Putting popular support to good
use
The sea of humanity
which swept Colombo and other major urban centres and towns on
Monday in a historic gesture of support for Sri Lanka in the
face of the confrontational course being taken against it by the
West at the current UNHRC sessions in the form of the so-called
accountability resolution, should be a cause for deep reflection
by both the rulers and the ruled. Here is proof of the
popularity of the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration and of the
loyalty it is continuing to command, North, South, East and
West.
It was not only in the entirety of the South that such
solidarity was evident but even in the former war-ravaged
districts of the Northern Province, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and
Jaffna included. The message that is thus sent out is that the
whole of Sri Lanka almost believes that Sri Lanka is being
wronged for no fault of its and that the government has been
doing right in this context.
The bald truth is that the state did right by putting an end
to terrorism and making Sri Lanka habitable once again for the
majority of our citizens.
Achieving this was a legitimate function of the government
because it has no choice but to govern and making the country
safe for living is an integral part of governance. This
self-evident truth the majority of the public clearly perceives.
This is one of the reasons why the people readily evinced their
support for the state on Monday.
The public also sees the concomitant truth. That is the
unconscionable unreasonableness of attempting to haul this
country before the UNHRC on allegations which are nebulous and
do not stand-up to rational scrutiny. Therefore, the massive
support for the state is also expressive of the mass-scale moral
revulsion the resolution move evokes in the populace.
Meanwhile, in Geneva, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe could not
have been more cogent and comprehensive in exposing the
unreasonableness in trying to bring allegations born of the
highly controversial Darusman report and other dubious means, in
the form of a resolution against the Sri Lankan state.
Those who are labouring under the misguided notion that Sri
Lanka is doing nothing or going slow in bringing normalcy to
this country should only peruse Minister Samarasinghe's address
to the UNHRC to be convinced otherwise. Much has been achieved
by the state since May 2009 in the form of national rejuvenation
and the minister gave the world a detailed break-down of the
state's achievements. As the state explains, Sri Lanka must be
given more time to show what it is capable of by way of national
reconstruction and development. Clearly, it must be given a
chance to grow and prosper.
A point that should be sufficiently highlighted by the state
and all those who are concerned about the good name of Sri Lanka
is that the West has over the decades supported wholeheartedly,
on strategic and other selfish considerations, some states of
the Third World whose governance records just would not bear
scrutiny. In contrast, Sri Lanka has been a thriving democracy
and a staunch adherent of International Law. What accounts for
such unjust attitudes and double standards? It is simply that
some sections of the West are all out to halt Sri Lanka's
progress on the basis of a neo-colonial agenda which centres on
the subjugation of states which do not do the bidding of former
colonial and expansionist powers.
Now that the majority of the public are behind the state, the
latter should lose no time in proving its detractors absolutely
wrong by further implementing the recommendations of the LLRC
report.
There should not be any doubt that Sri Lanka is cruising
smoothly along the sea lane of domestic normalcy.
Besides, the moral capital in the hands of the state in the
form of the firm backing for it by all our communities must be
put to good use. If the totality of our communities is backing
the state, it is because the latter has been shunning ethnic and
religious chauvinism. This good record must be maintained and
the support thus garnered must be used to further strengthen the
foundations of equity and equality within the state. |