-KINDLY READ TO END & YOU BE THE JUDGE
Courtesy Maurice Anghie- CPA, Ex Partner Grant Thornton, Director
Mining Co.- Perth
(RC Rugby Capt 1959-Son Of BC Anghie-RC Warden & Master In Charge- RC
Rugby & Brother
of Dr Trevor Anghie & Tony Anghie)
My dear Sri Lankans,
I write with despair as I trouble for what my country is currently
going through. I have traveled well enough to know that our land is
blessed by God and is a land better than any other. The riches
embedded in our history, culture and spirit are richer than the
commercial wealth of most countries and this is why I hurt when I see
that our identity, freedom and spirit of a nation is threatened and
held ransom by our politicians.
I write not with animosity against the President, the Government, the
Opposition, ethnicity or creed but I write against the corrupt political
culture of our country created by successive governments and
facilitated by coalition parties and the opposition members for the
sake of perks and positions. If I sound critical or personal, it is
only because of my anxiety for the issues that are plaguing our
nation and for the importance of highlighting the people responsible
for the seriousness of the issues. I do apologize in advance for any
criticism that might take precedence over what modesty may demand
when addressing the head of state and members of parliament. Contrary
to what you are made to believe by the government this country is
heading towards a colossal economic, political, moral and social
collapse and the following calls for your serious attention if you
care for Sri Lanka .
Here are a few points to ponder as to why you should act.
• On the 18th of May 2009 when the war drew to a close I was eager to
usher in a new beginning with the President declaring that all people will
be equal. I was hoping the government would make it a level playing field
for every Sri Lankan irrespective of race, creed or cast to compete, thrive
and progress for self and country. We fought a war to protect our
sovereignty and independence but 3 years on, the country is as polarized or
even worse than before. We won a war but we have lost our hope, we won a war
but we have lost our dignity and the right as a people, we won a war but
have lost our identity as Sri Lankans. There is more hatred, anger and
insecurity than ever before and the environment is being primed for another
militant uprising. So I ask, have we won at all?
• I was told for 30 long years that we were fighting a war to protect
our freedom, identity and sovereignty as a nation and I salute soldier
Prasanna from Galle and soldier Ranjan from Hingurakgoda who along with
thousands of others laid down their lives for us. But today we are staring
down the barrels of the same guns that silenced the Tigers, for expressing
our opinion that the Government doesn't want to hear. When the President
said that every Sri Lankan is equal, I am certain that he meant the
journalists, too. Where is the freedom, the identity and the sovereignty
that Prasanna and Ranjan gave us? Have we won at all?
• The dawn of yet another day in Sri Lanka , which is supposed to
commence with hope, starts with abductions, horrific murders and rapes. Far
too excessive for a small country like ours to handle. The long arm of the
law covers-up a story linked to the government and is slow to exercise the
law to protect the democratic rights of people. When a government spokesman
himself knows that deep within, he is falsifying facts to fabricate a story
to mislead people, and the police are forced to issue a statement contrary
to true events, I ask, have we won at all?
• Do we measure freedom by the lack of checkpoints and by the growing
number of restaurants, flashy cars and stylish boutiques mostly patronized
by people with ill-gotten wealth from a manipulated stock market and we call
this progress and development? When 2 kilometers from the heart of Colombo a
mother is struggling to feed her children and her husband has drugged
himself into a drain with the produce from a politician, I ask, have we won
at all?
• Can a mother or a daughter walk on the streets of Sri Lanka without
being hurled with verbal and physical abuse. They go to the Police station
to make a complaint and the policeman rapes the mother. Then a politician
attacks and kills a foreigner because he wants to rape his fiance. The
politician is released on bail and is roaming freely because he is related
to the President. Is the ambition “Wonder of Asia” to be rated as the
highest for sexual abuses in South Asia ? When the government and the very
authority that is there to protect the public, turns against you, I ask,
have we won at all?
• The media is controlled and manipulated to share everything but the
truth and if you dare speak the truth you will be dealt with in a manner
that there is no trace of you or the person who attacked you. Do you
honestly believe that a government that silenced the world’s deadliest
terrorist group is unable to apprehend the killers of a journalist or
abductors of another? They don't pursue such criminality, as they only know
too well that if they do they will only end up apprehending themselves. With
injustice like this, have we won at all?
• I open the newspapers and switch-on the TV only to hear what the
government has sanctioned to be told to the public; praise for the rulers,
their families and their representatives in parliament. When Prasanna and
Ranjan died for us they also died for the journalists so that they can
express themselves through a free media in a freer Sri Lanka . However, today
the journalists and the public are asked to live in silent obedience when
all they ask is for their freedom. Have we won at all?
• Being in leadership is to guide people to be better citizens but
when politicians, whether in government or the opposition, are seen in
public and in the media exposing poor moral standards it only contributes to
the making of an unhealthy society that has manifested itself in the form of
rapists, murderers, cheaters and robbers. As a result our children are
exposed to this vulgarism that is as corrupt as pornography polluting the
environment that they grow up in. They fight on the streets with a vengeance
having understood that this is the way you survive in the “new” Sri Lanka .
Their parents decide to take the administration into their own hands by
rejecting the appointment of a school principal by hurling stones and abuse.
Is this what we have come down to? I ask, have we won at all?
• A frail constitution initiated by an insecure former President has
embedded a sense of insecurity in all of us that make us fight each other
for our survival. Legal parlance aside, a nation’s constitution is to give
us the people the power to decide and the confidence to progress and thrive.
The Executive Presidency that every President after Jayawardene promised to
eliminate has only intoxicated this President and the others with more
power, making them unaccountable for their wrong-doings. Know this people!
