H. L. D. Mahindapala

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ All eyes continue to be on Sri Lanka, even though the 33-yeard old Vadukoddai War was concluded one-and-half years ago. The intensity of the anti-Sri Lankan campaign seems to be increasing and there are no signs of letting up. Amnesty International,(AI) International Crisis Group,(ICG) ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ UN, Human Rights Watch, (HRW) Churches, NGOs, both local and abroad,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sri Lankan expatriates with an axe to grind, Western parliamentarians and academics are all in this business of scrutinizing Sri Lanka under the microscope.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As pointed out by the Foreign Minister, G. L. Peiris, in a brilliant exposition of the current situation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, these organizations strike collectively at the critical time ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” invariably on the eve of Western nations, or agencies like the IMF, gathering to decide on economic measures (e.g. GSP+) that could help the Sri Lankan economy. This ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-economic onslaughtƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ (G. L. Peiris) is to influence the Western nations to deny the Sri Lankan economy of the foreign inputs it needs to develop at a rapid rate. The timing of the concerted actions taken by AI, ICG, HRW makes it apparent that there is a common political agenda behind their collective moves: primarily to use the economic leverage to twist the arm of Sri Lanka to bow down to their terms and conditions dictated by these neo-colonial agencies acting in the name of human rights.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In addition, Norway too has joined this bandwagon with another inquiry. Rather late in the day, they want to find out why their peace effort costing NOK 100 million failed. Norway has outsourced the investigations to two universities — Chr. MichelsenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Institute and UKƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s School of Oriental and African Studies. When all these activities are collated, observers will find it rather difficult to find another democracy like Sri Lanka which is under the microscope of the international busybodies who are obsessed with only one particular issue: giving oxygen to the separatist Tamils who fought a futile war which dragged Tamil children, elders, the sick and the feeble to the lowest depths in their history. These foreign pressures are also exerted on the presumption that Sri Lanka is incapable of managing its own affairs and only the neo-colonial agencies in NGOs/INGOs have the know-how and the capability to put Sri Lanka back on the path dictated by them.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The irony is that these moralists/investigators ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” all in the pay roll of one or the other anti-Sri Lankan foreign agencies– ignore the realities that are dominating the political landscape in the post-Prabhakaran age. They deliberately ignore that the negative phase of Sri Lanka is over and that it is now on a flight path heading towards a positive and bright future. They used to argue that Sri Lanka was a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-failed stateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. They are stunned that this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-failed stateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ had beaten ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the deadliest terrorists in the worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ (FBI, USA) and is now speeding into a new era of recovery and progress for all communities. Their mind-set is reluctant to accept that Prabhakaran is totally out of the political equation and they continue to argue as if nothing has changed since May 18, 2009 when Prabhakaran was found floating in Nanthikadal.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Their operations are aimed at keeping the Prabhakaran cult alive with phantom puppets of would-be Prabhakarans popping up in Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam which is located somewhere in the airy-fairy no-manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s land. They refuse to acknowledge the most basic and dynamic factor of restoring democracy (however flawed it may be) by liberating the Jaffna political culture from the fascist grip of Tamil Tiger terror. The anti-Sri Lankan international agencies work hand in glove with their local counter parts in promoting this cult. Clerics in Churches, Jehan Perera, the high priest of morality on Sri Lankan politics, and Tamil poosaris like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-PakiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Saravanamuttu, have deliberately refused to remove their blinkers and take a balanced and fair view of the ground realities that are rapidly moving to restore normalcy through rehabilitation and reconciliation.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Take the case of the Tamil IDPs who were sheltered by the Sri Lankan government when they fled, under withering fire, from the grip of Velupillai Prabhakaran. UN figures reveal that there are 26 million IDPs living in dire conditions in various conflict zones of the world. But the unrelenting focus was only on the 300,000 Tamils who found shelter and safety in the camps set up for them by the government. So how come they focused only on the Sri Lankan IDPS ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and even of that only the Tamils and not the 100,000 IDPs languishing in Puttalam since Prabhakaran ethnically cleansed Jaffna of Muslims and Sinhalese –and not on the other millions of IDPs? Who picked the Tamil IDPs out of the 26 million and made them the No:1 priority in the international agenda? Were these busybodies genuinely concerned about the Tamil IDPs or were they making use of the helpless victims of Tamil Tiger terrorism for their political ends, particularly to blacken the image of Sri Lanka?