A humble appeal to tone down the unsavoury rhetoric against the Retired Army Commander Fonseka
Posted on November 14th, 2009
Ramanie de Zoysa
Personally, there are only two people in this universe, before whom I would kneel down, touch the soil trampled by them with my forehead and worship. One is no more in mortal form but the force of his compassion, wisdom and the deliverance from suffering he brought to the world reverberates in this world to date and I will worship at the feet of his image- Lord Buddha. The other is a mere mortal, a General with a lion heart who guided an Army of people pursuing a blood thirsty monster risking his life and those of his soldiers and brought deliverance from immense suffering to 20 million people in Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Retired Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka. There was another on this pedestal until about a month ago- a lion hearted President who spearheaded the march of Tri-forces against the very same monster providing political wisdom, timely orders, determination and backup against alien and local terror promoters and emerged victorious; but sadly he continues to slip from his exalted position due to the callous treatment he has meted out to the General since the great victory.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is said that success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. True. People of all hues and shapes are now claiming to be the fathers (and mothers) of the tremendous military success of GOSL over the bloodthirsty LTTE. It is a futile exercise trying to single out who ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ownsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ this victory when the mere fact that it was a victory and all Sri Lankans benefited immensely from the victory would have been good enough. It was a team effort and the right team emerged to form the winning formula would have been all that was pertinent. Unfortunately there was a clamouring both in and out of Sri Lanka for the kudos and the result is that vile manoeuvrings have poisoned the victory endangering a Great GeneralƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s life.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Though admittedly futile an exercise, the question of who fathered Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s success would become clearer if you hypothetically reverse the situation. Let us for a moment dare to imagine that Sri Lanka lost the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”warƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ against the Tamil terrorist gang LTTE; who would have worn the blame? It is only conjecture (thankfully) in retrospect but I have no doubt in my mind that the first two names that would have come up would have been that of the President and General Fonseka with lesser portions of blame going to the Navy Commander, Air Force Commanders and the Police Chief with others being mentioned in passing or not at all. Those in that order, I dare say, are the fathers of this particular victory as perception is more often than not based on reality.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Top among the many who want to make hay from the sunshine of victory is the pack of hyenas that have now formed an unholy alliance- Wickremesinghe, Kirielle, Ganeshan, Hakeem, JVP and other chronic losers. But that is not where the current chaos commenced. From 18 May onwards, soon after the joy of the formerly ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”unthinkableƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ end of war was achieved the BrutusƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s of Sri Lanka got busy weaving mischief. The rumour mill ran amok that there was a coup against the President. The pressure went on until the President succumbed and a man worth his weight in pure gold was removed unceremoniously from his post as Army Commander and ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”promotedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. It did not take much longer for the General to realise that his new ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”positionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was that of a co-ordinator of nothingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” in other words the carpet was well and truly pulled from under his feet. These are the vicious acts of some hangers on and crumb seekers within the Government hierarchy. It is an absolute disgrace to the entire Nation that the man who provided the determination and guidance and practically held the hands of his men and women soldiers who walked inch by inch risking life and limb to exterminate the terrorist menace, whose face has been synonymous with Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s battle against terror during the last three years was absent from the scene when the Army celebrated 60 years.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ A lot has been said by many commentators about General Fonseka being overtaken by greed for power and over-ambition. Had the General been an average person with over arching ambitions and lust for power and money he need not have risked his own life, abandoned his family for all intents and purposes and gone to battle with no guarantees for his safety. In fact the evidence indicates that the General thought of himself or of his family the last. His driving force appears to have been the justifiable anger at the terrorist gang that was perpetrating inhuman atrocities against the ordinary Sri Lankan citizens. The intention to retire is being condemned as lust for power at the expense of President Rajapakse. I see it differently. It is not about the GeneralƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ambition; it is about the pain at having received a kick in the gut in return for the unparalleled service he provided to the Nation. I believe General Fonseka went to the US to explore the possibility of emigrate and seek employment in the US in order to find an honourable outing from the ignominy he was facing at the hands of his Government. That became untenable as the US attempted to use him to rope in the President and the Defence Secretary for alleged war crimes using General Fonseka as cats paw. If he was a traitor ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” not that anyone could use that term in the same breath ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” if he was greedy or even vindictive he would not have immediately alerted Defence Secretary Rajapakse to the fact but gone ahead and cooperated with the US hunters in exchange for greener pastures.