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Sri Lanka's president must remember that no

man - or political dynasty - is an island

By ROHAN VENKATARAMAKRISHNAN- 4 August 2013

The first thing you notice is that it is just 'Him.'

I've lived in America where, for a few months after the 2008 polls, Barack Obama was

the second coming of Christ; in India, where for some people Sonia Gandhi decides

entire fates, and even in an Arab dictatorship. Yet in none of those places, could you

start a discussion only somewhat related to politics and midway have the head of the

state introduced as just 'Him,' with no underlining, qualifier or explanation - you just

have to know that the pronoun refers to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

(Even Sonia doesn't make the cut, since for all its idiosyncrasy, 'Madamji' is a fairly

unique epithet).

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Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is such a powerful figure that many in the

country refer to the leader simply as "Him".

Ruler To be fair, 'Him' didn't just refer to Rajapaksa during my time on the island - LTTE chief 

Prabhakaran also got the he-who-will-not-be-named treatment in several

conversations - and 'him' was also not the only way people referred to the president,

although some of the other names might have a hard time getting into a newspaper.

Simplistic as it may be, it's also a simple reminder of Rajapaksa's stranglehold on the

country. It is also no mistake that I use the last name here, because Sri Lanka hasn't

 just turned into Mahinda's Raj.

The president is himself the son of a famous politician, while his powerful brothers are,

respectively, Defence Secretary and Minister of Economic Development - controlling

much of the country between the three of them.

Various other cousins and relatives hold posts as diverse as provincial chief minister 

and chairman, Sri Lankan Airlines. Mahinda's son was, at one point, also described as

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"the only young politician in the country."

 As with everything, this too has an

explanation from the family's supporters -

one that, one suspects, has come in quite

handy for nascent political dynasties the

world over: in a country where so many

leaders have been assassinated and there

is so much churning, who can you trust

better than your own family?

The explanation is plausible; Sri Lanka has

seen a remarkable number of murdered

politicians over the last few decades, many

by those who fall in the extremist camps of 

their own parties. And yet it is hard not to

dismiss it as propaganda when it forms part

of a line of arguments that suggest the 25-

year-long civil war was the result of good-

natured attempts to redress 300 years of 

Tamil favouritism by colonial masters.

"When it is the minority ruling, we call that apartheid. So we have to understand, as

minorities, the simple thing is that, majority rules. This is not just true in Sri Lanka, it's

true everywhere," said Jehan Hameed, a Tamil Muslim who ran for local council

elections on a ticket from the Rajakapaksas' Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

 After years of the country facing its 'Tamil problem,' in fact, Sri Lanka's Sinhala

Buddhist majority has started to pay attention to another minority issue that is morefamiliar to many in the West and India: Islam.

The narrative is familiar: 'By 2050, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister will be Muslim. They

each have 6 children to our two and this will let them take over the country. They will

bring halal food (a big concern for a Buddhist country that is widely non-vegetarian,

but bothered about cruelty) and shariah law.'

Keeping it in the family: The president's brother Basil Rajapaksa isalso his Minister of Economic Development

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This is most evident in controversial pronouncements like that of General Sarath

Fonseka, commander of the Army during the victorious final years of the civil war as

well as one-time Opposition leader who was thrown in jail after failing to uproot

Mahinda Rajapaksa.

"I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese," Fonseka infamously

said.

Nationalism

In comparison, the president has made efforts to sell the idea that this is not an

exclusively Buddhist country. Much of it is tokenism, whether it was speaking in Tamil

at the United Nations - a moment that seems to have burnished his reputation among

supporters and neutrals in the country - or sitting down to an iftar meal with Muslims.

In a country where the embers of Sinhala nationalism fanned during the war continue

to burn - "the whole world wants to learn how the Sri Lankan Army managed to

militarily wipe out the Tamil terrorists" - such small gestures seem like momentous

events, not unlike the hype around Gujarat CM Narendra Modi every time he does

something that suggests 'settling' with Muslims.

Yet the political facts are less supportive of Mahinda Rajapaksa here. His rulingalliance includes a couple of right-wing, nationalist parties that constantly warn against

moderation, while there have been nods of support to the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddha's

 Army) an ultra-right wing Buddhist group that complains about democracy and plurality

ruining Sri Lanka.

The Bodu Bala Sena is just the first sign of what has to seem like an ominous future

for the island nation, one where the ethnic and religious differences somehow manage

to grow bigger after the end of a decades-long civil war, rather than the other way

around.

Elections in the Northern Province in September will be the perfect chance to test out

the loud claims of 'reconciliation' with the Tamils. The ethnic fault-lines in society,

whether in Jaffna or Colombo, remain evident, and any prominent voice speaking of 

constitutionally mandated autonomy for the north is immediately branded a terrorist

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supporter.

The current generation, weary of war, may not be a danger, but youngsters who

continue to face discrimination could easily become radicalised.

Spring

But it is not further ethnic strife that truly scares the Rajapaksas - in fact, some amount

of disturbance acts as a useful distraction from other domestic issues. In a country

where power is slowly being grabbed by a very small set of people, while also facing

an economic slowdown and tremendous debt, what the government is truly afraid of is

an Arab Spring style uprising amongst the population.

It seems unlikely, given Colombo's prosperous streets, but as the president and his

family slowly arrogate most of the power to themselves, the danger of further instability

- just four years after the end of a harrowing war - can't be counted out.

The writer is Senior Reporter 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2384462/Sri-

Lankas-president-remember-man--political-dynasty--island.html#ixzz2b7MfiL7M

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