Past Glory Does Not Translate
To Credibility Through Directional And Mood Swings!
A Perspective On The Janaka Perera Candidacy For
CM NCP! Through The Perera Periscope For LankaWeb
By Mr. Perera
July 14th 2008
The quintessential Army General whose superficial patriotism for the
Nation has seemingly turned sour and transparent as noted and observed
astutely by a previous administration and diplomatically sent overseas
has now surfaced to run for the position of Chief Minister of the North
Central Province!It has to be emphasized that not only will there be
many conflicts of interests in this pursuit if permitted to manifest
itself by virtue of Universal Franchise but also a possible error of
judgement towards selecting someone who seems to have lost his direction
and sadly seems to have done an about face towards his former intensity
to defeat the LTTE!
The nomination of Major-General Janaka Perera as the United National
Party's Chief Ministerial candidate at the forthcoming North-Central
Provincial Council election maybe a token of appreciation and respect
the party has for the services rendered by the Armed Forces to our country
as some zealous writer seems to envision albeit in a bygone era but
in reality perhaps a dangerous prospect for Sri Lanka's well being especially
because he is contesting on the UNP ticket!.
Major-General Janaka Perera may have won much accolades and glory in
his career in the Sri Lanka Army’s Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
Services Unit in the ’70s while rising to the position of Chief
of Staff having shown great leadership qualities, capacity for endurance
and unlimited courage on the battlefields of the North and East of Sri
Lanka in the efforts to bring peace to our country at the time he campaigned
against the LTTE. But today he has proven most of his critics to be
deadly accurate by virtue of some of his anti Government rhetoric as
well as linking with the UNP who can never be trusted in its direction
relative to the LTTE as it has members who covertly champion their cause
towards personal gain using the LTTE as pawns!
Most unfortunately Maj.Gen. Perera has disentitled himself perhaps on
the same consensus by simply throwing in his lot with the UNP and lost
his credibilities. Especially if he has formed an unhealthy alliance
with UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe who is not only a contentious individual
relative to the well being of Sri Lanka through his own transparencies
and weaknesses. But also a constant campaigner towards undermining the
Rajapaksha Administration and Sri Lanka's Armed Forces. There is a real
danger to Sri Lanka's well being if anyone once powerful in his capacity
as Commander of the Armed Forces, virtually deposed from same for purportedly
very valid reasons, is now given carte blanche towards manouvering from
the opposite camp and simply, a no no, from the point of Administrative
savvy and even national security if said even figuratively in anticipation
of a worst case scenario.
It was an expectation of many that as an army officer who has extensive
knowledge of war management and war strategies where many were the instances
when he applied these techniques to the maximum benefit of the Army
and our country that he would continue in this same direction and intensity
on his return to Sri Lanka. But for some inconceivable reason he has
chosen the wrong side of the fence in aligning with the UNP and to all
intents and purposes has virtually negated his chances of being accepted
by the people of Sri Lanka as a patriotic hero any longer. He could
even pose a potential threat to national security whether inadvertently
or not if he ever soft pedals on the issue of the LTTE who are on the
verge of elimination and a real danger from many perspectives given
the manner in which the UNP attempted to bait the nation using the LTTE
as their trumpcard which backfired on them pathetically.
While it is indeed true that during the Government of President Chandrika
Kumaratunga, Major-General Janaka Perera was detailed to Jaffna to lead
the thrust against the LTTE which had surrounded Jaffna causing great
concern to the then Government, the Armed Forces and the residents,
it was this valiant army officer and his soldiers who fought tooth and
nail to drive the attacking LTTE forces to retreat to their original
positions which eventually led to the recapture of the army camps overrun
previously, but there the impact of his greatness ends in a manner of
speaking, as years of being distanced from the Military seems to have
softened his stance which now spills out to the worthless "negotiated
settlement rhetoric" with a subversive enemy as armed and dangerous
as the LTTE which at times pervades the rationality of overwhelming
them completely.
The years he has spent as a diplomat overseas seems to have changed
his total outlook on the crying need for Sri Lanka to be rid of the
LTTE completely and one of the foremost campaigners towards the task
from which he has digressed appreciably and in this perspective to have
him oversee the affairs of the NCP seems foolhardy for many reasons!
The heroics of Maj Gen. Perera were of another time and circumstance
and sadly today does not seem to be a semblance of his forcefulness
or military savvy which once motivated him in the same vein as the present
leader of the Army, Lieut Gen. Sarath Fonseka who has never back-tracked
on his resolve to defeat the LTTE in their entirety. Lieut Gen. Sarath
Fonseka has made no bones about how he intends to accomplish this! Not
true sadly in the case of Maj.Gen. Perera anymore who seems to prefer
idle rhetoric!
Whilst the previous North Central Provincial Council Administration
may have had many allegations of misuse of public funds, nepotism and
corruption quoting a recent news item, to suggest that the United National
Party by nominating Major-General Janaka Perera would resolve the woes
of the North Central Provincial Council seems wishful thinking towards
any reality towards putting the Rajarata on the track to advancement
and development. As the mindset of certain pundits blinkered to the
point of bias obviously leaning toward the UNP and its motley leader
Ranil Wickremasinghe seem to believe.
It is not in essence a dire need for hand picked professionals to serve
the party and the country towards any restitution for the NCP either
as some misguided theorists believe.The present Administration has a
wealth of these types and more! And it is simply political manouvering
by the UNP towards gaining a foothold in that region which could translate
to dire reprisals from many perspectives for Sri Lanka if the unforseeable
eventuality of Maj.Gen.Perera being elected as Chief Minister of the
NCP transpires. This could compromise all pledges of faith and recognition
of our armed forces who are valiantly defending our sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and it must be noted here that Maj
Gen Perera has been classified by some of his critics as a turncoat
and a traitor who cannot be trusted regardless of all his accomplishment
and past glory. If he cannot throw in his lot with the present Administration
and fight the enemy side by side with the present Armed Forces is not
worthy of the post he is seeking.
This would also contribute to a total let down of the expectations of
the more discerning people not only of the NCP but all of Sri Lanka
if someone as adept as Maj.Gen. Perera at switching camps and policies
while being openly emphatic about it which translates to being inept
at the right kind of loyalties Sri Lanka needs today. If entrusted with
any administrative capacity on the UNP ticket rather than the UPFA which
could easily be a hindrance to the smooth functioning of the Nation
given the lack of national unity particularly if the UNP gets a foothold
in the North Central Province towards further Ranil Wickremasinghe shenanigans
that close to the areas infiltrated by LTTE terrorists!
|
