Alliances... the bane of her existance! (Part I)

"What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles." (George Wilhelm Hegel)

It seems there's another alliance -- bigger & broader than ever before, in the making in Sri Lanka, at least according to Avamangala. A large number of parties are supposed to be behind the cause of Presidential aspirant MR -- supporting his efforts of protecting the nation against the "Agent of Foreign Powers" (scary!) in the guise to RW. Oh, and... by the way, the CFA is the biggest betray of the nation.

Get the hell outta here!

From what I have been gathering, all the minor political parties are putting forward "demands" to each of the presidential candidates in order to ensure their support. I am sure all these demands are fully justified, and well-intended.

First thing to consider by the electorate though is whether good leaders easily bow down to such demands. I would assume that a leader is a person with a vision backed by the passion and dedication to see this vision through. A leader is not a person who prostitutes him or herself around in order to muster support. Of course, a leader has to listen to others and have a conciliatory approach on an array of wide ranging issues. However, that does not mean bowing down to each and every fancy of other people.

Secondly, I think it is high time Sri Lankans too a hard look back at coalitions as a whole. There have been many coalitions that promised the sun, the moon, and bread at Rs.3.50. They have come, they have ruled, they have... well, they have just been there... stagnating the country and forever debating their policies. Alliances in contemporary Sri Lankan politic are alliances of necessity, rather than alliances of policy or consensus.

Alliances come together to either break, make, break & make, or make & break governments. The policies with an alliance are divergent and often mutually exclusive. Consider the most recent alliance in SL for an example of how pathetic the situation is. The so called Blue-Red alliance came about with a very appealing, nationalist claim that the RW government was betraying the country vis-à-vis the CFA. While there were other issues, everything revolved around this "fact" which superseded everything else. Yet, what was the policy of the alliance that was put together to save the country, regarding this all important issue? If that was one policy that was needed to govern SL, it had to be a policy regarding the LTTE. I'm not dwelling on what type of policy to have, but emphasizing the need to have a policy - good, bad or ugly.

The policy statement was a mere agreement to disagree on a policy framework. The two parties had divergent views, which were caste aside in an opportunistic power-grab by hoodwinking the people of the land.

"Shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice."

(Part II will be posted as soon as possible...)

Quotable Quotes

"Feudalism is now on the wane. People's power is now being strengthened." (Ranil Wickramasinghe, on the judgement of the SC)

Hurrah for Democracy!

"Justice is itself the great standing policy of civil society; and any eminent departure from it, under any circumstances, lies under the suspicion of being no policy at all" (Edmund Burke - British Statesman and Philosopher)

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka moments ago delivered a unanimous verdict that the Presidential Elections should be held this year, as opposed to next year (2006) -- as argued by incumbent President, and her loyalists.

While pleased, I must admit that I am rather surprised by this verdict. While I have my due respects for the Judicial System of Sri Lanka, my confidence in the Supreme Court has slowly but surely begin to diminish given the theatrics that were being performed vis-a-vis the CBK/SNS & company.

Given this whole confusion arose after a purported "secret oath taking" by CBK, as administered by SNS himself, it was my presumption that the judgment was a foregone conclusion (which is probably why the United National Party did not even bother with this case to begin with).

All that, however, is now water under the bridge, and the nation is heading for Presidential poll in December. The developments in the coming weeks would be interesting to say the least, not knowing what tricks CBK has under her sleeve. Will parliament be dissolved, and she resign the Presidency as speculated? Will there be announcements about the two major parties getting together to form a national government (and, in the process sideline MR?). Will there be JHU/JVP coalition?

I would rather advocate for concurrent elections on both fronts at this time, since it is obvious that neither party could govern with a secure majority, even with a victory in a presidential election. A general election is thus only a matter of time, and it's better now -- together, than letter. Saves a lot of money, effort & time. I'm sure Sri Lanka has other things to get to other than holding elections every year!

