I’ve always thought them both somewhat evil, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka that is. Neither really cares much about the common man, or shows much respect for their rights. Both sides have been accused of corruption in whatever form or manner. They’ve got their ambitions and goals and are committed to achieving that. However, they were both instrumental in bringing an end to this brutal conflict, in their own way – one in his capacity as the Head of State and the other in his capacity as the Commander of the Army. Both played an equally vital role, I believe.
Anyway, I can’t seem to make up mind on who to cross off. Some say the known (evil) is better than the unknown (evil), while others opt for change.
I personally doubt that real change can take place in Sri Lanka at this moment, although that’s what’s really necessary. Real change would mean decisions that might lead to some sort of unpopularity amongst the masses, the parliamentarians and even those in the candidates’ own camp. Change cannot be brought about with selfish interest and power in mind, that is if they truly plan to serve the people of the country rather than the interest of a select few. Tough decisions need to be taken, and I’m not entirely sure that even the tough army guy can do that. If he can, good. He says he can, good.
On the other hand, I wonder if the general public is ready for all this. If they are, good. We’ve been let down by too many leaders. They have shown us that they tend to fall in love with this whole package of executive presidency rather than with the common folk who slave their butts off to keep them there.
MR’s the more experienced out of the two. And experience is important in heading a country. Yet, he’s not capitalizing on this. He’s more interested in pin-pointing his opponent’s faults and laughing at them rather than saying anything sensible. SF can probably draw from his experience as Army commander. But we’re not his army. We are not trained to fight.
The constant SMS and emails from both camps that fill up by inbox daily is seriously annoying. Today, a guy called from SF’s office. What are they called? SF’s PR guys/campaign guys? Anyway, he went on to say how, if elected, Fonseka will reduced the number of cabinet ministers. That’s the only part I heard. I frankly couldn’t be bothered to listen. He spoke for about 5 minutes as if reciting a poem. A more everyday language style approach would have been more effective.
The end of the war did not signify peace, nor did it signify freedom. It signified something greater – opportunity, the opportunity to create peace, freedom and thereby a country a lot of us have either forgotten or have never known. But, 8 months down the line, this opportunity has been hampered with by the very people who brought it about.
And that’s so totally sad. What happens next, I wonder?
Who will survive? We’ll see next week.
(I know this post is a little disjointed. Lost track)
the womanist 
Really good post… This has got to be one of the most depressing elections (in my lifetime). You want to believe that they’ll keep their promises, but we’ve grown a bit too smart for that over the years… All I can say is, that no matter who wins, a chance like this to make a change for the better will not come again. If they act, and make those tough decisions, then good for us. But if they don’t… *sigh*
😦
I kno men, sad no?
Depressing. Now you know the results, do you want to do a post-election analysis or sit back and watch what will be done to consolidate power?
I knew this was on the cards, but never thought it would have happened this quickly. What’s the point of sitting back and watching? But, what’s the point of a post-election analysis also, although i did put down a few thoughts on this whole depressing issue again :S It sucks.