{"id":95266,"date":"2019-11-15T16:35:22","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T23:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95266"},"modified":"2019-11-16T14:29:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-16T21:29:37","slug":"relocate-the-nations-capital-to-gokanna-trincomalee-an-open-letter-to-our-next-president-gotabhaya-rajapakse-and-next-prime-minister-mahinda-rajapaksa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/15\/relocate-the-nations-capital-to-gokanna-trincomalee-an-open-letter-to-our-next-president-gotabhaya-rajapakse-and-next-prime-minister-mahinda-rajapaksa\/","title":{"rendered":"Relocate the Nation\u2019s Capital to \u2018Gokanna,\u2019 (Trincomalee) An Open Letter to Our Next President Gotabhaya Rajapakse and next Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa."},"content":{"rendered":"

Geethanjana Kudaligamage<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Rajapakses, Geopolitics, \u2018Eurocentric Developmentalism,\u2019\nand the western hegemony <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Part 20-A)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\ntime to time throughout history, if foreign powers recurrently have been\nhellbent on grabbing what is legitimately yours, at times by force and\nconspiracy, what options would you have in order to resolve that problem? If\ntheir land grab is targeting the most valuable property you have due to its\nstrategic location in the Indian Ocean, and if this land is historically and\nancestrally belonging to you, and if this conspiracy is being launched with the\nactive help of some of your own family members plotting against you within,\nwhat is the simple solution you have in your disposal to resolve such dilemma?\nThe full occupation of the said property is the only solution, isn\u2019t it? Your\nsignificant presence in this property would be the only answer, correct? As\nlong as you keep this property open without having your physical presence\nthere, (not just partial presence, but a significant presence) that reason\nalong encourages others to grab it. Because you haven\u2019t shown that you value\nand beholden to this diamond in the rough, because you are so stupid, a\ncongenital idiot not to know that it is a rare diamond hiding the future of\nyour success. The land grab becomes easier when the true owner of this property\ndoesn\u2019t show interest in it. The same stupidity brought disaster to our nation\nearlier in our history and now it happens again. It is a time tested,\nhistorically proven truth about the relationship between man and the land, man\nand his geography. Outsiders will come in and fill the vacuum and settle there\nwhen you are not there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Gokanna\u2019 is the ancient name of\nTrincomalee, an ancient port city located on the east coast of Sri Lanka\noverlooking an insulated deepwater natural harbor. This is the only location in\nSri Lanka where we have beautiful precipitous hills in the oceanfront letting an\nobserver see several miles into the ocean. This is also a well-known habitat of\nwild elephants with a specific talent. It is a common spectacle to see them\nfrequently swimming in the ocean, swimming between forests in the mainland and\nthe hilly islands situated in the ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from the natural beauty, this has\nbeen the battleground for many battles in the ancient and modern history of Sri\nLanka. Since the Portuguese era, this location has been one of the main\ninterests of competition among world maritime powers to have it in their\npossession. Based on the evidence, we know our location in the Indian Ocean,\nespecially Trinco harbor is one of the main reasons why most of the western\ncountries and India supported separatism and terrorism in Sri Lanka. They might\nhave strategized to weaken the nation trough division of its territory by\npitting different races up against each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trincomalee\u2019s name has been written in\nmodern world history due to a couple of reasons. One such reason was the\ngreatest naval battles that took place in its vicinity, between largest\nmaritime powers at that time, France and England off the coast of Trincomalee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Battle-of-Trincomalee<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Battle_of_Trincomalee<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And also Trincomalee was well known for\nits being the commanding post of Lord Mountbatten (British), Supreme Allied\nCommander, South East Asia Command, during the second world war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The onslaught of western maritime\npowers who desired to possess this strategic island and the Trinco harbor has\nbeen intensified in recent history after China became an economic powerhouse in\nAsia., The western interest of having a foothold in Sri Lanka has never died for\nthe last 500 years. If we do not put utmost importance to undertaking this\ndilemma and divert all our physical and intellectual resources\/wealth\nprioritizing to resolve it to bring a lasting solution for this problem, our\nfuture in the Indian Ocean will be no different from that of the Chegosians in\nDiego Garcia islands.