Daily News Editorial

Ven. Athureliye exposed

20 january 2017

The avowed claim of the Jathika Hela Urumaya for entering politics, was to cleanse the prevailing corrupt political setup and redeeming it from the pits it had descended into. Leading lights of the JHU said their very presence in parliament was bound to bring about discipline among its members and raise the level of debate. This was based on the reverence and regard in which persons of the saffron robe was held. The JHU may have believed that the calm and serene demeanour of the members of Sangha inside parliament would have a sobering effect on the unruly MPs, making them restrain their natural instincts. The JHU was on course to create a Dharmarajya, the slogan on which some 15 members of saffron brigade entered parliament at the 2004 general elections.

But things turned out different, when, on their very first day in parliament itself, members of the JHU were rouged up and manhandled (pun intended) by members of the very party for whose formation the Sangha played a most pivotal role.

However, the party soldiered on holding fast to its chief principal of cleansing the body politic although there were splits in the entity, with some of its leading lights throwing in their lot with Mahinda Rajapaksa. Eventually though, the JHU disintegrated and drifted into a state of being just another political party, inheriting the same afflictions common to all political parties, including the casting off of principles.

This change is today epitomised by the antics of the Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thera who had cast himself with the lot of all garden politicians this country has been foisted with. Here is why.

The Ven Athureliye, if he is true to the original JHU precepts, should have first tendered his resignation from his parliament seat before embarking on a mission, which, for all intents and purposes is anti-government. The JHU stalwart, who was nominated by the UNP on the National List, though distancing himself from Mahinda Rajapaksa, nevertheless, is going along with the same Rajapaksa led Joint Opposition slogans.

Ven Rathana states that he would campaign against those seeking to undermine Sri Lanka's unitary status and are pursuing an agenda inimical to the country, sentiments that are heard ad nausem from the Rajapaksa camp. The Ven Thera has also made similar statements against the enactment of the proposed new constitution as that being belted out by the Joint Opposition. This, at a time, when even the Mahanayakas have allayed fears of all and sundry in this regard on the basis that the proposed new constitution is still in the making and yet to see the light of day.

The Ven. Athurelye Thera has apparently taken a cue from the JO in looking for hidden devils in the new constitution. Hence his parroting the same words uttered by the rabid elements of the JO day in and day out. Sentiments and observation of the Ven Athureliye as regards ECTA and the Hambantota port projects are also akin to those from the Rajapaksa hymn sheet.

No less than the elder statesman of the JHU, the Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera has requested his onetime protege to resign from his parliament seat if he intends to chart a new course. The Ven Omalpe is naturally scandalized by the stand of the Ven Athureliye to stay put while criticizing the government. It is this kind of duplicity and doubly speak among politicians that the Ven Omalpe and the JHU sought to remedy through its initial foray into parliamentary politics. By refusing to budge, the Ven Athureliye will only cast yet another pall over the JHU which received body blows by the conduct of some of its stalwarts, notably the Ven Uduwe Dhammaloka and Udaya Gammanpila, thus cutting off the foundation from under the feet of the party.

The UNP is indeed in a dilemma. It cannot be seen to be evicting a person of the saffron robe without inviting a backlash. The JO will ensure this. But the party has to make up its mind if it is going create a precedent that would embolden others of similar bent. As a party, it has suffered the most by way of defections and ought to close this chapter once and for all if it is to remain a strong party.

The Ven Rathana, on his part, should come out clean and declare his true intentions without attempting to swim with the tide of protest campaigns that are being organised by the Joint Opposition. He should unequivocally state in whose camp he is, without trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hound.

The Island Editorial

Koskola Mamas

20 January 2017

 

Successive governments have taken the masses for asses. They have duped the people into voting for them by making various promises such as ‘bringing rice from the moon’ and giving away eight pounds of grains. Needless to say all those promises were reneged on. The SLFP-led United Front government (1970-77), instead of making ‘lunar rice’ available free of charge, imposed restrictions on transporting rice and chillies; the barricades put up for that purpose came to be dubbed haal polu and miris polu. Some ardent supporters of that regime which ran a dirigiste economy proved that they were no better than asses; they held May Day processions offering to eat bath (cooked rice) without haal (rice grains), drink tea without sugar and eat curries without chillies if their leader or methini (Sirimavo) asked them to do so. The UNP, which dislodged that government, specialised in effecting welfare cuts and people were left with neither rice rations nor the promised eta ata or eight pounds of grains. The masses once again proved that their leaders were justified in treating them like asses.

Other governments which came to power subsequently also held Barmecide feats for the hoi-polloi while squeezing the latter dry to fill the state coffers by way of increases in taxes and tariffs. Baskets of goods were promised but never delivered. Social welfare continued to be curtailed while the cost of living was soaring.

The incumbent yahapalana government, however, has not taken the masses for asses. Instead, it apparently thinks they are goats! For, it is now urging them to eat koskola (jak leaves) and crotons among other things purportedly to overcome an expected food shortage. The apologists for yahapalanaya may claim that recent attempts by some high-ups in the agricultural field to educate the public on food substitutes to be consumed during a prolonged drought have been blown out of proportion to discredit their political masters. But, the fact remains that the people have been asked to eat jak leaves of all things.

The yahapalana leaders have overtaken much maligned Marie Antoinette, who only asked the French to eat cake if bread was not available. She didn’t ask the people to live off hedges and trees, did she?

It was only the other day that we pointed out in this space rice weighing millions of tonnes had perished in Sathosa warehouses. Similarly, large stocks of other food items go to waste every month due to poor storage facilities and improper handling. Post harvest losses as regards vegetables and all varieties of fruit are extremely high. Besides, some UNP leaders have advocated that paddy fields in the Western Province be filled for starting high income generating projects such as factories. They are either unaware of or have turned a blind eye to the fact that a steady food supply is a prerequisite for national security. The need for protecting and helping local farmers to step up national food production cannot be overemphasised. More funds have to be allocated for agricultural research to enhance yields, lessen farmers’ dependency on fertilizer and prevent the colossal waste of water.

Before trying to raise public awareness of food substitutes the government and its bureaucrats should develop the agricultural sector with a substantial input of technical know-how and subsidies to step up national food production. If they are so keen to have people eat koskola let them be urged to add it to the menu at parliament restaurants first with poonac as a dessert.

Famous Sri Lankan patriot, Arthur V. Dias, was passionate about promoting the cultivation of jak trees to ensure food security and, therefore, came to be fondly known as kos mama. He popularised the term ‘bath gasa’ (‘tree of rice’) for the jak tree because its nutritious fruit could be substituted for rice. However, he never asked people to eat jak leaves.

What shall we call the yahapalana leaders who urge the public to eat jak leaves? Shall we call them ‘Koskola Mamas’?