunger-strike.  I know the threats and withdrawal of threats.  After each feigned disagreement with the President, Wimal comes out strong defending the regime.  The last line of every episode has been the same.  He says that he will not allow the regime to be defeated.  Aanduwa wattanna denne nehe. 

‘Maybe I am getting old.  If I had any doubts, all the hue and cry about Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit should have laid them to rest.  One would have thought that Wimal would have suffered a coronary if Ramaphosa ever came.  Well, he has come now.  Wimal has not announced a hunger strike. He has not even done a Palitha Thevarapperuma, threatening to resign knowing well that Mahinda would bail him out at the last moment.  Someone said that Ramaphosa was but a tourist and that seems to have been enough for Wimal.

‘Wimal has words.  Had he been in the opposition he would have creamed whoever said that Ramaphosa was a tourist.  Actually I wish there was someone like Wimal in the opposition.  They just have voice-cut politicians.  Sloth is their middle name.  Now Wimal, had he been in the opposition, would have asked the Government if the TNA was a bunch of wild elephants roaming around in Wilpattu. He would have asked the Government if the TNA’s offices was some culturally and historically significant archaeological site.  He would have asked why Ramaphosa has not included Sigiriya, Dambulla and Kandy in his itinerary.  He didn’t do that. He remained silent.

‘So what was this visit all about?  Wimal doesn’t want regime-change. He does not want Mahinda ousted.  He is not interested in a just society because he doesn’t have the eyes to see all the injustice happening around him and even if he did his biting wit does not bend this way and that to twist a phrase and deliver scathing criticism. 

‘This was not a visit to pay respects. It was not to obtain blessings.  Maybe I should just treat it all with equanimity.  I was tricked, this is true.  But I cannot, as a bikkhu, turn away anyone, even Wimal.  And in any case, I have spent hours and hours with people as dodgy as Wimal or worse.  Yes, that’s it.  I will take that line.  It’s all I can salvage after being turned into a pawn in one of Wimal’s many publicity chess games.’

*All this in a parallel universe, of course. 

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