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we go back to the beginning of the\nmodern history of the island nation, Sri Lanka\u2019s first western encounter was\nthe Portuguese. They ruled the coastal belt of the island from 1505-1658. Then\nthe Dutches ruled almost the same areas approximately for another 150 years and\nfinally, Britain managed to rule the entire island nation from 1815-1948. The\nwestern powers partially or fully possessed the island for 443 years, during\nthis time they controlled our ports and maritime capabilities and even our\naccess to the ocean most of the time. And the western rule tells another aspect\nof the culture and their political affiliations of the people of Sri Lanka.\nAlthough the people in coastal belt experienced and lived through western\nculture for the entire colonial period of Sri Lanka for 443 years, the people\nof the hinterland and deep countryside experienced it only from 1818-1948, just\nfor 130 years. Isn\u2019t that an important reason to understand why Colombian\nthinking is completely different from that of the village people in Sri Lanka?\nColombian is the trusted foster child of western colonialism.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British were the only colonial\npower that could claim to have their full authority in Trincomalee. Until then\nit was under the jurisdiction of Sinhala kingdom. (By the way, Wikipedia\ncarries an article with falls history about Trincomalee glorifying it as a\nregion entirely remained under the rule of Tamil kingdom for two millennia.\nSomeone may have to correct this false narrative of history in Wikipedia.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we were granted independence in\n1948, eventually, we could establish a fully independent \u2018state\u2019 of Sri Lanka\nin 1972. We have been independent only for 70 years. However, within 25 years\nafter the independence, some of the western countries and India rattled and\nruined our so-called \u2018Independence.\u2019 They covertly and overtly backed\nseparatism and terrorist movements in the island, who challenged the legitimate\n\u2018statehood\u2019 and its territorial authority. These terrorist organizations also\ndesired to possess this land. Even in this conflict, Trincomalee was the target\nof many who had stakes in the national issue of Sri Lanka. On the other hand,\nwe were told that our independence was won by Colombians without shedding a\nsingle drop of blood. How come? No one seems to question this false official\nnarrative of our history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018In-dependent\u2019 Sri\nLanka was kept in-check all the way through <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka was never given a chance to rest during her entire\nhistory. However, the desire of the west to get a\nfoothold in Sri Lanka was not new. It never changed even after ending\nwestern colonialism. During the Portuguese era, the Portuguese had envisioned\nto create a second Portugal in Sri Lanka. That was the dream of Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque.<\/strong>\n(The notorious conqueror Afonso de Albuquerque<\/strong> <\/a>who\nraided, captured, and conquered many coastal cities in Asia for the Portuguese\nEmpire-Wikipedia).The reason and justification\nfor his decision were related to our strategic location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1590 the Portuguese were\ndreaming to colonize the entire island. So they planned to conquer Kandy. Just\nbefore the Portuguese invasion of Kandy, with the intention of enthroning Dona\nKatharina in Kandyan court to create a protectorate under Portuguese\nsupervision, convincing the Viceroy and his war council about the prospects of\nconquering and colonizing the entire Island was presented explicitly by their\nwar strategists as follows\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a desirable\npossession for any nation. It was, moreover the natural center of the rich\ntraffic with the southern seas; and so long as the Portuguese were supreme at\nsea, its insular position would render its defense against all possible enemies\nno difficult matter. Could it be that Ceylon destined to be the scene of the\nfulfillment of AlBOQUERQUE\u2019S dream that Ceylon would be established a second\nPortuguese nation which should hold sway over the whole of India?