The Break
Sarath visiting Kelaniya temple (Sanjaya Nallaperuma/Perambara)
Sarath Fonseka’s run has broken the traitor/patriot narrative that’s been dividing the country. Using the LTTE as a wedge Mahinda tried to divide the country along those lines (into those who love Sri Lanka and those who do not). The spear itself, however, broke and now the division is meaningless. It is now possible to be opposition without being a traitor.
War tends to clarify differences, beings as guns and claymores only point one way. Mahinda tried to exploit that by implying that those who were anti-war were also anti-Sri Lanka, or pro-LTTE. That is, that they did not love their country as much. This is not true and there were plenty of patriotic reasons to oppose the war. Some didn’t want to kill so many of their fellow civilians, some didn’t want to sacrifice soldiers and lose. I’d say that almost none actually supported the LTTE.
However, the government did win the war and that side was proved right. I’d argue that being anti-war was merely a different course of action, but after the fact it also tended to look wrong. Mahinda tried to stretch that to mean treasonous, and ride that mantle to victory.
Being as the ‘peaceniks’ led ostensibly by Ranil could barely string a sentence together in their defense, that was entirely possible. However, when Sarath Fonseka broke off and became the opposition candidate, aligned with peaceniks, the divisions suddenly became less clear. As they, in reality, are.
As the ruthless Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka’s credentials as a warrior are pretty much unassailable. However much he shoots himself in the foot now, he still shot enough LTTE to be a national hero on that front. I do think it’s sad that we apportion heroism that way, but I digress.
When he joined the opposition, the war issue suddenly became moot. Being opposition lost its tar of being somehow pro-LTTE (or in the benefit of the LTTE) and became just opposition. Which it should be. So I’m thankful to candidate Fonseka for that.
I’m not going to argue whether it makes sense for SF to join UNP/JVP clique because what’s done is done and we might most likely disagree on this fact.
However your point isn’t clear to me about blurring the deshapremi/deshadrohi difference. Of course, MR would sure to use the war credentials in this election, and one can’t blame him. Although one could argue against UNP for falling back to sell the war, in realpolitik sense this is understandable and they certainly can’t find a better candidate than SF.
However, this could have only been a positive development only if that neutralized the war factor and made everyone focus on the future. What happened was exactly opposite, everyone fighting for the lion’s share of the credit and forgetting the post-war scene altogether. If UNP focused on economy (critics including myself would still drag the war into the scene because that showed UNP’s attitude and a party doesn’t change overnight) at least the MR camp will have to answer real questions and most of the now lethargic middle ground would be sympathetic to UNP’s cause and will press MR for good governance. They would still lose, but they could build up credibility. Right now, if they lose (and i think and hope they will) they would be seen as lost after a desperate try.
101 about Fonseka – You must read this – http://taboosubjects.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/2533/
Two war criminals fighting an election. I can smell the Sinhalese bloodbath 1000′s of miles away.
Still – you know ….
YOU REAP WHAT YOU S O W … SUCKERS!
PS: it would appear that Indi does not know who he is supporting from one minute to the next. I reckon the way he’s wanking on he’ll probably vote for the LTTE when the time comes.
I don’t see anything wrong with galvanising a nation with patriotism once a country decides go to war. USA, Japan, Germany, Russia, and Israel they all do it. They simply call the people who support their arm forces patriots and those who don’t traitors. Unlike previous leaders MR got this one right by setting the country on war footing and not letting opposition parties to demoralize the young men women in uniform.
What Ranil and the rest of the peaceniks could not understand was that they were trying to negotiate a solution with a terrorist group with extreme views. There are instances in the history where countries and governments have successfully negotiated with armed groups but nowhere in the history there had been a just and fair outcome after negotiating with a terrorist group. In that sense Ranil and the rest of the peaceniks got that wrong.
Indi was right when he says having SF as a presidential candidate neutralize the patriotism factor, but the way general is behaving these days he is making it very easy for the government to define him as a traitor more than a true patriot, putting country back to the same two camps.
Indi you state, “However, the government did win the war and that side was proved right.”
By the above comment are you trying to say that those who win wars are right? What a shame !
