Wimal And Mervyn, Devil Dancers (Opinion)
Bureaucratic demons, poster at Deyata Kirula
This country is ruled by Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers. Many ministers serve in his court. Two ministers – Wimal Weerawansa and Mervyn Silva are given special ambit. They are the symbolic gladiators of the media colosseum. When Mahinda cannot give us bread, he gives us circuses. Today the government is struggling with post-war issues of poverty, education, environment and education that have caused nearly daily protests. To communicate symbolically to these masses, Mahinda lets out his media mavens, unofficially, to soak up some newspaper ink, fill some airtime, give him a little cover. Weerawansa took a symbolic tilt at the UN, fasting unto drip. Mervyn tied a local government official to a tree to symbolically assume the sins of the bloody dengue scourge. Perhaps I’ve got the metaphor wrong. These are not gladiators, or jesters, or anything else. These are devil dancers, chasing out demons with demons.
Even in Canada I hung a demon mask up in my room. It looks cool, but having a house demon supposedly chases other demons away. That is, it’s better to have a demon in the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in. Wimal and, to a greater extent, Mervyn Silva are unsavory characters, attack dogs and not especially thoughtful or compassionate human beings. Wimal hits below the belt verbally and Mervyn simply hits below the belt. In this modern media sphere, they are the devil dancers, chasing out the greater demons of a meddlesome UN and dengue.
Wimal and Mervyn operate with the full support of the Rajapaksas, denials aside. The government tried to assert no contest to Wimal’s occupation of the UN building and Mervyn’s tree-tying incident, but Mahinda himself personally ended Wimal’s fast and his brother Basil is mediating between Mervyn and infuriated government workers. These are entirely extra-legal methods, but they are not extra-cultural. Wimal technically shouldn’t prevent the UN operating in Sri Lanka and Mervyn shouldn’t technically be tying people to trees, just as someone dancing around in a devil mask shouldn’t cure a disease. Except sometimes it does.
I know people who’ve been sick and had it cured by demon dancing. I know children who were thought brain dead until a mother somehow prayed them to life. The Democratic National Alliance just recently smashed coconuts to hasten General Sarath Fonseka’s release. Sometimes placebo can cure as well as a pill. Sometimes faith and belief can get you through. This I say as things I have seen, but there are numerous studies on the power of faith or positive ignorance. Sometimes something, anything can work if you can convince your body that things are going to be OK, if you can give it the confidence to heal itself.
But I digress. The point is that random, symbolic acts can work. In the political sphere, the Rajapaksa’s seem to understand this so they let they’re devil dancers loose. Wimal is trying to dance away the ghost of wars past. Mervyn is trying to dance away the sickness of neglect. They may look random and out of control but they’re not. I know perfectly rational people who hire devil dancers. These are just the demons the Rajapaksas have hung on the wall to keep other demons out.
syndicated by permission from www.indi.ca
Excellent comment! Wimal & Mervin are the devil dancers dancing to the tune of Rajapaksa and Brothers!!
Devil dance or bharatanatya- Both along with Basil, should be kicked away from the parliament so that the remaining devils will vanish of their own.Hell’s gate is wide opened to receive them with iron arms.
Wimal Weerawansa is a born “Berawaya” who will not be appreciated by educated Srilankan because of his foolishness and uncivilised actions he exhibited during the ” Bloody Bishanasamaya” in 1980 in Srilanka, and escaped by a narrow escape with out entering to “Borella Crimatorion” with his leader “Rohana Wijeweera”, but Mervyn is little bit difference, his “Role” in Mahinda Rajapaksa`s government is a “Thug” and he is waiting to have a good “Meal” from a good “Hotel” very soon.Mervyn is a good guy but manupilated by cunning Rajapaksa`s to “Cat`s Paw Business”.
do not tell Mervin is good man
Weerawansa “berawaya”
Mervin ‘ Rodee wada karana Rodiya’
Mr voter
You are a racial animal. How do we know whether you are from a lower cast. Real decent people with a good cast wont degrade people by using the cast as a weapon. Tell me what is Barrack Obama’s cast stupid? Is he from a higher cast so that you would bow down and lick his feet??? He is from a remote village in Africa with a poor background but nobody degrades him using that. You people should be punished in public for bringing cast to create disharmony among people when we already had enough of ethnic disharmony. You idiot wants the sinhalese also to fight with each other….
Hello son, I am also from Canada. you are a jungi boy does not know anything about politics in Sri Lanka. Anybody can buy a domain name and publish any rubish. Dont fall in to the mentality like stupid JVPs. Most rich JVP guys managed to escape from Sri Lanka and settled in countries like Japan, Canada and Italy in late eighties while fellow brothers were butchered by Ranil and Premadasa regime. JVP guys are mere criticizers only. They are now doing the role of CIA agents in Sri Lanka. I remember JVP Lal kantha said that he is ready to tie his father to a tree to let outsider to sleep with his mother. Therefore, please don’t just be a idiot by simply criticizing the mother country while in abroad. It is not the behaviour of a genuine Canadian Gentlean. We can’t expect 100% perfectness from Sri Lankan society where there are people with various education backgrounds unlike here in Canada. Therefore be constructive son use your website wisely for a better cause like promoting tourism in Sri Lanka. Good Luck.
May be you are looking from the third angle, but what the jungi boy said was correct. If you want to promote tourism(may be you are a businessman) or not to critisize our motherland you may do so. But don’t forget because of Raja family and his ministers there is no democracy and decipline in our country.