Little do we realize that the policies and consistent undemocratic action by
this government and the past governments, are equal to the threat of the
sovereignty of our country that was once laid siege by the Tigers. So I ask,
have we won at all?
• The cancer of these respective governments is spreading through
their families and cronies into the state services, hospitals, sport
(particularly in cricket & rugby), the media, schools, the stock market etc.
and it is all evolving into a dictatorship under the guise of democracy.
Therefore, have we won at all?
• Have you stopped to wonder how a so-called noble man who claims that
he is from a village has amassed so much wealth? Following a resolution
presented in Parliament by the Minster of Parliamentary Affairs in November
2006 under Article 36 (4) of the Constitution the monthly salary of the
President was increased from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 61,250 effective from January
01, 2006 and again to Rs. 97,500 effective from January 01, 2007. Double
this amount or triple it or multiply in by ten or a thousand and you will
still be short of the billions of rupees they have amassed as a family.
Money rightly for the people has now become theirs. I ask, have we won at
all?
• “If you are not for us then you are against us” seems to be the
motto of this government that claims to run a democracy. The threat is
serious and far-reaching and is not limited to institutions, business
establishments, the public or the media. It has now infiltrated the
judiciary and reached the Chief Justice. We are fast becoming a nation of
puppets and stooges of an ugly regime where even the law of the land cannot
be enforced if it does not suit the hidden agenda of the ruling family. If
only my fellow Sri Lankans pause to understand the serious implications and
insult that has been cast upon our dignity and our sovereignty you will then
ask yourselves, have we won at all?
• A number of those living in Colombo and other commercial cities are
comfortable and self-sufficient enough not to feel the pain and folly of
this government at least for today as poverty is still a distant future away
for these privileged few. But for us the common man, the farmer, the
laborer and the likes of those whose votes count immensely to make a
President and to elect a government in this country, will suffer the most.
The one who works and toils hard will continue to be taxed and robbed by the
government through bribes. The government’s intention is to keep us poor and
dependent on them so that they can manipulate us in any which way they want.
They rob our money daily to fuel their ugly lifestyles. This has been the
strategy of the PA & the UNP. It will be the strategy of the JVP, Sarath
Fonseka, Weerawansa, Rauf Hakeem, Sampanthan and all other current leaders,
too if they are in power. It’s all about the ugly greed for power and money
and not about empowering the masses and growing them to be a strong
middle-class society, which in turn will drive our economy forward and
making our nation competitive and self-reliant.
• Yes! It is true that Western nations and the UN are after us because
we faltered in many areas that the public does not see other than for what
the government wants you to falsely believe. This government is in serious
trouble whether we like it or not. However they have cleverly made this
international setback an advantage to dramatize the rhetoric against Western
nations. Every time the government looks weak in the eyes of the people they
fan anti-western and anti UN propaganda just to mobilize support to keep
them in power by working you up against western nations. Please don't fall
for this well-orchestrated diversionary tactic. It’s only a few of us who
know how humble, meek and obedient they are to the Western Powers in Geneva ,
EU and the US . If tomorrow these western nations whom we so despise close
the tap and stop trading with us or lending us money we will crumble to the
foundation. I don't doubt that the UN and the Western nations have their own
hidden agenda but it is the initiative of this government and the past
regimes that have made Sri Lanka slaves and dependents to these bodies. So I
ask have we won at all?
• The former Army commander who effectively led a war against the
terrorists shamelessly claims that he is the sole success of the war and
therefore should be considered to lead the country. Whilst we have to credit
him with the leadership he gave the military it does not necessarily qualify
him to lead this country. It was he who implied that the minorities should
be thankful to be living in this country (like as if they were some
visitors) and therefore must learn to live with the majority” A man who is a
racist from the core has no stature of a true general and definitely does
not have the quality to be the President of our multi-ethnic country. With
this kind of narrow thinking leaders that a war produced, I ask, have we won
at all?
• The price of victory from war is only a seed to grow into another.
One rejoices and the other grows with the pain of deep hurt and immense
loss, not of possessions but their pride and dignity. The Sinhalese, Tamils,
Muslims, Malays, Burghers, Moors, Sindhis, Borahs, Chinese and all other
communities, however big or small, are all part of this vibrant society
called Sri Lanka . It is the intercultural and interethnic weave that makes
the fabric of our society so rich and strong. Let us prevent this seed of
ethnic disharmony from being planted again by these politicians. They were
the cause of this divisive post-independence rule that manifested into a
war. If we care for the future of our children then let’s protect them from
harvesting yet another war of hatred, by opposing these politicians. It is
then that we can truly say we have won a war.
I am impressed but equally appalled by the tolerance and patience of our
people. How long should we wait to realize that we have a voice so that it
may be heard, dignity that needs to be safeguarded and sovereignty to enjoy?
It is time for us to find a new leader beyond the Rajapakses,
Wickremasignhes, Jayasuriyas, Premadasas, Fonsekas. Sampanthans, Hakeems,
Weerawansas, Pillayans and Karunas. The many more pseudo leaders in
Parliament and just outside Parliament agitating to get-in are simply there
to grab more power and money. None of them have the intellect or metal to
lead this country in the 21st century. Let’s end this misery and show
dissent by rejecting this leadership in whatever peaceful but determined
way. But let your voice be heard this time. It’s time!
Rise , Sri Lanka ! Rise!
Yours sincerely,
A Fellow Sri Lankan who has nothing to gain but his own country
Please share this on email, blogs, social media and all other print and
digital media. Please translate it in to Sinhala and Tamil and please
make sure it gets
circulated to as many as possible if you care for our country, Sri Lanka .
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