\u201d <\/em><\/strong> <\/em>(P.E. Pieris)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This insular position it mentions is nothing but\nthe Trincomalee harbor I think. And also this statement reveals another\ntimeless truth behind western desire to possess it. It is to hold sway over the whole of India. <\/strong>Controlling India would\nbe an easy task for any power if it possesses Trincomalee harbor. This reveals\nthat the short-sighted foolish Indians have dug their own grave by creating the\nseparatist monster in Sri Lanka eventually to bite them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Indian thinking seems to be quite\ndifferent. They seem to dig deep and entrench in the island when this endgame\nof dividing Sri Lanka happens. As the sole regional power, India might be envisioning\nto annex North-East Sri Lanka if everything goes in favor of separatism. When I\nsay this, I am pretty sure that the Colombians will chuckle and even will post\na comment refuting this hypothesis as complete bunkum. (It is clear that few\ncommenters in LankaWeb are paid bots by external espionage agencies.) The\nreason for this reaction is simply because Colombians don\u2019t get it. They do not\nget it because they are brain dead or their brains are full of sawdust. They\nlive in an alternative reality. While living in such a bubble of a fairy tale type of false reality, they still\npossess the authority for giving interpretations and explanations, especially\nin our foreign policy matters. This needs to be ended. Yes fully ended.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we persistently having the same problem\nfor the last 500 years even after the Portuguese, Dutch and British occupation\nis ended? And even 70 years after the western occupation was ended? The reason\nis that we haven\u2019t been able to get hold of the main location of western\ninterest in our land fully into our hands. Until the Sri Lankan state fully\noccupies the entire eastern flank of the country, and until we move into\nTrincomalee and having our significant presence there, the separatism will\nstay, terrorism will stay, and the western and Indian interference into our\ninternal politics will stay. Because the lifeline of all those disorders\noriginates from a single epicenter, that is nonother than the desire of\noutsiders to have Trincomalee in their possession.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many, our location is the curse for our\ncountry, like hydrocarbon deposits for middle eastern countries and minerals\nfor the African countries. But how if we think positively about it? Can we turn\nthis curse into a blessing? But we know that the uncreative foolish Colombians\ncannot turn this curse into a blessing because they already have turned this\ncurse into their personal blessing through NGOs turning our bleeding wounds\ninto their source of income. If there is any hope, we can hope only that\nRajapaksas would have the courage to change this situation. Mahinda and\nGotabhaya are the only duos who can do it. That is the reason why I decided to\nwrite this article after almost ten years of silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical periods of a nation associated with\nthe capital of that period of history. On every occasion, for legitimate\nreasons, far-sighted rulers have established their capitals in different\nlocations in Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Yapahuwa, Dambadeniya,\nKotte, Seethawaka, Kandy are some examples. Always there was the name of a king\nalso associated with the establishment of these capitals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Colombo was established by Portuguese for\ncolonial reasons. Getting out of this fake city is an overdue task if we truly\nneed to be independent. If we analyze the reasons for relocating our capital in\nthis period of political turmoil, the most qualified location will be\nTrincomalee. If Gotabhaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa managed to initiate this relocation,\nTamils will be happy (not the separatists), Muslims will be happy; however, the\nless happy community will be Sinhalese. The reason is that a good part of the\nSinhalese community is being hoodwinked by the Colombians through their power\nof interpretation and explanation of the history of our country. This monopoly\nof the Colombians for explanations and interpretations is another area that\nneeds a radical change.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The map below shows that the perfect location\nfor establishing our post-independence capital is Trincomalee, not Colombo. