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Strengthen hand of government
Our front page lead
story yesterday, quoting Mass Media and Information Minister
Keheliya Rambukwella should help to put the record straight on
some of the issues facing the state and the people. The minister
was forthright on the question of the readiness of the state to
meet any challenge to the law and order situation. Any efforts
to sabotage the progress of the country by disruptive elements
will be put down by the state, the minister said most
emphatically.
While there are pockets of unrest in the country on perceived
grievances and this should be expected to a degree in a vibrant
democracy, what an impartial observer should find intriguing is
the simultaneous cropping-up of these trouble spots.
It is too much of a coincidence that these issues should come
to the surface all at once, particularly at a time when most
people cannot grumble about their lot, materially speaking.
Accordingly, as observed by the Media Minister, there is a
'hidden hand' behind this disgruntlement and this 'hand' seems
to be twitching to commit sabotage on a wide scale and thereby
impede the progress of the country.
But there exists a system of government in this country which
is, of course, democratic in nature and the option before those
political forces which are seeking to come to power is to try
their fortunes at the polls, which are held in time and on the
basis of the conditions stipulated in the country's
constitution. Attempts to come to power by undemocratic means,
such as through the use of violence, are blatantly illegal and
would be dealt with by the government in terms of the law. In
fact, the majority of the public expects the government to use
the legitimate means at its command to deal with disruptive acts
which undermine the peace and stability of this country.
Sri Lanka has seen very dark times in the past when political
forces operating outside the democratic structure sought to come
to power by the force of arms. The consequences for the country
from the exercise of these undemocratic options were most
tragic. The citizenry of this country would not like to see this
country in political turmoil once again. They would expect the
government to do its duty by the people and the country by using
all the legitimate means at its disposal to maintain peace and
stability within Sri Lanka.
That said, the citizenry too must carry out its obligations
towards the state by supporting the state's hand in its drive to
maintain law and order. It would be most unfortunate if sections
within our polity fall for the baseless propaganda of the
enemies of the state and collaborate with them or turn a blind
eye on their disruptive acts.
As the Media Minister explained, some of these destructive
critics of the state are luxuriating in dollars and are based
abroad. There are some NGOs which are intent on fuelling unrest
in this country under the pretext of working towards democratic
development, whereas this country is a functional democracy and
is not in need of any pontificating on democratic rule and its
virtues. These critics and their NGO buddies who are hand -in
-glove with some of the biggest powers of the West would do well
to read a recent report brought out by Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Russian Federation titled, 'Report on the
Situation with Human Rights in Certain States', which lays bare
the human rights abuses committed by some of those Western
states which are self-righteously breathing fire about the human
rights situation in the developing world.
The Free Media Movement is one of those organizations which
have been in the forefront of lambasting the Lankan state on
numerous issues but it too has been steeped in controversy and
has a lot of soul-searching to do. We wonder where its 'Founding
Fathers' are today? Are they in this country or in some safe
Western Comfort Zone?
This is a moment for sensible reflection on the part of all.
Fuelling unrest in this country would prove highly
counter-productive from the point of view of particularly the
majority of the people who are quite content with their lot.
There needs to be a coming together of all progressive forces
for the purposes of taking Sri Lanka continuously on the path of
progress. |
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Inventions and discoveries have emanated from
creative minds that have been constantly working and imagining the
outcome in the mind. With imagining and constant effort, all the
forces of the universe work for that inspired mind, thereby leading
to inventions and discoveries. The question is: are you willing to
become a unique personality?
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The opportunity to listen to one of the region’s
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lead to a political solution is a pernicious one, and
counter-productive. Sadly, I have even heard this suggestion
advanced by an Indian General who, with active experience of Sri
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Just last week during a casual search on Google
for some material, I stumbled on an interesting image. It was a
photograph of a road signage, which read ‘Village of Frugality’. The
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