By the way, when was you last visit to SL?
From UK
For the ‘work’ Wimal has done so far ,MR should replace Palitha Kohonna with Wimal as he is the best guy to ‘ teach ‘ lesson to Ban-Ki-Moon.He can do a better ” protest ” to Ban.K.M than Palitha. If necessary, may be it is, as Prof. G.L.Peiris
still struggling to do anything good about that G.S.P + damn thing, Mervyn should be considered for this post , where he can do “something” spectacular & save our country from doom !
I beg to differ. Sailinewansa and Vermin are spawns of a of a leadership that has no morality, no humanity and only exists in a cocoon oblivious to the sufferings undergone by the population. This type of leadership constantly needs hosannas sung in its praise, It looks upon itself as a superior being who can do no wrong, it will book no dissent and rules with an iron hand. These leaders are constantly suffering from an inferiority complex, are not very intelligent and do not trust anyone.
They surround themselves with YES men, and thugs to carry out their dirty work who in turn need their master’s benevolence to survive. These thugs and YES men have been nobody’s who suddenly have had the limelight turned on them and the love to bask in its glory. To them it does not matter if their actions are positive or negative all they want is their 5 minutes of glory and woe be to anyone who stands in their way.
These are basically cowards who will tuck their tails and run at any moment someone stands up to them, and they will have no hesitation in switching allegiance if the winds change and pay the same homage to their new master.
These basically are the scum of humanity , soulless, shameless, spineless destined to die many times before their death.
And Boy haven’t you got your metaphor wrong in calling these two gladiators if I may make a few suggestions Maggots, Scumbags, Lapdogs, Pariahs ,Pina’s, Sewer Rats, take your pick but Gladiators – my foot.
Thanks Ian, your prose is poetry to this jaded man !
Excellent! I totally agree with the writer.
In sri lanka,gullible persons hire or consult Anjanam Kaarayas, Thovil Specialists, Bali Dancers, Dehi Cutters, Hooniyam Kaarayas, Rishi Vaakiyam Readers, Malayalam Magicians etc. to overcome or solve personal/family/political/legal/marital and other problems. Coconut Dashing while chanting curses on enemies too happens.
Top politicians visit kovils and take part in Special Poojas, in sri lanka and south india to ward off evil influences.
The Clown and the Super Thug are contributing to the derision and contempt in which the other countries hold this regime.
Palitha Kohona even hired lankans in new york with $ 100 plus free lunch to demonstrate against Ban Ki Moon in front of the UN building. Next time he may get down Hooniyam Specialsts to cast a spell on Moon.
great article, how long the dumb raja , his band of greedy brothers and stupid jesters dance , remember what happend to premadasa??
Yes it is on the card. Mahinda is a good man , he did a great job but he has no ‘Brain”. That is why he is loseing . It happened when uneducated people get power. Who the fools, our “Honarable Village Voters”.
Third Angel, you better polish up on your English spelling and grammar before deciding to criticize folks who write good readable articles.. Thanks Ian D.S you have got the real names for these circus clowns.
Mrs Sembakuttiarachchi , please do us a favour…… tell your husband to change his name …. I cant stop laughing.
I am glad you see me as Third Angel instead of Third Angle. Native white people here in Canada are not worried about the grammar of what we say or write. Sri Lankans are the only people in the world very much worried about grammar. That is why most people like you cannot speak English very well. I am sorry that is the reality. Please use a foreign language as a tool to communicate and don’t be a slave of that language. Hope this helps. ( = I hope this helps you to understand what I wrote )
Third Angle, Please dont mislead the readers. I live in Canada too and know how much importance is given to grammar and proper English. I am sure you must be carrying fish on your shoulders in some market in Chinatown where you really dont need to speak English properly. So dont judge the rest of the world by your own standards. Now stop trying to promote tourism in Sri Lanka and do something for yourself. As a first step, I advise you to grab a good grammar book. That way, you can also bring a good name and respect to Sri Lanka.
Third Angle working not in Chinatown market but maybe he is a delivery boy to some hole-in-the-wall Tamil business joint, delivering thosai and masla vadai to homes in the Scarborough area. For this, you dont need good English. Only a mix of masala type sinhalese, tamil and english.
You are right Ian. These fellows have been spawned by the contemporary administration – the hideous offspring of unattractive parentage. But they are not gladiators, not devil dancers. They are simply a couple of jokers! But then jokers are also part of the pack!!
I dont think that these two idiots are qualified, even for devil dancing. One is a total ******* and the other is a fake doctor. I am really happy that the people who voted for these animals are now getting what they rightfully deserve. No one listened to the voices of reason before the elections. The Rajas are enjoying life raking in the money from every possible angle while their clown create the necessary diversions. And the man who should have been president in languishing in jail. There will never be justice in that place as long as this clan is around. May god help our country.
Third Angle’s english is not that bad. Why do you hate him ambuli mama, baila hamu? Is Third Angle’s comment is allergic to you guys?
Fedrica
This is what happens when , ” Poll Kadapu Kollo ” of
yester years are given bogus degrees and appointed as Ministers. Its only in
Sri lanka that these things happen.
Marvin is a wanna be “Chandia” he wouldn’t dare walk down a street all alone in any given city. So how can he be any Character. he is a “Bayagulu Java”.As for Wimal if I say “Daval Migel rae Daniyal” people know.