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spice route of Indian\nocean in 16th<\/sup> century (See the significance of Sri Lanka within the\nroute)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and foremostly Trincomalee is located in\nthe east, the emerging future of the world. Secondly, if Sri Lanka to be a\nproud nation with her own capital representing her history and culture and its\nvisual traditions, then she needs to build her capital with her cultural\nmetaphor imprinted and engraved in it. Colombo is not that capital. It harbors\nall the ailments of colonial historical injustices. It is an alien place to the\nnative. Ask this question within the first few weeks of their arrival from\nuniversity students who are coming from villages to Colombo University. They\nwill tell how alien it is to them. Or they might sing the song of Weraliyadda\nas the answer to that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0db8\u0dbd\u0dca <\/strong>\u0dc0\u0dd2\u0dba\u0db1\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dca <\/strong>\u0db6\u0dd0\u0db3\u0dd3 <\/strong>\u0db8\u0dc4 <\/strong>\u0db6\u0dd0\u0daf\u0dca\u0daf\u0dda <\/strong>\u0d8b\u0db1\u0dca <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0d85\u0d9a\u0dd4\u0dbb\u0dd4 <\/strong>\u0d9a\u0ddc\u0dbb\u0dcf\u0db1\u0dca\u0db1\u0da7 <\/strong>\u0db1\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0dbb\u0da7 <\/strong>\u0d9c\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dd9 <\/strong>\u0db8\u0db8\u0dca <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0db1\u0dd4\u0dc0\u0dbb <\/strong>\u0db4\u0dd2\u0dbb\u0dd2\u0dbd\u0dcf <\/strong>\u0d91\u0dbb\u0db8\u0dd2\u0db1\u0dd2 <\/strong>\u0d9a\u0da7\u0dd4 <\/strong>\u0dc0\u0dd0\u0dbd\u0dca <\/strong>(unfamiliar and\nunfavorable  colonial weeds and thorny\nobstacles)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0d86\u0dba\u0dd9\u0dad\u0dca <\/strong>\u0db6\u0dd0\u0daf\u0dca\u0daf\u0da7 <\/strong>\u0d91\u0db1\u0dc0\u0dcf <\/strong>\u0db8\u0db8\u0dca<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0db8\u0dc4\u0dad\u0dd6\u0db1\u0dca <\/strong>\u0dc0\u0dd9\u0db1\u0dc0\u0da7\n<\/strong>\u0dc0\u0dd0\u0da9\u0dd2\u0dba <\/strong>\u0dc4\u0ddc\u0db3\u0dcf\u0dba\u0dd2 <\/strong>\u0db8\u0da7 <\/strong>(becoming a gentleman through colonial education)<\/strong>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0db6\u0dd0\u0daf\u0dca\u0daf\u0dd9\n<\/strong>\u0db6\u0dad\u0dcf\u0d9a\u0dca <\/strong>\u0d9a\u0dbb <\/strong>\u0dc4\u0dd2\u0da7\u0dd2\u0dba\u0dcf\u0db1\u0db8\u0dca                                                              <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us build our postcolonial capital\nof the new nation of Sri Lanka in Gokanna \/Trincomalee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving the nation\u2019s\ncapital is not a new thing in our history. We have moved our capital so many\ntimes for the same reason of external invasions and interference. Then in\nindependent Sri Lanka, Colombo, the bastion of colonial power, segregation and\napartheid, became our capital. We have moved the capital from Anuradhapura to\nPolonnaruwa, then to Yapahuwa, Dambadeniya, Kotte, Seethawaka and to Kandy. But\nwe got stuck in Colombo. Why? There is no reason for us to be in Colombo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we go into\nhistory, different historical periods are referred by the name of the capital\nof the said period; such as Anuradhapura period, Polonnaruwa period. The modern\nhistory of Sri Lanka referred to as the Colombo period. That is why we have\npoets of Kotte period and Colombo period. But the question is, does our capital\nColombo truly represent the soul of the nation? I have a pretty bold answer.\nNO! Guarded by parapet wall culture, this is the symbol of Apartheid,\nsegregation and even compartmentalization of our society. The demolition\n(symbolically not literally) of this city and its colonial ruins are overdue\nfolks.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on this background, I would like\nto suggest our next president Gotasbhaya Rajapaksa and next prime minister\nMahinda Rajapaksa to relocate our capital in Trincomalee. Why? Because of a\nmyriad of reasons. This relocation would be the remedy for most of our\nvulnerabilities currently we are grappling with. For instance, when the central\ngovernment of Sri Lankan state is located there in Trincomalee, the intensity\nand velocity of western and Indian interference will be faded away since we\nlegitimately occupying their object of interest. And also it removes the kernel\nof separatism because a separate state cannot survive without Trincomalee.\nSince the state of Sri Lanka is firmly situated there, the adversaries who want\nto fork their fingers into our affairs to divide us will be discouraged.\nWithout Trinco, the value of the Tamil cause will be decreased in western\nforeign offices. Fake crocodile tears of Human Rights organizations and NGOs\nwill be dried off without profits. The funding sources for NGOs will be ceased.