Financial Times

It's more than word play

By Random Access Memory (RAM)
The Tamil people's 'homeland' in the north is a stark reality. The Muslim population in the north and the east is a similar reality. The concentration of Tamil population of Indian origin in the estate areas is reality. The majority Sinhalese Buddhists in the south, the west, the centre and elsewhere is a reality. The Christians of various denominations consisting of Sinhalese, Tamils and Burghers is a reality.

The hundreds of thousands of supporters of the JVP who want a piece of the action in governance is a reality. The Buddhist clergy of the JHU in Parliament is a reality. The many rich who have no idea of the hardships of the poor is a reality.

The hapless middle class is a reality. The indiscipline on the roads, at the universities, schools, work places, the political gundas, the underworld and corrupt politicians are a reality. The high cost of living, bad roads, bad transport, inefficiency in governance of most of the public, private and NGO sectors are a reality. That most of our 'leaders' are no more than mere politicians driving petty little self-centred agendas are a reality. The well-meaning citizens who are fed up of it all, is a reality.

The fact that Sri Lankans are nothing but a disunited and non-cohesive nation claiming to be a unitary state is one big reality.

Amidst all these realities written in bold on the canvass of the Sri Lankan body polity, the J-Biz or the joint forum of the Chambers of Commerce, in its haste to make a pre-emptive strike on governance issues with the regime, last week issued a communiqué. It stated on top of its shopping list that they would like to see the government maintain a unitary Sri Lanka.

This seems a complete deviation of the position taken by the majority in the business community in the past. Chamber leaders in the main were supportive of a federalist solution of devolving power to solve Sri Lanka's ethnic issue.

RAM would like to place the benefit of the doubt in their favour on this and presume that it was only a misuse of the language, made by those drafters of the communiqué.

Some on the long list of the key realities we face are those that we had not much control over, such as race, religion or where we made our home land. But most others are of our own making and in most instances we can be held individually and / or collectively accountable for their occurring. As a nation and a unitary state since independence, the agenda we have driven has in the main been divisive.

Today, the divisiveness is seen everywhere. We as a nation do not seem to be able to agree or even agree to disagree on any matter, be it peace with dignity or whom we should have as our mediators.

The issue is not if we want peace or not if it should be the Norwegians or the Indians. It is, if my team and I are driving the process or someone else is taking centre stage. What is good for Sri Lanka, her people, her image, her economy and her sustainability does not seem to get on top of the agenda.

The item on top of the agenda has been to ensure the downfall of that person or that party, so my party and I can take it over to 'make it happen'. For no one but I, seem to be the one, who can make it happen for mother Lanka.

We all know the story that there is no one standing guard on top of the hellhole for Sri Lanka. Explaining why, the hell keeper it is claimed, said that "these people do not let anyone of their kind climb out. They pull the person down each time".

Well! hellholes apart, we must at least now begin to think rationally. For we may never have another opportunity, like the many we let go in the past.

We need to proactively work towards creating an opportunity to get together to drive a united national alliance and not a divisive party based personalised agenda, of making the other fall flat on the ground.

Remember the saying, 'Only some people can be fooled sometime. Not all the people, all the time'.

Back to Business