Free Fonny
Protesters, by Perambara
There was a protest to free General Sarath Fonseka. He should be freed. Opposition is not a coup. On the contrary, it’s Mahinda who surrounded the Elections Commissioner and the opposition with troops. The real threat to the state is Mahinda’s corruption of it to serve his own needs, now down to punishing someone who dared oppose him. Thankfully people are protesting.
I heard that the protesters were then gassed and that mobs threw rocks at them. Which is basically a metaphor for what’s happening to people’s voice. At some point fear either burns itself out or it turns into something so monstrous that it eats its own. Mahinda has got to let that shit go. Our people need better leadership than that. He’s afraid of Sarath and he’s using fear as a public excuse. It’s weak sauce.
Call the Parliamentary elections, thrash Fonny there. Is he so scary that you need to keep him in jail?
Whoa, Indi, you are losing the plot. Are you seeing MR’s face in your cup of tea too?
You can blame MR, but he is not different from other politicians you seem to be partial to.
Mob justice is not going to improve anything here, so let’s not be too melodramatic about proportioning blame. It might help to remember that government is not a single person but a collection of bumbling, colluding, back stabbing group of individuals who know they will be replaced sooner or later by someone else.
Let’s be real about the SF arresting saga. SF is acting like the drama queen he is/was, and MR & Co is only providing the stage.
I know you supported SF to the end, but you must have at least heard about his “promises” from the stage to punish his enemies like GR and others. More recently, he was claiming to be ‘People’s President’ and then challenging the government to arrest him, and offering to give evidence against government he served as army commander. And then resisting arrest, like a petty criminal. Why, Why.
Seing how unstable this man has been last few weeks, can you even imagine the nightmare if he had been the president?
Makes you wonder if SF is channelling Prabhakaran in his last days. It was Prabhakaran’s dillusional and grandiose behaviour that consumed thousands of Tamil civilians, thousands of his fighters, and even his family.
For those looking to create instability in Sri Lanka, SF’s ego has become the gift that keeps giving.
For god’s sake, MR got elected by his people, and we will have to live with it. If you want to fight him, fight within the system.
Unlike you Indi, not everybody can run away from Sri Lanka, so please, don’t add more FUD to the mix.
I agree that Sarath Fonseka is a drama queen. He is totally paranoid about getting assassinated and if I have to listen to another of his “I am the people’s president!!” claim I think I’m going to hurl. Seriously, how many times does he have to say that? Did he not see the election results? Is he that self-obsessed? If he planned a coup or is threatening to hold Sri Lanka hostage by going a journey of personal vendetta by testifying in international courts he should be arrested and put on trial.
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.
Robert A. Heinlein
But I want both!
Because;
I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
Robert A. Heinlein
Damn!
I think they took SF into prison mostly because he was threatening to go in front of the international courts. in my opinion, this has very little to do with revenge. The man was threatening to expose the dark secrets of the government, now he will be liquidated. This is the reality of the situation.
SF’s greed for power is what has been his downfall. He could have stayed on as chief of defence staff and done so much for the country and for himself but he chose to get into politics and declare himself “the people’s president.” He could have spared the country so much political division and acrimony but chose not to.
What is the “so much for the country” that he can do in his ceremonial position of chief of defence staff?
SF was in much demand in many defence circles over what he did with the LTTE. Although he wasn’t solely responsible for the defeat of the LTTE, he did oversee the destruction of a group most people thought was invincible. He could have brought Sri Lankan expertise to the world, spoken at exclusive defence collages, set up a defence collage here in Sri Lanka itself (most Lankans go to either India, Russia or China), carry out welfare projects for his soldiers, advocating for their rights. Most of all, he could have remained as a war hero for most of the county and his name would have gone down in our history books. Now look at him – he’s just a nasty, self obsessed toad who has done nothing but bring about more division.
I think arresting SF was the stupidest thing MR did in his political career. He just threw away his 2/3 and the only chance Sri Lanka had to get out of this crazy constitution and bring about a change. Say goodbye to electoral reforms, political solutions and political stability of the country. Brace yourself for 24/7 political dramas, never ending minority governments, never-ending street protests, bloated and corrupted cabinets and total political chaos for the next 10 years.
Just when many thought future looks good and stability is around the corner insanity took over.
MR you are an idiot and your advisors are even bigger idiots!