\nOne single stroke of statesmanship will resolve a myriad of problems for Sri\nLanka. It will be a Putin-ist masterstroke by Gotabhaya and Mahinda. If they\ncan do this, Gotabhaya and Mahinda\u2019s names will be written in golden letters in\nthe history of Sri Lanka. Because it will open a new chapter in our history called\nthe \u2018Trincomalee period.\u2019 Just like every other period was referred with the\nname of a king associated with the respective period, Gokann or Trincomalee\nperiod of our history will be referred to Rajapaksas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabhaya already has\nmentioned about the development of Colombo into a futuristic city. That is a\ngood thing. He should do it. However, our future will be tainted in Colombo and\nthe futuristic city that he envisions to build in Colombo will be built on the\nsmelling rotten ruins of colonialism, its tradition of apartheid and\nsegregation. The entire Colombo is full of rotten colonial ruins contaminating\nthe air in Colombo mixed with the odor of colonial leftovers. Sorry for the\nfoul language, but it is the truth. This is the allegorical Trumpian \u2018shithole\u2019\nby its very meaning of the word, (This is the new word that US presidents added\ninto the vocabulary of political science in American English, so I consider it\nis not a bad word anymore) This is the place where our colonized brown sahibs\nthinking that they can become more civilized merely by associating with\nbathroom tissues, Sunday English newspapers while constantly uttering empty\nEnglish phrases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the place where\nall these champions and the admirers of our \u2018charitable\u2019 free \u2018independence\u2019\nfrom Britain live in. Colombians brag that they won independence from Britain\nfor us in Sri Lanka. But they never tell us that they never fought or contested\nanything to win. They never fought for our independence per se, but instead, received\nit through kissing rear ends of colonial masters, and begged for it. Compare\nthe Indians\u2019 independence struggle with our independence struggle; the Indians\nhave fought tooth and nail to gain their independence. However, in the case of\nSri Lanka, independence was not at all a glorious achievement to be proud of,\nit only confirms our conformity to Britain. The Colombians assured to Britain\nnot to change anything fundamentally and assured to maintain the status quo in\npost-independent Sri Lanka was one main reason why Britishers granted\nin-dependence to Colombians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombians can write\nvolumes about how to win any independence without\nshedding a single drop of blood, without firing a single shot, just by using a\nmere tongue. Mahathma Gandhi used his tongue for orations of his \u2018Ahimsa\u2019\nstrategy of nonviolence. In other words, Gandhi made Britishers be tired of\nbeating the shit out of Indians. because there were too many Indians. India\nlost its freedom through the insurmountable violence of Britain and won it back\nby getting even more beating. Colonized Borgoisies in India were very happy\nwith the outcome. But nobody questions why Indians had to get beaten once again\nto reclaim their lost freedom. By comparing the cost of Indian independence\nthrough nonviolence, Indians could have won their freedom through an armed\nstruggle with the same human cost? The Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the\nkilling spree due to partitioning India are some of the monumental examples. If\nthe Indians are proud of the human cost of their independence through bloodied\nnonviolence, why shouldn\u2019t I? Although this cost of nonviolence is\nsignificantly greater, alas\u2026still, the Indians are happy and they say they are\nproud of it. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But again, Indian official historians\nnever question the reason why the British authority never adhered to even\ngreater violence for the suppression of Indian independence when they really\nneede their colonies to rebuild England in the post-war era. What was the\nguaranty for the safety net of Gandhian moment come from? First and foremost,\nthe historical moment was in favor of Gandhi. Otherwise, he also might have\nbeen ended like Patrice Lumumba. We might have found him hanging in a tea\nplantation or in a similar location. Churchill was a well-known megalomaniac\ncriminal doubly insane than Prabhakaran, capable of using extream violence, but\ncouldn\u2019t push his already violent suppression into the extream in India. Why?\nWhy even the leaders after Churchill could not use full force to suppress\nIndian independence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason was that Churchills’ hands\nwere tied by US president Roosevelt; Roosevelt envisioned that the post-war\nworld was favorable to USA inasmuch colonial empires are dismantled and Europe\nis completely decimated.  He was envisioning\na new American century. He truly wanted Europe to be destroyed, or in\nClintonian political vocabulary, obliterated. That was the exact reason why he\ndelayed sending American troops to Europe when the battle was very thick. Not\nonly that, Rosevelt depleted Churchills’ treasury. Took all the gold for the\npayments for the equipment he sent. He demanded the end of the Imperial\npreference scheme in trade and wanted Churchill to dismantle the colonial\nempire. So wittingly or unwittingly Roosevelt’s position strengthened Gandhi\nand created the safety-net in favor of Indian independence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