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Daya Master, who was once the spokesperson for the Tamil Tigers, told BBC that over 200 fleeing Tamil civilians were shot dead by PrabhakaranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s terrorists in the final days of the war. These Tamil victims of Prabhakaran had no water, food, medicine or shelter when they were forced to run with Prabhakaran. But the quality and the quantity of these amenities ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” not the lack of it ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” became a raging issue only when the Tamil civilians were given refuge by the Sri Lankan government. By any stretch of imagination the basic amenities and facilities given to the Tamil IDPs were better than anything they had under PrabhakaranƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s regime. Or even better than the poor in Colombo slums or the villagers in remote corners of Sri Lanka. At least the Tamil IDPs had some peace and quiet, not to mention other basic amenities, in the Sri Lankan camps. But it was the Sri Lankan government that came under fire from the so-called guardians of human rights for giving them the facilities which they never had under Prabhakaran. .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ With the best will in the world and with the best available resources no government could have coped with the avalanche of 300,000 that descended on the shoulders of the Sri Lankan government almost overnight. When hurricane Katrina hit the south of America President Bush failed to cope with it and he went out in disgrace. But the Sri Lankan government provided facilities which were far superior to those IDPs living in comparable circumstances in Pakistan, Sudan or any other part. They had banks, post offices, TVs, cricket and volley ball teams, schools with specialist teachers flown in from Royal and D. S. Senanayake colleges to train A Level candidates, Sathosa trading outlets where a dayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s collection was around Rs. 2 million, two hospitals, one run by an Indian specialist team and one by the Sri Lankan government, both providing free medicine etc. .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I know it because I visited the Menik Farm just before the Editor of The Hindu, N. Ram, visited the place. He said that the conditions were far better than the conditions of the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Indian camps. Even the Tamil Nadu MPs found to their surprise that the conditions were far different from the horror stories told to them by Tamil propagandists. But these camps were projected as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-concentration campsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ by the NGOs and foreign agencies.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Predictably, the local NGOs and their counterparts in INGOs reacted negatively to every difficult task confronted by the Sri Lankan government in rehabilitating the Tamil IDPs because they saw in it opportunities to reap some benefits from the misery of the victims of Prabhakaran. These NGO parasites saw the possibility of filling their dwindling cofferes with dollars if they shed crocodile tears to impress their foreign donors. The main concern of these NGO opportunists was not so much to improve the conditions of the IDPs but to improve their expensive life style by selling sob stories about the IDPs. Make no mistake, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-PakiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Saravanamuttu and Jehan Perera are two NGO hirelings singing basically for their supper and not for the rice and curry of the Tamil IDPs which is incidental. They know that their bread will be buttered only if they paint Sri Lanka in the darkest of colours. Denigration of Sri Lanka cuts both ways. First, their bad reports help the EU to cut GSP+ and US and UK to interfere in the domestic affairs of the nation. Second, the more they feed the foreign powers with anti-Sri Lankan propaganda the better the chances of increasing their foreign funding. They want to keep Sri Lanka down for them to thrive on the misery of the people. If, on the other hand, the conditions improve in Sri Lanka their chances of raking in money from foreign donors So they keep on cranking their propaganda machines to project Sri Lanka as the latest hell hole — they no longer call it ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the failed stateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ — that needs foreign intervention.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Going along with them is Ranil Wickremesinghe, the man who is ever ready to sell Sri Lanka to the foreigners in the hope of mobilizing them to rescue him. Like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-PakiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ Saravanmuttu he goes from one Western capital to another running down Sri Lanka and urging the Western powers to put pressure on the Rajapakse regime to make things easy for him to capture power. In a lucid and incisive analysis of WickremesingheƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s conduct abroad G. L. Peiris, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, ripped him apart speaking on the no-confidence motion raised in Parliament, pointing out instances where Wickremesinghe had criticized Sri Lanka to foreign audiences with the objective of instigating foreign interventions in the domestic affairs of the nation. This kind of conduct may impress his latest young ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-catcherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, Sagala Ratnaike, who accompanies him like his lap dog wherever he goes. But it has not cut any ice with the people of Sri Lanka who continue to reject him as their leader.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ WickremesingheƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s role abroad is open to suspicion, more so because he is a frequent traveller to the West and India ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” two of the important foreign bases for Sri Lanka. What is he up to? What has he achieved so far with his frequent flights to these countries? UNPers says that if he had spent half the time he had spent abroad at home the UNP has a chance ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”even though remote — of mending fences with the fragmented forces within the party. Of course, of late there is a need for him run away from home because his own party members are chasing him out of meetings. He gets a better reception abroad than at home.