Herold Leelawardena

In contrast to the bygone days of Jesus and Judas, the history of European colonialism during the last five hundred years is rather well written. Scholars tell us that the Spanish and the Portuguese were the first explorers that sailed across the world. Leave out that jargon; they had gone in search of loot. Soon most other Europeans followed suit. No wonder all Europeans like to call that era the period of their renaissance. For us though it is a period of repression and oppression.

Christian missionaries such as Dominicans and Franciscan not just blessed the bandits but cruised with them to destroy whole nations of their heritage. Perhaps it must be mentioned that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”FranciscansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ are the priestly lot that were put in charge of killings called the inquisitions in 1237 by the Council of Lerida. Anyway, when Portuguese washed up to our shores in 1505, they had a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”FranciscanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ priest aboard their ship.

As popular story says; when the GodƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s emissary first set his foot on our soil Sinhale, he had a Bible in one hand and a sword in the other. From that day onwards all kinds of Christian Missionaries took turns to destroy the serene culture that had been firmly established in our land over two-millennium. They brought a complex burden of prejudices that was central to Christian identity.

We know that the desire of all clerics of all religions is to convert. However there is something special about said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”FranciscanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ clerics; their motto had been to send everyone to heaven. They believed those that die as Catholics would go to heaven and all others to hell and burn forever. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”FranciscansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ were so determined to send our Buddhists ancestors to heaven; they had resorted to maim and kill those that refused to be Catholics.

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”FranciscansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ were such sadists they are said to have watched the tortures gleefully expecting those that got killed to plead the God at least at their last breath. In a write-up, reverend father Don Peter had explained; ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Franciscans have resorted to killings because they truly believed that they were helping the Buddhists to go to heaven.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ How is that for a white washing of serial murderers?

Then again, no Catholic had ever apologised for their wrong doings to date. What could we expect from common reverend like Don Peter; when no Pope had ever bothered to apologise for cruelty inflicted by their ancestors on the most famous scientist, Galileo. But there is a question to Sinhala Christians; how do you feel your ancestors being killed so cruelly by those that introduced the saviour to you?

Sir James Emerson Tennent had written aptly about those that introduced Christianity to Sri Lanka. In his book ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Portuguese in CeylonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ he says; ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-there is no page in the story of European colonization more gloomy and repulsive than the proceedings of the Portuguese in Ceylon.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

When Ranil Wickramasinghe was Prime Minister, in 2003, he invited the Portuguese for a gala to celebrate the 500^th year of their forbears washing to our shores. RanilW may have being thinking Portuguese colonials were the best Samaritans of the day. Or perhaps RanilW wanted to thank the Portuguese for sending our ancestors to heaven to be with the Christian God. We do not know whether RanilWƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s father who is an ardent Christian or his uncle who was a Bishop have bequeathed goodness of Portuguese to his sonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mind. It is sad that Christians today do not know or bothered to know what colonials did to this country and to our ancestors.

We may have pulled down the last colonial flag in 1948, and raised high our own flag. But we could not rid of the colonial influence on us to date. And that leaves us a compelling question; are we ruling ourselves or are we being ruled by the white manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s stooges?

Long before we started to ponder such thoughts, way back in 1931, Anagarika Dharmapala wrote a unique prophesy in his diary. He wrote; ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ one day, whites will leave this country. They will leave only after multiplying twenty thirty thousand ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”whitened blacksƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. And after that, it is they, who will rule. They will hate your language, your tradition, your culture ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ I often wonder the extent of AnagarikaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s prophesy has come true.

No sooner RanilW became Prime Minister in 2001; the cat got out of the bag. He elevated the international community and their local representatives, the NGOs, the INGOs and the evangelists as the most powerful conglomerate in the country. And, the Buddhists that voted for RanilW in 2001 realised their folly only when that evil lot put their hidden agenda in to action. RanilW started it all by signing a peace agreement with LTTE. And all others followed suit.

Christian evangelists started setting up quick and ready churches in every nook and cranny of the country. NGO activists started writing write-ups to justify the course of the separatists. Christian apologists started waging a crusade against the Buddhist thoughts and Buddha Dhamma. Together they portrayed the world that Sinhala Buddhists are the worst villains.

Alas, we have elected a Prime Minister who knew not our history. Alas and alack, the Prime Minister we have elected knew not the cruelty that Portuguese colonials and their missionaries had inflicted on our ancestors during their rule. Fortunately for Sinhala Buddhists, they have realised where RanilWƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s feelings lie. And, he lost every election since.

Today colonist Portugal is a part of the European community. In fact, all the former European colonials have come be a part of it. Together with their kith and kin in the new world (America, Australia, and New Zealand) and the Vikings, they have formed the so-called International Community.

Members of the International Community are the new colonists. Their aim is to plunder the world in a new way. In the guise of helping the poor, they have sponsored many a NGOs, INGOs, and new Christian sects in our country. Like the tentacles of an octopus its activists have extended their activities to all our institutions.