India\u2019s meek acceptance of independence\nand the admiration of their very oppressors by leaders like Naru would be the\nreason for the Colombians to adhere to the liberation philosophy of the tongue.\nHere I am not referring to patois of Colombians, or their talents in liberatory\norations or sermons. But a completely different way of their use of tongue that\nnature had never envisioned. Alas\u2026if there was a single Colombian in Mout\nVernon Virginia with General Geoge Washington during American independence,\nGeneral Washington could have averted the wasteful bloodshed and unnecessary\nhuman cost of American independence. The same goes for Haitian leader Toussaint\nLouverture, Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Lenin, and other\nrevolutionary leaders.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Britain granted independence\nto Colombians, not because of Britain\u2019s merciful benevolence. Or, it was not\nbecause they awesomely satisfied the butt liking style of the Colombian tongue.\nActually, it was completely a remote reason, that was the US policy led by\nRoosevelt. As I said earlier, Britain granted independence to all its colonies\nbecause US president Roosevelt demanded Britain and Frace to do it if they\nwanted the USA to involve in the second world war. Roosevelt\u2019s arm twisting\nstrategy made British PM Churchill to grant independence to all British\ncolonies. Roosevelt\u2019s position about America\u2019s involvement in the war was\nclear. Roosevelt stubbornly demanded that if the USA to get into the war to\nsave Britten and Europe from Germany, England and France must agree to\ndismantle their colonial empires and imperial preference scheme that choked all\nother economies including the USA\u2019s. Dig deep into the history folks, you will\nfind not only this reality but also that Churchill had hated Roosevelt more\nthan he hated Hitler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our independence was just an offshoot,\na side effect of this larger world event. We never fought for it. Oh no! I am\nsorry, in fairness to our \u2018Nidahase Piyas in Colombo,\u2019 I must say\u2026 yes, indeed,\nColombians fought a fierce battle for our independence with cutleries and wine\nglasses in dinner and cocktail parties with Brits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of the aftermath of the\nsecond world war, Colombians slavishly received our independence as a merciful\ncharity from Britain on\nterms and conditions of the Brits. In India, British conditions brought\ndisaster. The partition of India was one such condition that Britain created.\nColombians never questions the reasons as to how and why Britain granted our\nindependence without a fight when they actually vanquished us after beating the\nshit out of us in Wellassa in 1818 and in Matale in 1848. Dear folks, can you\nbe proud of such independence when it is granted without a fight, at least\nthrough a war of words? No, no, no! February 4th<\/sup> should be a day of\nmourning, not celebration. Because Colombians received independence after they\ndestroyed the real fighter, Anagarika Dharmapala, who fought for respectable\nindependence. Now Colombians can ask why we should have an unnecessary fight\nfor our independence when Britain was ready to grant it free. Then the question\narises as to why then Britain didn\u2019t want to grant the same independence free\nto Anagarika Dharmapala? Isn\u2019t that fishy? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, it won\u2019t go\nboth ways; either you have to live in shame rest of your life or you have to\nwin your freedom in the same manner you lost it. At least stop this bragging\nabout it. It is sickening for those who know history. Bragging about winning\nour independence this manner is similar to that of bragging about winning a\ncricket match (our colonial master\u2019s game) due to bad weather. Since the\nColombians received our independence as a charity (Pinata) from Britain, we\nmust call the receivers \u2018Nidahase Pin-Piyas,\u2019 rather than \u2018Nidahaser Piyas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please let us stop\nthis bogus history lesson about the independence of Sri Lanka. Let us face the\nbitter reality. We never being independent folks. That is the truth. Just see\nhow the Colombians behave even today. Aren\u2019t they behave like foreign agents?