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Nevertheless, what has he got to tell UK and Norway ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”his current travel destinationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚that he canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t tell the people of Sri Lanka? He is forever crying that there is no transparency in the government. How about the Leader of the Opposition setting the example and telling the nation the obscenities he whispers in the ears of William Hague, the UK Foreign Minister, and Erik Solheim, the other miserable failure in handling the national crisis? Wickremesinghe was caught red handed when he told the US Congress investigators that USA should put pressure on the Sri Lankan government. It is there in black and white in the Congressional records. Minister Peiris also cited the text in his attack on Wickremesinghe in Parliament.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ What is most noteworthy is that Wickremesinghe has never reported back to the people, or his party, the details of the discussions he has had with the foreign governments. The local media too has let him off the hook by not raising this issue with him. These are not private trips. He goes on official missions as the Leader of the Opposition to meet foreign dignitaries who are in influential positions to impact positively or negatively on Sri Lanka. This is not like his trip to Singapore to have breakfast with Capt. Charles Gnanakone, the LTTE shipping agent. The public has a right to know what steps he has taken abroad to help Sri Lanka. He also has a duty to tell the nation what gains he had notched up to serve the nation. He returns home from his frequent flights abroad without uttering a word about it obviously because he canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t reveal his underhand dealings abroad to undermine the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the nation.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is hard to find another leader of the opposition in any other part of the world running abroad so frequently to meet foreign officials. Of course, he loves to go abroad and send pictures of him posing with foreign leaders to newspapers back home. The latest is his picture of chatting to William Hague. Well, having sent the picture to local newspapers will he tell the public, without being vague, what he discussed with Hague? He wonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t. Why? Because he has been playing his usual game of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-kuth-thu-fyingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, running down the nation behind the nationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s back.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There is no doubt that his ultimate ambition is to oust President Mahinda Rajapakse. His future depends on the successes he gains either in weakening or ousting Mahinda Rajapakse. He is even capable of plotting or joining a coup against the Rajapakse regime. Wickremesinghe is now on the path of taking the first step needed to legitimize a coup in the eyes of the world. His current political objective of painting Sri Lanka as a nation heading towards a dictatorship can justify a right-wing coup, if the right-wing is willing to risk it. It is in pursuit of this objective that he repeats the constant theme of saving the nation from ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-a Rajapakse dictatorshipƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. He is presenting himself as the democratic alternative though his own party is rebelling against him as the dictator who has ruled the party for 16 years with an iron fist refusing to democratize his own party.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Besides, he knows that he canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t win through the front door so he is trying the backdoor ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” his only favourite game ! There are enough disgruntled ex-Army men waiting in the wings to exploit any situation for their own ends. Remember how Cyril Ranatunga and Hamilton Wanasinghe, two former Army Commanders, jumped on the stage of the Gen. Sarath Fonseka to rally the ex-Army forces behind him? Fonseka is the first Army Commander who took to politics challenging his Commander-in-Chief. And, not surprisingly, the government too discovered preparations made by the military agents allied to Fonseka to take command of the nation after the elections.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Wickremesinghe too was a key ally of Fonseka in the last presidential campaign, knowing that FonsekaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s victory would end in a militarized state. If WickremesingheƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s candidate won the nation would have inevitably fallen into the hands of the fascist JVPers and the military cabal allied to Fonseka. Mercifully, the people saved the nation from the perilous dictatorship of a Sinhala Prabhakaran. It is also necessary to remind that the first major right-wing coup, linked to the UNP, came from Royce de Mel, the Navy Commander and Maurice de Mel, his brother, who was No: 2 in the Army. Furthermore, the jailing of Fonseka is a sensitive and emotive issue that can provoke a military backlash from quarters hoping to reap benefits from a Fonseka-Wickremesinghe combination.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Under these circumstances, there are plenty of Ranatungas and Wanasinghes (not to mention Royce and Maurice de Mels) waiting for an opportunity to strike. Wickremesinghe wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t be averse to a military coup if it would bring him into power. He would have to rely on the Security Forces (e.g., Fonseka) and the Western powers to stay in power. The Western powers wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t mind turning a blind eye to sabotaging and perverting democracy as long as they could bring Sri Lanka back into their fold as a client state with Wickremesinghe as their willing stooge.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A coup at this stage may seem far-fetched. But Sri Lanka has always been a land of surprises. A coup is also not that impossible. Right now Wickremesinghe and his cronies are whipping up a scare-mongering campaign, both at home and broad, to justify a putsch, if they can. They will exploit every single issue that comes their way to overthrow President Mahinda Rajapakse, even a coup if it is possible. This casts a huge responsibility on the shoulders of Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapakse. He was the eyes, ears and the brain of the nation coordinating the biggest war faced by the nation in living memory. He canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t afford to rest on his laurels. Not now. Now he has to keep his senses open wider to protect the nation from the enemy within.