The Sunday Times on the web

The Fifth Column

26th July 1998

In land of the dead

Front Page |
News/Comment |
Business | Plus | Sports |
Mirror Magazine

Home
Front Page
News/Comment
Business
Plus
Sports
Mirror Magazine

In the Land of Never Return they were discussing recent events in their country. They were all there: DS, John, Dudley, Daha, Solomon, Junius and RP...

"I say, Solomon" said John, "your daughter has become more UNP than a UNPer..."

"Huh" Solomon said, "how dare you say that? What has she done now"?

"Why," Dudley pointed out, "last week she celebrated the third anniversary of her promise to abolish the Presidency."

"And" said DS, "now she is thinking of postponing elections just like Junius.. did with his Referendum.."

"And" Junius told Solomon, "she is doing to Wijeyapala, what I did to your wife."

"Trying to deprive civic rights over allegations about a land deal?" Solomon wanted to know.

"That's the official purpose," Junius chuckled, "but the idea is to use that to divide the Opposition.."

"And it always works" Dudely observed, "only we didn't have such tactics when we were there..."

"Solomon," said RP, "your daughter has borrowed even my ideas..."

"How can you say that?" Solomon demanded.

"Why, she scrapped my Janasaviya and gave the same thing calling it 'Samurdhi'; She also scrapped the Gam Udawa but now she has started a Presidential Mobile Service.."

"Why," John told RP, "it was you started this fashion of appointing Commission of Inquiry into anything and everything; now she has copied that idea also.."

"Then, of course" Junius observed, "she is devoutly following the Open Economy I introduced.."

"And" Daha said, "they say her ministers help their cronies, just like yours did."

"And" Junius agreed, "She has even clamped a censorship just like we did, and she even extends the emergency month after month, just like we did..."

"Why" said RP, "remember AJR? How I picked the most maverick of my MPs and made him my Media Minister. I think she has done the same thing.."

"And" John observed, "speaking of the media, they also harass the media just like the UNP did.."

"But" Solomon argued, " they don't find bodies of journalists washing up on the beaches, and the UNP didn't allow 'Me Kawda, Mokada Karanne', leave alone something like 'Always Breakdown'.."

"But, Soloman", Daha said, "your daughter is also doing something else that Junius and RP did."

"What's that?"

"She is dragging her feet on the war for her advantage.."

"I'm not sure about that" Soloman said; "but even if she does everything that you did she will still get re-elected.."

"Why are you so confident about your daughter?" Junius asked.

"Because" Soloman said, "She has been able to do something that neither Junius nor RP could do.."

"What's that? " DS, Dudley, John, Junius and RP demanded in unison.

"She has got my son into the UNP" Solomon said.

The UNPers knew Solomon maybe right, after all.


Rajpal Abeynayake's Column

Editorial/Opinion Contents

Presented on the World Wide Web by Infomation Laboratories (Pvt.) Ltd.

Hosted By LAcNet

Fifth Column Archive

Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to

The Sunday Times or to Information Laboratories (Pvt.) Ltd.