\nAre they behaving independently? Or behaving in-dependence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, although\nit is going out of our subject matter too far, we must thank our first prime\nminister of independent Sri Lanka D. S Senanayake for his dedication to the\nresettlement program in Galloya project. He also built splendid Senanayake\nSamudraya without borrowing a single cent from external lenders. We must bow\nour heads for it, not because he never borrowed funds, but for not breaking the\ncentral bank when it was having full of cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason why D.S\ndid not need to borrow money for the construction of Senanayake Samudra was\nthat the British colonial administration had had a wonderful fiscal policy\nthroughout the colonial time to leave the treasury full of cash when we were\ngranted independence. And for the foolishness of the Brits, they didn\u2019t know\nhow to break a central bank. Alas\u2026poor Brits foolishly left the central Bank of\nthen Ceylon full of cash. For the bad luck of the British colonial leaders,\nRanil was also too young, therefore, he could not teach them how to break a\nbank; not just a regular bank, but a central bank. That is the only talent he\nhad learned in Royal Collage and had mastered in politics. We also must thank\nD.S for not breaking the central bank when it was full of cash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But however, we also\nmust grudgingly thank Senanayakes for their immense contribution to making us\nan independent nation of insurmountable alcoholism (pardon me, because I love\nalcohol). According to Kumari Jayawardene\u2019s brilliantly written historical\naccount of the rise of our colonial bourgeoisie, \u2018Nobodies to Somebodies,\u2019\nSenanayake family was one of the leading families in Sri Lanka with a humble\nbeginning, who became wealthier through Arrack licensing in colonial Ceylon. Also,\ndo not forget to compare that information with the British prisoner Robert\nKnox\u2019s account about Sinhalese in the 19th<\/sup> century Ceylon. Knox said\nthat Ceylonese of the time never consumed alcohol at all. Robert Knox was a\nprisoner in the Kandyan kingdom at the end of Duch occupation and beginning of\nBritish influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great job by our\nColombians who became somebodies by spreading alcoholism among locals. It is\nremarkable to see what they have done to a non-alcoholic nation, turning them\ninto the number one alcoholic consuming nation in the world within a short\nperiod of time during the colonial era. No wonder why people called\nSenanayake\u2019s ancestral house The Manor of the Bottle.\u201d (<\/strong>\u0db6\u0ddd\u0dad\u0dbd\u0dda<\/strong> <\/strong>\u0dc0\u0dbd\u0dc0\u0dca\u0dc0<\/strong>)<\/strong>   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombo is a city of slavish mental\nslaves<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombo is a city without morals. It is\nthe epicenter of all ill wills of our country. Colombians are the shameless\ncallous bunch of baboons walking in the breeze of Gallface green with open\nbutts. Think about the current politics of UNP, NGOs and so-called civil\nsociety. All these parasites are originated in Colombo working hard to enslave\nour nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First of all, Colombo was created as a\ncolonial city by the Portuguese. If we were truly gained independence in 1948,\nwe must have built our own capital elsewhere at that time. But we couldn\u2019t do\nit then, because the postcolonial Colombians who gained political power after\nindependence didn\u2019t want to do it. Now with all the internal and external\npolitical reasons, it is time for Gotabhaya and Mahinda to do it. At the same\ntime, I would like to add specifics to it by suggesting to relocate our capital\nto Trinco once again so Gota and Mahinda can begin their true futuristic city\nfrom ground zero there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Gotabhaya has envisioned other\ndevelopment plans, our entire resources cannot be diverted into building cities\nalone. But his first task must be developing the Gokanna\/Trinco harbor into a\nmodern harbor. Then we must have an international airport in the suburbs. Let\nus create an administrative district in it where we can have beautiful\nboulevards especially for all government ministries and departments. We also\ncan have an embassy-row in a newly created beautiful boulevard. All government\nministries can be next to the embassy row. The parliament can be in the center\nof the administrative district. The city center can have a gigantic monument,\nit could be our own \u2018Arc de Triomphe.