Herold Leelawardena

Dear Ms. Federica Janz; though you scream that your paper as unbiased, unafraid, etc and etc, you have been withholding my comments that were send to you for the last so many months. The obvious reason why you do not publish my comments is that I do not subscribe to your views. And you say you strive for freedom of expression. Bullshit.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And here I am, writing a comment about you interview with Mrs. Anoma Fonseka. There is a message here for Anoma as well; that is of cause if she is not pig headed to reject it.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now, I like to let you know first that I disagree strongly with your introductory description of Sarath Fonseka as a victim of revenge, vengeance and hate. If I were you, I would have described my narrative more truthfully but something like this: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”During his tenure as the army Commander, Sarath Fonseka hated so many officers and soldiers he had over five thousand of them court marshaled with a vengeance for not helping him cover up his wrongs and for various petty little things.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ms. Janz, Fonseka is no political prisoner. If he is a political prisoner as Anoma says and the government set him free as demanded by RanilW and et al, then all the criminals that are in jail would have opted to be Presidential candidates and get themselves free. Another important thing; Fonseka is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”one of the war heroesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ at one time but never ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”the war heroƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Read below and learn how Fonseka court-Marshall ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”a war heroƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and stripped his stripes.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But first, letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s get to another expression that Anoma cry about; ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Rajapakses vilified my husbandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. That too should have been said the other way round as; Fonseka had vilified all the people that criticized him. For one did he not use foul words like paharaya, kalawedda, balla etc to degrade his detractors? For another did he not forewarn Rajapakses to have their mats and pillows ready to go to jail, and did he not say that he would give them bones and tubes to suckle while in jail?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Anoma says Fonseka had set examples to his two daughters. I say; the above model is not exemplary, is it? Now donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t get me wrong; I never say uttering and muttering of that hype are good enough reasons to lock him behind bars. But I seriously believe; had Fonseka won that presidential elections or even lost it by a slender margin he would have tried to make those forewarnings come true, and this country would have remained a blood bath even today. To ascertain his fit of pique, we only have to dig in to what he had done when he was the commander of the army. At times, I even wonder whether what Man-gala said of him is right.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When Piripaharan thrust his last war on us; Fonseka was gravely ill and in hospital in Singapore. Nevertheless, the army chased the LTTE away and liberated the East with an outstanding success – no civilian causalities. Maj Gen Parakrama Pannipitiya led the army in that initial success. And many a press depicted Pannipitiya as a war hero. But Fonseka is a jealous man. He hated Pannipitiya for taking credit that he thinks should have been his trophy.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As the commander of the army, Fonseka instituted a court-martial against Maj Gen Pannipitiya on the same count as he himself is now found guilty, and several other counts. Pending the trial, for months, Pannipitiya was held in a cell smaller than 12ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢x8ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ as Janz says, Fonseka is now imprisoned. Mind you Fonseka is put in a cell after he was found guilty but not before. Indeed, Fonseka was kept in a Navy apartment whereas Pannipitiya was kept in a cell less than 12ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢x8ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ pending trial. So who is treated badly and who is treated fairly readers must decide.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s move on to what PannipitiyaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s wife Achini says. Fonseka had persecuted not just her husband but her entire family. While her husband was kept in a cell, Fonseka revenge from her and her children as well. Fonseka had denied of their quarters, salary etc and put her in a dire situation. Anoma was AchiniƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s long time friend but she hadnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t even answered her call at the moment of her despair, so, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Ditta Dhamma Wedaniya KammaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is the result, Achini says. Or is it? If we go by JanzƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s interview with Anoma, she wanted to take up the political mantle of Fonseka. No doubt she has the money but whether she has the necessary clout to fool people is another matter.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Getting back to Pannipitiya, at long last, the Supreme Court had let Pannipitiya off the hook for alleged wrongdoings but for a flimsy charge of misuse of a vehicle. If not for that court Marshall, Maj Gen Pannipitiya could have been the commander of the army today, so said the Secretary of Defense. He also said that there had been over five thousand court Marshals during Lt Gen FonsekaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s tenure as the commander of the army. How many of those court Marshalls were fixes or the likes of Pannipitiya, only Fonseka knows.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Actually, Anoma is hallucinating. What political mantle of Fonseka? It was all over. RanilW had used Fonseka for ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”karapinchaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. JVP is on the way of the dodo; so, they want to delay their demise by riding a piggyback on him. True, a handful of Fonseka acolytes did carry placards in few cities in Europe for few hours. They cannot but organize a successful rally in Sri Lanka to protest the plight of Fonseka date. With all that, If Anoma can persuade Alas to resign which I doubt very much, she can enjoy the privileges of being an MP for the next five years. And thatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ll be the end of the story.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