Saturday, November 30, 2019

Two weeks and time to take stock! A train wreck waiting to happen Part 5 of 5


What next?

The way this diplomatic game is played, (yes it is an international game of diplomacy) will determine the repercussions for Sri Lanka as that is all I care about. We have an able foreign secretary in the person of Ravinatha Ariyasingha, who if given all the facts can negotiate a face saving exit for the GOSL in this incident as long as certain assurances are given vis a vis ability of international missions to operate under Internationally accepted conventions.

I wish the Government understands in diplomacy, the military has no part and don’t have an agenda that is congruent, and so should strictly be given instructions on what their brief is in terms of national security to protect its citizens that is the paramount duty of the security forces.

A windfall gift to the opposition

With the opposition in disarray, they have no clue how to take advantage of the gift horse in the mouth. They are busy fighting internal battles. Unfortunately, the only leader who can see the opening gambit to make a move is Ranil Wickremesinghe, but he is not being given the chance of making the move.

There is a window of opportunity to take advantage of, as the 225 members in Parliament are just waking up to the fact that the Government is not in control. He can have a no confidence motion that he can win, now that those given ministries have upset many who consider themselves more worthy of the crooks in power.

He has nothing to lose. If MR loses, he is out, as the PM and RW is back in, much to the chagrin of MR, but GR may prefer this outcome till the elections, as he will not have to deal with low life, until they are forever removed, by not giving them nominations under the SLPP ticket.

Using this window, the gap that the UNP needs if there is a combined opposition, can be closed, and a tighter race than previously thought would result as there is time till March to gather the forces. I don’t think SP has what it takes to do the needful, and it will have to be RW as there are no obvious choices left to carry this through.

Let me tell you finally, that personally, I don’t want anyone in the current parliament back, and I would like a law to prevent any MP of the past from returning, so that we can have new faces in Diyawanna in keeping with the non Parliamentary face who is the President at least for the next 5 years and in this instance he will be able to carry out his plan for the country, with fewer obstacles.

Conclusion

We don’t live with 20/20 hindsight, or else we may do things differently. However in matters of governance, if one honestly takes the best interests of the Country as a whole there are few steps that can be wrong, and broadly the direction will be for the benefit of the people they serve.

Sri Lanka is a country desperately in need of some kind of hope for the future, where the masses know that their tomorrow is definitely going to be better than their today. That is all we ask, not something unreasonable.

Clean air, clean food and clean water, along with environmental policies that achieve these goals is all that is required. Let us then all do our best to achieve them, and put our differences behind us.

With fake news taking over all forms of media, we cannot believe anything that we see, and we have to make up our minds from our own experiences, and we should then translate those experiences to improve the quality of life of the people without resorting to unrealistic goals and expectations.

A country of incomparable beauty being subjected to man-made shocks is self defeating. We engage in illegal activity only because we may have broken the law and are afraid to admit it. Humility is the first characteristic that will not fail you and while the President has shown he is humble, let him walk the talk now, rather than engage in activity that destroys that image.

Leadership and statesmanship are not easy, it requires many skills in balancing the needs of different individuals, but what ever we do, if we do for the interests of ALL the citizens in our country, no matter whether they are our friends or foes, that is the way to nirvana for us, and a better life for our countrymen. Why is it so hard for those in powerful positions to understand that?

The achievement of a powerful position by fair means or foul, creates a person who can turn altruistic or become a monster. We can only pray that this Country Sri Lanka will have a leader who is able to inspire, not despair, and move forwards in thinking and not backwards, as there are examples of history to learn from, without trying to re-invent the wheel.,

Yes we can throw aside our differences, be humble, not work to an agenda that is not ours and not in the best interests of the Country. This blog has for 11 years been dedicated to one topic. How can we improve the quality of life of all the people who live in the Paradise Island called Sri Lanka. Yes we can. Please help us do it, and put aside your prejudices, PLEASE!

This way there is no need for a train wreck predicated out of personal bias, fear, and agenda instead of in the public interest

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