With elections come the hotly argued topics. The CFA and Peace Talks will obviously take center-stage in this election, followed by pipe dreams on halting inflation, and actually decreasing the cost of living, employment for graduates, etc. etc, with maybe some mentioning of the general direction the economy would be guided through. Yes, that's Sri Lankan politics.

Questions to be asked at this time would be;
1) What should be done to the CFA / LTTE issue?
2) What does the average Sri Lankan expect from the government?
3) What would be the national program for development? Is it realistic?
4) Given the experiences of the past few years, should the electoral system be changed?
5) Should the constitution be changed?
6) Do Sri Lankans deserve what they have received? will receive?

Well, that's my initial take on matters as we brace for what I believe a make-or-break election. I have my own take on each of the above, which I hope to blog on, over the coming weeks.

For the time being... Jaya Veva!!

Blogger's Block

'Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.' (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

Well, I seem to be having Blogger's Block. I've been trying to come up with a couple of posts, but nothing really seems to work out properly. There are some things that I want to blog about, but cannot publish until I get my supporting material together. And besides, I don't want this blog to be a narrative of events... So I guess I'll keep low until something significant comes up...

Wonder what the anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Sri Lanka would be... hmmm... might be something good to blog about....

One Giant Step for Chathura

"He is able who thinks he is able" (Buddha)

Years of anticipation & preparation is finally coming to an end. Come 9.40am, on the twenty second day of August, two thousand and five, I will be walking into the first class of my B-School experience, to sit myself through ninety minutes of Introduction to Accounting. This shall be the first such class of many such classes over the next two years.

The work experience in Sri Lanka is over. The parents-given car is no longer at my disposal. There's no free lodging anymore, or cooked food on the table for that matter (free or otherwise). I have been married for forty seven days now, out of which, thirty I spent with my bride in complete ignorance of the outside world. The remaining seventeen days we have spent at two different ends of the world -- with her finishing off what she started, an me starting off a different chapter in my life.

I guess this would be my last major test before I face the real music in the real world. As Dean Bradford put it during orientation, "once you leave b-school, you'll be playing with real swords. So now is the chance for you to challenge yourself and be creative, without any drastic consequences." I guess he's right... there's no going back.

I remember the frst time when I left home to start my undergraduate studies in the US. One consolation at the time was that after it was all said and done, I'd get to go home. Home? But where is my home now? That's a question I have been asking myself lately. I am on my own now, with loans to pay and miles to go before I sleep. Time sure has a way of changing things in a hurry.

What will b-school be like? Will it be everything it promises to be? Will it pay off? Will the economy improve by the time we graduate (2007)? Well, those are all questions I would like to have answers for. For the time being however, it would be putting my head down and working my butt off for the next two years.

Opting to go to B-school is a big step in anyone's life. Apart from the time commitment, it is a very heavy investment in terms of dollars… burrowed dollars. So it is with these meandering thoughts that I start business school, and I hope it will be a challenging, yet fulfilling experience – one that would help me discover myself and reach higher.

Wrapping up my first real blog on Reminiscence, I would like to dedicate this giant step I have taken to my parents -- whose guidance and support has made me who I am, where I am.

Let the classes begin!

Preamble

Well, well, a long awaited and often procrastinated effort finally sees the light of day today.

I have wanted to create a blog a long time ago -- pretty much when the wave of blogging started shaping the online world that we often tread nowadays. Suffice to say however, it never really got off the ground during my three year stint in Sri Lanka -- given that I was mostly "offline" while in Paradise.

The purpose of this blog at this time is not 100% known to me. It is started as a hobby -- to reminisce as time goes by... It is started to continue a writing habit that I developed during my undergraduate years at Penn State -- yet a habit that somehow got buried among the thousands of other things life throws at you.

This blog has no written purpose other than sounding my mind. It is not sorted in any sort of order -- chronological, importance, or whatever - it is as random as my mind.

With that, I would like to welcome you to my blog -- Reminiscence. Thank you for dropping by and please do leave your comments and suggestions as you walk on by.

Cheers,
Chathura