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is ironic that people who could not gather around anywhere in the country for the last thirty years without fear of being blown to smithereens gathered without fear at the Kelaniya temple to jeer at the General who went to worship and possibly seek spiritual blessings after tendering his resignation. This jeering did not seem to come from the usual pilgrims at the temple dressed in white but from a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”hire-a-crowdƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of some political lame duck who has no backbone to confront the General to tell him what is bothering him. The Sri Lankan Police would have found their tear gas canisters and batons readily for a group of protesting unemployed graduates in Fort or at unruly students at a University but they had no deterrents when these louts jeered the General who came to worship the Kelaniya temple. Not even a safety cordon was drawn pushing the uncouth crowd away from the General. For the first time in my life I feel ashamed to be a Sri Lankan!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The latest news is that the GeneralƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s security has been severely weakened- from 800 personnel down to 8! Now we are on that all too familiar downward spiral! Apart from President Rajapakse there can not be many people on this earth whose life is in as much danger as the General. As popular as the President may be, a vast proportion of Sri Lankans may not be able to forgive the President if anything untoward happens to the General. Sanity should prevail NOW- before it is too late. Sri Lankans are watching in despair the insults and ill treatment that the General is receiving at the hands of the President and that despair may well turn to anger and rejection at the presidential elections thereby handing the power over to the hyenas by default even in the General does not contest for Presidency. Let us not squander this hard earned victory. The President and the General should have continued to be a team for the good of the country- but unfortunately the human nature prevailed. This situation was not precipitated so far by the greed on the part of the General- but by the weakness of the President succumbing to mischief making of the enemies of the country. I trust the General has far too much intelligence to fall into the trap laid by the hyenas- I hope I will not be disappointed. I hope and pray he will not fall off the pedestal just like the President did!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ramanie de Zoysa
November 14th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
You have got it wrong Ramanie. I would kneel down at the foot of Lord Buddha, president Rajapakse, then Gotabhaya Rajapakse, in that order. I also will admire the commanders of other security forces. I did admire Sarath Fonseka until a few days ago. The editor of this e-newspaper is right in his/her assessment.
January 12th, 2010 at 5:37 am
I think you are right. Most of the sattam Ralalas who are barking against the SF are traitors. Because these people are either deaf or blind about the reality inside the country. Prizes of the essential items are sky rocketing, most of the people are living below the poverty line. Even the food items are taxed! 114 ministers serving.Peoples of this country has to bear their expenditure. Opposition political procession are attacked. Got. owned media (electronic and print) are biased. Several media personnel were killed.
For this reasons change is needed. Present regime driven poor into hell! we cannot bear this for any more. We want a change. The person who is having 40 years experience of discipline in govt. service is the most qualified person to smash the rampant corruption soaring in this country.He already promised to end the corruption in this country within 72 hours after receiving power. All Sattam Ralalaas true colors will be exposed.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Hello, jayawardena, you are at it again. When did you become the village gossip woman. People like you talking about treason sounds more like the virtuous alley cats fighting for the rights of virgins. What a change. You take many shapes, Christian, Communist, middle class man, patriot, poor man, free media saviour, corruption fighter, regime changer, and indirectly calling your self Sattan rala by name-calling others. Actually you should have a ladum in that part of your body, because your behaviour is typical to those poor animals who are more intelligent than your type. If you cannot change for better, then just mind your own business or jump into a river and end the pain of living. You got nothing, but insensitive appetite to play with poo at a website dedicated to more intelligent articles. You are exactly doing the same thing by attaching yourself to Lanka. The other day, you were talking about price of Parippu and sounded like an expert (or a speculator) on tax. If you do not have grey matter, why not visit Daily Mirror online, the best garbage pit to rest in style while spewing your waste. Have you thought about going back to India to eat cheap Parippu? I wonder why you cannot enjoy your life in your fatherland that gave your illegitimate birth, eating ham, bacon and potato chips than bothering about Lanka. (Sorry, I did not bother to read this article as you liked it. You love only poo.).