\u2019 That could be a part of the monument for\nour independence. We also can have all cultural centers art galleries, sports\ngrounds\u2026what not? The streets also can be super-wide allowing for future\nexpansions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabhaya\nand Mahinda are the futuristic leaders who are capable of taking on this kind\nof history-making task.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabhaya is not a typical politician\nthat calculates every move through the prism of selfish political gains and\nparty politics. His not being another politician is the exact reason why people\ntrust him and hoping that he will bring peace and prosperity, and resolve many\nof our postcolonial political, economic and social ailments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main reason for people to invest a\nlot of expectations on Gotabhaya is that they think he has the courage to do\nthe unthinkable; unthinkable for many other politicians. When many other\npoliticians repeated the same mantra of the invincibility of the LTTE, he\nmanaged to convince his brother, then president Mahinda Rajapaksa to think\notherwise. With his brother Gotabhaya\u2019s military conviction, Pres. Rajapaksa\nprofessed to Erik Solheim, that he will defeat Prabhakaran. And he did it within\ntwo and a half years of a time frame. No one in the world could believe it. The\nentire western world who covertly and overtly supported terrorism in Sri Lanka\ntook by surprise. In an article I published in 2010 on LankaWeb, I said\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In politics, the creative spirit demands tremendous courage to take\nrisks; all remarkable politicians in world history were as audacious as they\nwere fearless risk-takers. Sometimes, of course, creative destruction helps to\nbuild new foundations. In fact, colonial Sri Lanka has been built on a fake\nstructure that has been reached to its limits. In order to go into the future,\nSL ought to demolish not only this fictitious structure itself but also its\nruins. Indeed, as political history revels, there is nothing right or wrong as\nsuch in political actions but only justified measures, justified to the given\ncircumstance and their contexts. If anyone can suggest an alternative strategy\nto disprove the actions of Rajapakse within the current Sri Lankan political\ncontext, then this writer invites them to come forward and submit their views\nto Lanka Web to enlighten the readers.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think Gotabhaya and Mahinda have this\ncreative spirit and the courage to apply creative destruction to establish our\nnation anew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other reason for people to trust\nGotabhaya is Gotabhaya never aspired to be the president of Sri Lanka, but\npeople are the ones who wanted him to be the president.  Although it looks so trivial, it is a very\nimportant reason. This is the exact reason why he had the courage to trash the\n13 conditions of the Tamil parties without even reading them. That tells that\nhe is not in a position to do anything and everything to grab power like his\nopponent.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People want Gotabhaya to bring lasting\nsolutions to our national issue. We know that although we won the war in\nNanthikadal, we haven\u2019t been able to defeated the ideology of terrorism and\nseparatism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabhaya era must be an epochal period of change. The history is yearning for a new beginning with a new chapter of our history. The \u2018Colombo period\u2019 of our history, the history of the swamp of two river watersheds of river Keleni and Kalu, must be ended. Sri Lanka demands a Gotabhaya version of draining the swamp in Sri Lanka. Colombian ideology must be destroyed into smithereens. The new historical period that begins with Gotabhaya will represent a different Lanka. That new historical period will be called the \u2018Gokanna Period\u2019 or the Thrikunamalaya period. Gotabhaya and Mahinda will be the pioneering establishers of this new historical period of Sri Lanka. Is Sri Lanka ready to accept the sea change that is awaiting in the horizon?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geethanjana Kudaligamage Rajapakses, Geopolitics, \u2018Eurocentric Developmentalism,\u2019 and the western hegemony  (Part 20-A) From time to time throughout history, if foreign powers recurrently have been hellbent on grabbing what is legitimately yours, at times by force and conspiracy, what options would you have in order to resolve that problem? If their land grab is targeting the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geethanjana-kudaligamage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}