Action by NGO and INGO activists and Christian Evangelists are no longer secrets. They all campaigned tirelessly for the course of the separatists. They all worked madly against the Sinhala Buddhists and Buddhism. They worked like mad the last day of Piripaharan. Though they put their dirty acts to the back burner after LTTE had been wiped out; they did not have to stay like that for long.

After the euphoria of LTTE demise settled down, NGO activists were moved openly in to the political scene by the so-called international community. Sarawanamuttu and company made inroads to all party circus to do what LTTE could not. Desapriya joined the human rights gang to haul our president to the dock in Haig. Lakthilaka joined the UNP to contest PC elections. With all that spending, they all failed in their mission.

Nevertheless, the more you think about all that and what RanilW and his buddies has been saying and doing all this time, the more you realise that RanilW is the chef agent of the International Community or new colonists.

RanilW and the UNP saw no problems with the constitution or the presidential system all these years. So much so, RanilW had gone so far as to make two unsuccessful attempts to be the President. Even when President Chandrika sacked him from the position of Prime Minister arbitrarily, he had no qualms about the Presidency or the powers of President. All of a sudden however, the presidential system had become an anathema to RanilW and the UNP.

International Community despises President Mahinda and hates his policies. ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s an enigma but they cannot do much about. Their only hope is RanilW.

Everybody knew RanilW would lose this time too if he contested for the presidency. If he loses the Presidency, he knew he might lose the leadership of UNP as well in the inter-party calamity aftermath. So it is not surprising that RanilW and his masters in the International Community had been looking for a way out strategy.

JVP is a Marxist party in a nationalistic garb. In so far as its popularity is concerned, it has reached the peak during RanilWƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rule but had gone down the drain during MahindaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rule. Its leaders knew they are in a worst situation than the UNP. If JVP contest a presidential election under its own ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”bellƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ symbol; it wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t get half the votes they got in the recent PC elections. No wonder they too looked for a strategy to avoid that impending disaster.

All Generals are ambitious. They also enjoy power. One only has to watch some war films to realize that. A hardnosed General like Fonseka cannot be an exception. The wily General may have noticed the political bankruptcy of the said two parties. Claim by the General about not trusting him and not treating him well are only excuses to reach his aim.

Notwithstanding their arch rivalry and poles apart ideological differences hierarchy of both the JVP and the UNP had decided to join forces. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Both had to get out of their despair. Both wanted to stay out of the elections.

The bogy against the Presidency was the JVPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ploy to get out of the last two presidential elections. Though it was sham, it worked well towards JVP support base. JVP wanted to do their usual this time as well. Ranil jumped at it for he had no other way stay out of elections. Together the UNP and the JVP started many strikes and moved on to hullabaloo against Presidency but to no avail. To say the least people are not against the Presidency but against such ploys. But the ploy of common slogan and the common candidate moved on.

Both UNP and JVP pondered about another Sarath. But they decided General is a better Sarath than other Sarath to be their guinea pig. And the General forgot all that degrading remarks made by RanilW and company a few months back accepted to be the common candidate. He had also forgotten the rift between the army and the JVP though it was a long way back.

If Generals are known to be hard nuts, General Fonseka is known to be a ruthless nut. If unpatriotic UNPers like RanilW thinks they could be puppeteers of a hardnosed General they are sadly mistaken. Only fools would expect President Fonseka (hypothetical) to transfer his executive powers to the parliament.

The LTTE apologist Mano Ganeshan is mistaken if he thinks the General will do Eelamists what LTTE could not. Same goes for Taliban sympathiser Rauf Hakeem. They should remember the General is not used to taking petty orders from pokey people like them but giving tough missions to hard people.

General Fonseka had been the commander of the army that wiped-out the LTTE leadership. President Rajapakse has been the commander in chief of the entire defence forces. He waged war against LTTE as well as its political backers. Whatever the reason and whosoever is right or wrong, the fallout of Fonseka from the Rajapakse sphere is a setback for all the patriotic forces. No patriot ever thought patriot Fonseka would ever fight the greatest patriot.

Let there be no doubt both President Rajapakse and General Fonseka are patriots with equal fervour. Therefore, whoever wins the Presidency on 27^th January 2010; the process of eliminating the remnant of the separatists will proceed.

Regardless of FonsekaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s politics, Sinhala people are eternally grateful for him for defeating LTTE. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ However, if President Rajapakse had not appointed Fonseka as the commander of the army, he nor others would have the privilege of claiming to be our savoir. If I were Fonseka I would not have forgotten that gracious act. If I were Fonseka I would not have forgotten the evil things that RanilW, Mangala, Kiriella, Ravi and all other unpatriotic gang screamed at him. It is rather painful to elaborate further on this point.

Except for staunchest UNP and JVP backers everyone else knows that the real architect for the demise of LTTE is none other than President Rajapakse. Antipatriotic forces may have cajoled Fonseka to do what they want, but they should know that they will this time as well. There are no takers for a bet against Fonseka winning the Presidency. DoesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it mean he is already lost? Any takers Leela70@ hotmail.com

Herold Leelawardena