By Mario Perera, Kadawata

People in glass house must not throw stones. What happens when they do? Well they break their window panes and become all the more scrutable and assailable. The axis of evil has done it again. First there were the World Wars, their dirty wars into which they dragged their colonies. Then came the Korean wars and Vietnam. Korea still remains divided. Yet the North Koreans pushed MacArthur right down to the sea. Then they divided Vietnam until Asia taught them their bitter lesson. Now they have sown death and destruction in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

The North Vietnamese, nick-named the Viet-Cong beat the shit out of the French in Dien Bien Phu. I remember watching the documentary on Dien Bien Phu in the War Museum in Hanoi. After the routing, a literal massacre it was, the French were hounded out in their hundreds and led out hands high in surrender, flanked here and there by Vietnamese soldiers. I heard a French Lady full of concern for her co-citizens asking presumably her husband, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”what did they do with themƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢? The man replied in a far les emotional tone: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”surely a kick up their arses with the words Get OutƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. The French had sent their biggest Army commander
Field Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny to the Front. But he returned with the body of his son killed in battle. The Viet Cong were no respecters of persons. And then it was the turn of the American hulks. They were seen pathetically hanging onto the last helicopters to get out of Saigon. Gone were the waving stars and the stripes, with the hymn to the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”land of the free and the home of the braveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. The failed reconquest of North Vietnam and the inglorious exit from Vietnam were both due to the support those countries received from our most ancient friend, China.

And now this axis of evil, the creator of world-wide chaos, suffering and destruction is gunning for our leaders. There is no point recapitulating facts and figures relating to the Ealam wars. The final truth is that Sri Lanka as a nation wanted this scourge of terrorism to end. For that hour came also the man. The fight was against all odds, because the axis of evil did not want terrorism to be put to an end. One will recall what they told us each time human bombs blasted men, women and children to smithereens. The bombed the Sacred Bo Tree, and the Temple of the Sacred tooth Relic, both palladiums of theravada Buddhism of which we are the flag bearer. But what they, the moral conscience of humanity had to say was: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-While condoling with the victims, we wish to point out the urgent need for arriving at a negotiated settlementƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Our as well as international newspapers are full of their wise sayings of that period. The devil is known the quote the scriptures. No talk then of human rights and crimes against humanity.

But the people, deep within in their hearts, wanted a leader who would say: enough is enough, terrorism must be vanquished, and fully. Not only must their military machine be destroyed, but the movement and leaders must be totally eradicated…annihilated. No ashes left for the phoenix to rise out of. The people wanted it so done. And so it was done, in keeping with the mandate of the Sri Lankan nation. The leader incorporated the innermost desires of the people. That was not the war of one man or of several. It was the war waged by Sri Lanka against a ruthless band of terrorists, supported by the axis of evil. The battle was waged and won by Sri Lanka with total consciousness of her full rights as a sovereign, independent nation and for no other good but her own. The war was waged by Srilankans of all religious creeds and ethnic groups. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers: Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims, died so that this nation would remain a unitary state. Just think of the contribution of Lakshman Kadirgaman, the greatest Minister of Foreign affairs this nation ever had. He was not a Sinhalese Buddhist. He was not killed by one such either.

Beaten in their self-centered ambitions, the axis of evil was never able to digest the defeat of the LTTE which was also a blow to their boundless self conceit and pride. Standing on the high ground of hypocritical moral righteousness, the axis of evil ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Banked on the MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ using him as their boxing glove for the final punch. But they have surely bitten more than they can chew.

The President has quite justly called on the nation to show the axis of evil who we are. What Sri Lanka is gearing up to telling them is: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Fiat experimentum in corpora viliƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (try your experiments on vile bodies). ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ We are not a nation born yesterday through your scheming conventions and treatises. Our ambassadors to the Imperial Court of Rome sat on the right of Caesar and watched British kings being dragged in chains for their amusement. Read what Emerson Tennant said of Lanka is his opening paragraph on the nationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s history. Hennessey wrote: Lanka is oldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦indeed very old. We have nothing to learn from people of yesterday and today. We were civilized, with a unique culture, language ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and religion when their ancestors loafed around minus ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ambudeysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

Now we are called as a nation to rise up and answer the call of Mother Lanka. Senior wrote: Rise child of |Lanka and answer thy Mother hath called to thee. That time has now dawned. Our President the personification and embodiment of the motherland is calling out to us. His voice is our voice; his force derives from our energy resources. He incorporates our mind and our will. As for the report of the axis of evil, I wish to put again in print what the students of Bretagne (Britanny) told a French Minister Devaquet intent on ushering reforms to their detriment:

Devaquet si tu savais; ton projet, ou on se le met – Devaquet if only you know, your paper what we used it for! Axis of Evil, know ye the use to which this nation of Lanka is putting your report. Indeed we as a nation do not scratch our behinds with paper as you do, but this time we will, your report was all we needed.

What we are fighting against is a three-faced demon of evil. As Patrick Henry said, inciting the American colonists to war: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in…? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this…if its purpose be not to force us to submission? We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves.

Yes let us not deceive ourselves. We are in a fight, and fight we will. The first barrage will be fired on the 1^st of May. Furthermore and very consolingly indeed, we are not alone. The might force that pushed MacArthur to the sea, and drove the enemy in panic and total disarray out of Vietnam is our friend. Indeed we have nothing to fear. Once againa to quote Patrick Henry: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just (Force) who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the braveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.