Mixed welcome to new MPs and glimpses of sense

Cassandra weeps. Also celebrates. Yes, she does. Claiming to be a foreteller of bad fortune, she has failed dismally with no cry of “I see destruction!” (Instead of “I see blood”). She, like most others, never thought the Green Elephant would be brought down on its knees or even flat out. We hope so earnestly that it won’t be for long. Too historic and justly proud an animal to be reduced to its present position. Saddest and most difficult to take is that it was struck down by its own mahouts, solely because of pride, impatience, unwillingness to compromise and also that basic curse of humans: selfishness coming to the fore. We simply cannot lose the Elephant and good young politicians like Navin Dissanayake and Ruwan Wijewardene, to mention but two.

Cass is also saddened (personal emotion about a long present figure) by the resigning of Ranil W as leader of the UNP after 26 years. He should have done this earlier (she feels sensibly). We hope he does not leave the Party for good. He had his shortcomings most definitely, but he was clear of corruption for personal enrichment. He stood tall for certain principles and reasons. He definitely held his own in personality and stature with outstanding foreign leaders. Maybe if he had left earlier, the UNP need not have split and the elephant would not have collapsed. We hope the best man of the several contenders will be elected party leader. Please a young one, not controversial Ravi K. Ludicrous how John Amaratunge presents himself as a likely leader!

Huge win

That said Cass moves to congratulate the Pohottu Party. What a triumphant win. Earnestly hoped is that this hardly expected clean sweep of polls will make the party rely on its better members. We see people who many wished would be defeated, win their seats. Leadership is strong; let it be hard and ruthless too, in the name of fair play and the Country above all else.

We need to congratulate Sajith Premadasa and his brave men and women too. Broken away from the Mother Party just a couple of moons ago, they have won many seats. We are almost certain they will constitute a formidable Opposition. Doubts linger but doubting has to be eradicated for the time being, at least.

Cass’s celebration is that in spite of Covid 19, claimed by the government to be under control and believed, a near perfect general election was held. To have an election with the thugs and ready-to-riot ne’er do wells held on a tight rein was near miraculous. Cass sees discipline slowly creeping in to the masses and for that we have to acknowledge discipline trickling down from the very top. The President and his men aided the efficient Commissioner of Elections to hold a tight, islandwide, general election.

Smudges of blight appear on the horizon. One is the emphasis on the supremacy of Sinhala Buddhists. This term is much bruited about; the very success of the SLPP is adduced to it. We, the thinking persons who are Sri Lankans and national minded and not racial, fear this contentious trend.

Shameful how three Buddhist monks (or so-called) were in a tussle for the single national list seat offered by their party. One even disappeared – willfully or forced to? We saw disgraceful comments by two of them on TV news. Cass still maintains that those ordained to serve their religion should not be in active politics, least of all those donning the Buddha’s saffron robe.

In this country-scene there are the small but bright lights too. One such was the address of Ali Subry to his men two days after results were announced. He said the minorities should unite with the majority race which was the only way for the success and future well being of the nation. What he implied was to recognise there was a majority race in the country by the less numbered races and to admit and accept that reality, for that is the path for them to ensure their justified rights and recognition.

Tragedies

Everyone worldwide looked on with horror at the massive explosion of very carelessly stored and apparently forgotten tonnage of ammonium nitrate blowing Beirut to bits. Reading articles in international print media, it is obvious the explosion need never have taken place. The potentially explosive was stored for six years and even a fireworks factory allowed to site itself too close. Welding nearby caused the explosion, all blamed on a corrupt, easy going set of leaders. Lebanon has suffered immense turmoil since long ago and civil strife of 15 years. Due to political mismanagement of immense magnitude, 200 innocent lives were lost, thousands injured and the historic city reduced to rubble. We in Sri Lanka too have suffered much due to carelessness and irresponsibility of those in power, as recent as a year ago. The Beirut people are rioting; no government can get away with taking things easy, is the lesson to be learnt.

The US has been brought down really much from its position as rich leading nation of the world. It was Number One but now brought far below its principal rival China, almost singlehandedly. No need to even mention the culprit. He has the gumption to seek a second term and the fear over there seems to be a postponement of elections; rigging of polls; or if Biden wins, declaring the November election null and void.

Roger Cohen – excellent columnist of the NY Times, had this to say in his article titled: Beirut on the Potomac: the American Spirit gets a Lebanese makeover: “As other developed countries contained the pandemic, the United States became the pariah nation of dysfunctional government, laughable leadership, tribal confrontation and anti-scientific claptrap. Its own sectarian fiefs, evident in the war of masked believers and unmasked virus deniers, made a coherent response to Covid-19, impossible. The United States, Trump’s ‘greatest, most exceptional, and most virtuous nation in the history of the world,’ detonated into a free-for-all.”

Cass repeats again that no government on Earth can get away with mass cheating; not seeing to actual needs of a country or forever enriching themselves at the expense of the population. I have read verdicts pronounced in print of the masses being asses. True to a point as for instance electing a candidate convicted of murder by a high court of law, being voted a Member of Parliament. Not forever will the masses be assses. When they rise with stones and sticks, they are more brutal, keeping with their asinine temperaments.