MR did the smart thing, and in the eyes of many people the right thing. SF commuted seppuku in the interview with the BBC, many of the people who earlier supported SF are now reluctant to support him. MR pounced on that and got rid of SF
Strange isn’t it that SF was arrested at 9.15 pm, whereas the BBC interview was aired only at 10.00 pm…? Looks like this government is blessed with the ability to see into the future! :)
You forget it aired at 10.00 p.m. the night before :)
Please stop spreading false info.
@Suresh: The interview was done in the morning, while he was arrested in the afternoon. At least that is what the BBC claims. I’m fairly certain the government wanted to arrest SF before that interview. But it gave the government a licence.
Everyone thought it was “the stupidest thing” Mahinda did when he cancelled the CFA. But he was right.
why can’t we all just hold hands and sing kumbaya? why? why? sometimes i just want to kill myself for all this silliness
join the club
Some commentators seem to blame only SF for the situation in Sri Lanka today. Have they forgotten that MR and his semi-ministers run a very dirty election campaigne against SF, using all the bad tricks they coubnd find out, using state resources, clamping down on media accusing them for printing material abusing the president?
If you see flaws in the character of SF, what are these flaws compared to those shown for long by MR and GR? You think SF has a big ego? Look at both these mentioned, they talk about “I”, “I” repeatedly. A president should act for the good of his people (all ethnic groups) and the country, not for putting himself on a piedestal. MR and GR seem to have got obsessed with power.
SF at least personally took part in the war against LTTE, suffered from it heavily when the LTTE tried to kill him.
The president never took active part. He claimed that he had given his son to the armed troops. Yes, that son was never involved in action, spent most of his time in Naval Officers education programme in England. Were never close to the battle front. How many of the ministers i MR government sacrificed their sons to the armed forces in combat?
Now they throw stones and ridicule SF, but themselves never took part.
SF might not had been the ideal president, but compared to the one now occupying the post he or anybody else would have been a relief. MR have changed into an empty barrel who loves to talk about himself, promisses a lot but never deliver and lies repeatedly. Why do civiliced foreign governments do not trust MR and his various spokespersons do you think?
Because they know by experience their empty talks!
SF was in the army for 40 friggin years yet he couldn’t defeat the LTTE – why??
And for those 40 years he didn’t give a crap about the rampant corruption and abuse of power. 60 000 Sinhalese youth butchered, did this general utter a word against that? Premadasa’s reign of terror – any words from Fonseka?
SF’s persona militates against any “relief” – he would have been a dangerous cancer let loose on the country if he was voted in as Prez.
You seem to forget that (according to the Mr governments own words) he, or anyone else in the military was not allowed to act politically as a military man. And about corruption, you know very well that corruptions increase if not clear signals about non-tolerance of that are sent out by the highest authorities in the country, that is the Sri Lanka Governments during all these years. And we all know that there has been no real political will to really attack the problem, when even the administrations members (top and low!) have been involved in corruption.
MR even disposed the former unit who was set aside to investigate corruption cases.
An army officer can not act on his own, the responsibility in leading the fight against corruption in hin the hands of the country leadership. Blame them!
Likewise, what could SF or any other officer do to prevent that 60.000 youth was butchered. The orders came from the top. Then individuals designated fot this dirty work had to carry out the orders. Again, however the outmost responsibility for these killings and likvidations was the president/government of that time. What could possibly SF or any other soldier at that time have done about it? Don´t be naive!
What a laugh, trying to justify SF’s hypocrisy. The facts speak for themselves. SF claims the victory against the LTTE was due to him alone, but for 40 years he couldn’t do squat about the LTTE. His whole presidential campaign was about going against corruption – but gee, he didn’t seem to give a flip about corruption for the past 40 years! Was he covering his beady eyes?
I don’t think we are blaming “only SF for situation in Sri Lanka today.” Sri Lankan problems were there before SF ran for president.
You seem to think SF is the lesser devil, but you somehow ignore his unstable personality we saw last few weeks. He would have been a disaster had he become president.
Some people try to demonize MR (which is easy), and then paint SF as some sort of messiah (which is mind bogglingly naive).
Anyway the people of Sri Lankan should decide what is best for them, and they have.
[...] on the linked post for other opinions) and a rally of protest according to Indi, who writes “Opposition is not a coup” but I have to say betrayal is not opposition either. The protest / rally was covered by [...]