Features
A show of Sand Dune Success!
It’s time to cheer. We have a Sand Dune – not in a desert – but on the beach of the Port City. A great Veli Keliya Vella.
Isn’t it truly great to see Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa – with Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunge lodged behind him – riding an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) in the only artificial beach in Sri Lanka?
This is certainly keeping in line with the plans to have Formula One – F1- racing in Hambantota. Let’s prepare for the day when Lewis Hamilton – UK, Sebastian Vettel – Germany, Sergio Pérez – México, and many other F1 racers show their skills here, with their very special and expensive racing cars.
Minister Namal Rajapaksa, who led more than one hundred Buddhist monks to India recently to attend the opening of the Kushinagar International Airport in India, is now the opener of Sand Dune Riding in the Port City – the Cheena Varaaya Nagaraya. Let’s await more Sand Dune riding locations in the country, with a grand rise in tourism.
This is the new Rajapaksa Style in national development – with Namal making his mark, to beat the Gotabaya image that is making a speedy flow to the bottom.
The Sand Dune display by Namal Kumaraya was very well timed, to grab the headlines away from the ‘One Country, One Law’ obsession of Gotabaya Governance. It certainly took people’s minds away from the appointment of Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thera to head the new Task force on One Country, One Law. It is certainly wonderful to see such a supporter of a Sinhala and Budu Bala Senava, studying the legal issues on One County, One Law, with four members of the minority Muslim Community – with the total absence of a Tamil from Sri Lanka, and any woman from this country, too.
It is certainly time for the people to know that there is no need or place for a woman or Tamil in any serious discussion on changing the laws and constitutional structure of Sri Lanka.
No one should remember President Gotabaya telling the world, when speaking at the UN General Assembly, of having discussions with the Tamil Diaspora. We should be glad that he has not appointed any Tamil Diaspora member to the ‘One Country, One Law’ Task Force. How could one even think of One Country – with any Tamil on the Task Force?
This is the situation with regard to the place of women in this country, too. Gotabaya Rajapaksa would have thought he must do even better than the voters of Sri Lanka, who elected only nine women members to this Parliament, and just three more were nominated – to a House of 225 members.
The population of Sri Lanka may have more than 50 percent women, but our Parliament should have nothing near such a percentage.
President Gotabaya has done even better. What thinking or any contribution could any woman make to the laws to be drafted on ‘One Country, One Law’? Just remember that when the woman State Minister of Health was moved to Transport, the woman state minister below her, was not elevated to Health Minister; but the very male Keheliya Rambaukwelle, was brought, to pray to the gods on fighting the Covid pandemic.
Just try to think how many queens we had in our Sinhala history, compared to so many kings.
One Country, One Law is certainly an issue that can raise the mood of the people against the government, when there are daily protests about the lack of fertiliser, teachers and principles are working while on silent strike, foreign currency is tumbling down despite what the Cabinet-ranked Governor of the Central Bank repeatedly says, and CEB trade unions are reportedly planning action about the power given to the New Fortress Energy of the US, especially on the control of LNG.
This new Task Force on One Country, One Law, headed by none other than Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, with his own special preaching of Buddhism, is the stuff of meeting the mood of the people; and minority Muslims, who were big supporters of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, is the stuff of Sinhala Politics today. All the powers that Gotabaya Rajapaksa enjoys and uses today, thanks to 20A, is certainly the best way to bring Political Buddhism, against Saddharma Buddhism, to the people of Sri Lanka.
This is the way to make Political Sinhala Buddhism, and not Saddharma Buddhism, the operative factor in the Rajapaksa Rajavasala Governance. Sand Dunes and Formula One racing is certainly the highlight of the emerging Sri Lanka. It’s time to forget the history and culture of Temples and Tanks, and take Sigiriya off your minds, too.
Sand Dunes will bring the much needed Political Veli Keli, for continued Rajapaksa dominance. Cheers to Namal for his show of Sand Dune success!