Insight By Sunil Kumar Nov.2nd 2009

Will Lieut Gen Sarath Fonseka attempt to override the protocols which govern his status as a former commander of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces towards personal gainƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  rather than preserving the integrity of his motherland and the confidences afforded him by the nation’s leaders in power ?rather than responding to the instigation of the power hungry oppositionƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ better described as a pack ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ hyenas waiting for someone else’s kill to take control of Sri Lanka in the speculated Military Dictatorship as per the media hype on the topic which is now a raging tempest of unanswered questions and insurmountable doubt, seems a fairly easily answerable question!

The answer with no qualms should realistically be a vehement NEGATIVE!
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Furthermore will there be seeds of dissent sown against him over his recent visit to the US where the rumours are rife that the US authorities have tried to grill him over Armed Forces Human Rights Violations which have neither been confirmed, assented nor denied by those involved despite disgruntled sabre rattlingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri lLnkan authoritiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ with the US Foreign Office and Diplomatic RepresentationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where the only salient truth remains that the the Lieut. General has conducted himself with class and dignity and maintained his own silence about many speculations relative to his future moves which are currently no more than speculative rhetoric and consequently it seems only fair to give the noble leader some respite and credibility towards his own perceived responsibilityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who almost (but not quite!) singlehandedly manouvred the nation’s oppression by ruthless terrorists and put the rest of the theorising on the backburner until the air clears!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The answer again to the question asked about his credibilities needs to be NEGATIVE as his visit to the US appears to be totally unrelated to any political motivation although some would like to portray it as one with ulterior motives given the storm it has caused and the shameless dictum it has at times entailed in order to portray the Lt. Gen. as a traitor! albeit totally incongruous with the man’s reputation and integrity.
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There have been unfortunate comparisons between himƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and the now deceased Maj.Gen. Janaka Perera as far as aspirations for power go, once again basedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ more on conjecture although the latterƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ did expose his achilles heel by colluding with the UNP opposition and eventually orchestrating his own destiny in a violent coming together of many forces the greater part of which appeared to be personal enemies as well as his hated adversary the LTTEƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ despite all the allegations that it was a dark deed of the ruling party which has never been proven and probably never will be!
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It seems incredible that in Sri Lanka there are more pundits than the visionaries who perceive even a semblance of the truth in a situation entailing Lt.Gen. Fonseka’sƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  mindset in the aftermath of his phenomenal successƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and to assume that Lt Gen. Sarath Fonseka’s dialogue to the mediaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is a veiled pointer towards his aspirations to run for theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Presidency seems as far fetched asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  speculations about Ranil Wickremasinghe winning a landslide win at the next general election both of which simply wont happen!
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In the case of Lt.Gen. Fonseka despite the theorists, he is far too much of a Sinhala patriot, a disciplined military leaderƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and a man of honour which the Janaka Perera aspirations seemed to sadly circumventƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  with many possibilities in his case as the exception, to even entertain the thought of ursurping his onetime CEO the President H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksha who himself has been placed in a quandry about the ongoing rumoursƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ regarding aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ military dictatorshio shamelessly splashed about in the mediaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and in all his astute wisdom and hindsight is very probably ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ contemplatingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  precautionary measures and in the almost unthinkable event of a Fonseka aspiration towards a military dictatorship it would be a self destructive move where he will have neither the requisite support for such a bold albeit foolhardy move beyond the puny egging on of the opposition parties in desperation to topple the Rajapaksha Administration where the entire Sinhala Nation whose hero worshipping and adulationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ of Mahinda Rajapaksha would by far overwhelm even a hypothetical surge by any of his adversaries and if Sarth Fonseka by some unfortunate circumstance belongs to this category there needs little further to be said beyondƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the need for hisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ psychiatric evaluation as well asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the national upheavals it could cause and the dire reprisals for the orchestrators of a military coup which was tried some decades ago as testimony to the factƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in similar vein( speculative to the present of course!)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where the rest is history.
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Despite the imminent dangers of someone with the power and clout of Lieut Gen Sarath Fonseka( to all intents and purposes a thing of the past!!)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ having a run at the Presidency on the strength of his military accomplishments which obviously is what has given strength to the Military Dictatorship theory andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the reason why it needs to be dispelled hinges on what the discerning rather than the man on the street know as integrity, honour and love of country and being in allegiance with the ruling party.
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For Lieut Gen. Fonseka to try and cross a barrier etched in steel and reinforced with all the military might which he now has little control of with the likes of the powerfulƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Defence Secretary and all his cohorts whose strengths are overwhelmingly greater than any aspiring dictator sounds more of aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  tale from the Arabian NightsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ thought of by dreamers whose only incentives are based upon an unattainable hunger for power as in aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ fictitious preamble of presumption with a suicidal post script if it ever materialised!