And is not the GoSL also a terrorist group? One man’s terrorist, is another man’s freedom fighter?
IRA was considered a terrorist group but the UK government negotiated with them, outcome seems ok, so far!
What is patriotism? Is there such a thing?
Send your children to U.S. cornfields, while send poor children to battlefields?? Is that called Patriotism??
While war was in full swing SF applied for Greencard lottery! Is that what’s called love for the soldiers? for the country?
Now that the war is over, it’s better if we come back to sanity. I believe the war has given the president, his family, and the whole government too much power. Certainly too much for them to handle democratically. That’s why Mervyn Silva does what he does. That’s why there’s that Tharunyata Hetak Ad, et cetera. The only way to rip them off this disastrous power is to divide their base.
And oh! How could I forget this? It has EXTIRPATED THE VENERATION OF SOLDIERS FOR GOOD, which is great because that kind of fanaticism could never be good for a country. Remember those talks about pregnant women offering their bus seat to soldiers? Remember heroic mothers not crying over their sons’ deaths? A mother’s love is biological; the second strongest after self love. For a mother to love a country more than her own child…that’s just sick. It’s like in that MOTHER INDIA movie. BOOOOO………OOOMMM
Having said all that, I have to say Mahinda did a fabulous job. Does Tamil’s have the right for self determination? According to Trotsky they probably do. But ask the Indian government about that. Making Tamil Nadu a separate state.hah. Ask the Canucks, the Yankees for a little bit of land.hah.
Listen Lefroy, everyone not just Tamils have a right to self-determination and fuck-off about Trotsky. What you know about him is completely non-existent you toad.
Here’s the deal you Sinhalese are going to vote for one mass murderer or another and basically whoever loses is going to start killing you now because Tamils have been wiped out. So you deserve this, it’s your karma and it’s written.
Having a country that continues to support, make excuses about (Indi being the number one arsehole who does this) and vote in such evil monsters means that the LTTE will probably rise again and become even more fanatical. In addition bashing up and killing the JVP and in fact anyone journalists, the intelligensia etc who oppose the government will mean that economically, politically and internationally the Sinhala state of Sri Lanka will be ruined for generations to come. Frankly we’re going to have to wait till apologists for racism against Tamils die out. So given Indi is about 30 (mentally about the size of his dick 2.2 inches in full flight :-) so we’re looking at another 50 years of FUCKING bullshit.
I can’t say that anyone feels sorry for you guys and EVERYONE knows what horrendous evil things you are capable of as a race not just to Tamils but to your own kind.
Go right ahead and start killing each other man, it’s your destiny.
To use such profane language you must be really hurt by what I said.hah hah. Then I must be right. Here’s thing buddy. The LTTE has been wiped off. Only pathetic nuts like you still exist. Now we’re going to make sure that nothing like what happened happens again. We must work for the betterment of Tamil people. But we’ll crack down on anyone who even thinks of bombing civilians. We’ll do it for another 200 years, if not more. You think it’s impossible?hah. Look what they’ve been doing to you guys in india for thousands of years. What the hell? We believe tamils have equal rights. But they don’t have the right to ask for a separate state. See, we don’t have any beef with tamil people. If we do, then we must hate the Muslims as well right? Ask a Muslim what hardships he had to go through simply and only because he’s Muslim. I ask you the same question. What hardships you had to go through simply and only because you are tamil? Please carefully read it. I’m not asking what hardships you had to go through because 99.999% of the LTTE are tamil. The only real issue you have is the language problem. But tamils living in Canada or America or Europe have no problem with having to learn English and French and German and bla bla bla. Anyway the language problem is one with a simple solution.
About the use of the term ‘mass murderer’.hah hah hah. Do I have to remind you who used Tamil civilians as a human shield? Do I have to remind you of suicide bombers? Do I have to remind you the 100 Muslims you shot dead in a mosque?
In case you are going to mention The Black July of 83 as an answer to my question, yes it was a bloody pogrom. Many tamils died were displaced. No one can justify it. But would’ve never happened if you guys didn’t kill 13 soldiers and kick started a war. That’s something tamils were subjected because all the tigers were tamil. Don’t you think the same would happen in France if you kill 25 white guys for racially motivated reasons.