January 13th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Hey jayawardena, I read this article out of curiosity. I must admit that you have more credibility than this writer. As a person who spent nearly one and half years painstakingly learning about the community subgroup of Euro-Lankan descent this writer belongs to, just like SF, RW, MR and et al, I am not surprised about the oblivious blindness to the facts when weaving this yarn. There are many con artists capable of turning a tiny ant hole to look like Himalayas. It is a fact that a narrow, one-sided, selfish and purpose built set of words can not hide the truth.
Apparently, this writer must have been living outside Lanka imagining things. We had terror in Lanka for the last thirty years and the life went on as usual amid all the troubles. But you have mixed up this life with the tragedies and untold miseries in other countries like Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. As revealed by recent events, all the terror unleashed by Tamil Terrorists were with the patronage of people coming mainly from your subgroup, which also make up the JVP leadership. The means employed were cowardly and inhumane. But nothing was as close as you try to depict in your effort to lift your hero. What you utter is the same propaganda churned out by the government that followed the US style campaign during the war. Your General was a beneficiary of that great media war while hiding all the debacles of your beloved General’s making under the carpet. If those happened in the West, he could have been court marshalled long before any body could hear his name during the last thirty years. If they had Parakrama Pannipitya who won the war in the East as the Commander, we could have much less casualties as in the East according to my belief. Given you servility, I do not believe that you have the ability to grasp the real reasons for the victory over LTTE, which was explained by the very General long before the public spat during an interview with local media, and long before becoming the politician who try to claim everything for himself. I know very well at a personal level how bosses coming from your subgroup make use of the gains made by subordinates for their own advantage without any shame. I even know how exactly all the top Army positions are held within your small community to say the least.
If we throw out the hubris, the fact remains that the two sides came to a standstill at Muhamale front long before your General unleashed his divine powers just like another type of Heroes (Zeroes) unleashed the same in Maha Barath (another story close to yours). If you think that you are smart, I want you to compare, explain and conclude reasons for extremely high casualty rates suffered by the Army, with reference to other known successful war campaigns. I hope you will leave the blame with your General, and not with MR. War must be fought to kill enemies, not to die as valiant heroes as depicted by some morally corrupt song writers.
Let me tell you something more important before going on your knees to worship another human for whatever reason. Whatever we have done does not define who we are, but unfortunately what we are doing and going to do next will judge us better. Your General has done enough already to wash away any positive contribution to the community in any form or shape and to call him the worst of traitors. Sadly, your ex-Hero, MR, looks like having chosen the same destiny. Time will tell that part of my comment. Just remember no good can hide or compensate for treason. By the way, SF has already undone any benefit gained by the so-called war victory and have laid foundation for a much bigger battle in our hands. The people who will fight that battle will not be paid employees, but real patriots who wish to secure the future for their children. For those having subhuman quality to go on knees of other humans under various guises, I can tell that these religious leaders of all kinds from so-called compassionate ones who preach anti-human ideologies to Cannibals who enjoy rituals of eating human flesh and drinking blood, and Beasts who enjoy chopping limbs and stoning hapless women, have contributed to the genocide of humanity in their own ways and styles beyond your imagination. To understand what I said, you need to look at what happens to those believers over several generations of life.
Please do not forget the fact that late VP started the war determined to win, but lost to his own amazement. I wonder whether your people also lost in it.