Strengthen President's hands
As far as the aspirations of the common man go,
a stable state is one of his chief priorities. Politicking is certainly
not one of his diversions. In fact he has no time for such diversions
which ultimately do not yield any substantial benefits for the country.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, easily one of our most seasoned
politicians, constantly has his fingers on the pulse of the people and
acts accordingly. This must have been one of his prime considerations in
strengthening and broad-basing the Government recently.
If the needs of the people are to be catered to, a stable government
must be formed and this is the rationale for grasping the hands of
cooperation extended to him recently by sections of the UNP and the Sri
Lanka Muslim Congress.
As the President himself pointed out, the difficulties in
establishing a working majority in Parliament had affected the
legislative business of the House. Legislation did not enjoy easy
passage through the House, for example. Now that the Government has a
stable majority in Parliament the legislative process could be expected
to evolve in a more trouble-free fashion. In other words, an obstacle to
good governance has been removed.
This alone is sufficient justification for broad-basing the
Government. Now the possibility is also great that the immediate
formidable challenges to the common well-being could be more
resourcefully and systematically met, such as resolving the National
Question by political means. For, at present the major political forces
of the country, representing majority and moderate opinion, are with the
State.
Accordingly, the polity as a whole would do well to pay heed to a
call by the country's chief Buddhist prelates to rally round President
Rajapaksa in this the hour of the country's need.
Because now is the most appropriate time to formulate and push
through the all-important political solution in view of the fact that
the Tigers are beating a hasty retreat from the East, bruised, battered
and bloodied. The military strategy has been pursued successfully. Now
is the time to implement the political strategy in the Government's
dual-pronged approach to resolving the conflict.
This Government has thus far been pursuing this approach very
consistently and single-mindedly. Division and discord within the
Government or in the wider society could help undo all the good work
achieved so far.
Certainly, the national interest would be greatly harmed and
compromised through the eruption of divisions and dissidence.
So, we call on one and all in this country to unite with the
Government and strengthen the hands of the President in resolving the
problems facing Sri Lanka.
There is also the encouraging observation made by TULF leader V.
Anandasangaree that a solution based on the Mahinda Chinthana should be
backed by all because the Chinthana itself is based on natural justice
principles.
What could be a better basis to resolve the conflict ? All that is
required is that everyone in the land, regardless of class, caste or
creed, should be treated equally.
Therefore, the country is at a decisive moment in its
post-independence history. It is time to end the country's long-drawn
torment.
We call on everyone to lend the State all the support they could
muster to enable it to cut the Gordian Knot which is the National
Question. |
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