Remembering an Officer and Gentleman Patriot Parami Kulatunga lost to terror……..
Posted on June 28th, 2010
Anjalika Silva USA
It was on June 26th four years ago that Sri Lanka saw the brutal killing of yet another valliant officer and gentleman, patriot and a man of value to the country by the hand of the ever destructive phenomenon of “terrorism” that we will never forget.
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Those who worked with Parami and knew him often wonder what he would have thought about the outcome and end to the war that devastated our country, our people, our soldiers, our lifestyle and our economy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The crowing glory to all this is the battle with the international reputation marred by false propaganda that was pinned against us when we won over terror while the world still battles with no end in sight.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ These fires were fanned by those who added fuel through selfish agendas and total lack of responsibility to the country.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
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The “new war” has changed human life around the world forever.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When Parami was in the USA, he gave a great deal of knowhow from the experiences of our little land to those who have today lost over 4,000 soldiers from the combined US forces in the war against Al Qaida.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Those who fought terrorism saw no distinction between our war and theirs. However the eyes of the politicians fed with a concoction of untruth and ilgotten funds, saw Sri Lanka differently.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The battle shift was not with destruction of life but the destruction of the truth throught the developed world.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It continues even today spreading fast and is a battle as important as the war on the ground.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A cyber war is a stealth bomber.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It explodes fast without detection and the ramifications are difficult to detect while the damage done is hard to reverse.
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Today, while the Government is trying so hard to rebuild and rehabilitate those mislead to bring harmony and true peace, Parami among many other officers lost in the war over the years would have been valuable additions to the team to do so. The recent pressure on the IIFA participants through threat tell the world that some are never satisfied and will never give up as the greed for thuggery lives on.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Unfortunately thuggery thrives even momentarily because human life has lost its value.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The ramifications against offenders take too long or may never manifest due to fear.
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It was unfortunate that being the mild man Parami was, he didn’t fight for his rights to a secure place to live where his safety could have been ensured to some degree. As a result he was fed to the terrosists like cannon fodder.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It didn’t take rocket science to determine that he was a prime target and should never have been exposed in thick traffic with minimal security on a daily basis while a safe home remained unassigned and unused for the purpose it was meant to be.
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The selfish, ambitious and the dishonest thrived while he was deliberately placed as a sitting duck.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He respected authority and paid with his life although he knew he received less than he was due according to his position.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We lost an officer who loved his country over personal ambitions.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He would never have committed treason against his country.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He held his head high as a Sri Lankan officer and a gentleman and always maintained the image of our country with great respect.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Through him, his conduct and his role, he placed our country on a pedestal in the eyes of his fellow soldiers who mingled with him at the prestigious War College in the USA.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the short stint he spent at the War College, he left everyone that crossed his path with the highest regard for our Sri Lanka that could not have been corrupted materially as has been done in the political arena abroad.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The place didn’t matter, he would have done the same anywhere he went whether it was the highest of places or the humble quaters of his subordinate soldiers he cared for so much.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To him his allegiance was to his country first.
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Losing him is a great personal loss for us and our children to whom he was a beacon of light and example in the way he lived his life as a true Buddhist practicing tolerance and love for all even while he was in the thick of a war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Our children continue to remember him with great love because he emanated so much caring and affection to them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This larger than life soldier came down to be equals with what ever age group when in their company. He was always a calming force among the young ones.
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Today as the war has ended, we wish we could ask him one more question.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “What would you do in the aftermath of the end?”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I am sure his role would have been one to extend love and kindness to all those who have been affected by the war on both sides of the battle regardless of race, caste or creed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ His soldiers remember him with great reverance. Leaders are not always remembered the way he is remembered by his crew.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When in life they loved him, in death they do even more and will do forever. This is evidenced by the monuments of worship and reverence paid to his memory by those who served him.
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The human mind remembers the good in people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Parami is no more because he was a victim of jealousy and hatred over his value for humanity and the country because his superiors deprived him of his safety. When the dead man couldn’t speak, they said he refused a safer abode.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Only those who knew him closely know the truth and his fears when he traversed the same path daily to answer the call of duty.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
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This is a loss borne by many more than the few who benefited from his demise. May he attain inner peace and bliss in his final abode as a reward for all the good he did with sincerity in his lifetime.