The General and the Politician

-"Informed persons" give various figures of Rajapaksa relatives in state jobs. An editor of a popular private newspaper told me the figure was over 250, others give different figures.
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By Susantha Gunathillake
Courtesy: Daily Mirror, Colombo

(December 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sarath Fonseka's announcement was like a bomb thrown by a terrorist, the shrapnel was hitting all over - bringing out contradictions.

UNP’s Ranil (and Ravi Karunanayake and Kiriella) were eating their own words as the UNP who signed the CFA handing over large tracts to the LTTE, supports Sarath Fonseka SF - the liquidator of the LTTE. The UNP government once killed far more JVP members and their supporters than Fonseka and Rajapaksa’s government killed LTTE members. The JVP whose insurrection was against separatism and the 13th Amendment now joined the UNP in support of SF on a platform of power abuse and anti-corruption. SF on his part was now saying to the Indian magazine Outlook “I am for the 13th Amendment-plus”.

Rajapaksa under Chandrika had supported the CFA and P-TOMS which would have consolidated the LTTE mini-state. Only after the JVP entry with Mangala Samaraweera as vocal supporters for his Presidency, did MR start playing total patriot. JVP and Mangala Samaraweera (the latter, one of Chandrika's Sudu Nelum group) were now both cheering for SF.

As Ranil and company turned patriot by joining SF, MR famously announced in the SLFP 58th Convention "a patriot yesterday can be a traitor tomorrow’ meaning SF was now a traitor. And one heard a great silence of disagreement from his partisan audience which had only minutes ago cheered his every word. The General who in defiance of anti Sri Lankan powers led the army to victory was now a “foreign agent” in government eyes.

For non-political bystanders, there were immediate benefits of the SF announcement. There was no dramatic change in the security situation, but presto no sooner than the General announced his dissatisfaction at holding hundreds of thousands, the IDP camps suddenly opened. If there were LTTE among the IDPs, they could easily run away now, only the innocent would return. And as a side benefit, Colombo roads that were blocked for political rogues and catchers with no LTTE threat to drive through pompously, were to be opened. Magic out of SF's hat! If this magic had been performed two months earlier - enough time to screen the IDPs - Sri Lanka’s bid to host the Commonwealth meeting would not have been embarrassingly refused a few days ago. How the detainees would vote would be crucial.

An aside: in an interview, UN Ambassador Palitha Kohona changed the story that Fonseka was to be summoned by US authorities for questioning on war crimes. Was this "revision" a reflection of the Rajapaksa-Fonseka clash?

Nalin Silva who had made many exposures of Tamil racism now wrote that SF will divide the nationalists and strengthen Tamil racists and the anti-national lobby. "Hobson's choice" wrote Jehan Perera the NGO writer in the "piece" lobby. Another NGO member Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu asked "Rajapaksa vs. Fonseka Tweedledum vs. Tweedledee?” meaning no choice. And a Van der Poorten, a remnant of the Burgher colonials who once lorded over the country, wrote "Between a rock and a hard place". He implied no real choice for anti-Sri Lankans. And Indian Secret Service personnel with links to RAW, who write to our newspapers were spluttering in their columns to make sense. Disempowered descendants of colonial rule, Indian RAW colonialists and the neo colonial NGO industry were worried that both Fonseka and Rajapaksa were now the contenders. A transformational moment, two persons who took on the LTTE against foreign wishes were struggling for leadership. Tamil separatist racism which had held Sri Lankan development to ransom for nearly 50 years had no national candidate.

A few other minor figures also announced their candidature, namely alleged "Marxists" Vickramabahu Karunaratna and Sirithunga Jayasuriya who would attract a few tens of thousands. A monk had already announced his. Other candidates would follow mostly to appear free on state TV and to propagandize as proxies for either SF or MR.

MR was endorsed by the Manel Mal movement with SL Gunasekara and Gunadasa Amarasekera espousing his cause. Crossovers from the JVP and UNP were supporting him. The JHU which took away votes of the UNP middle classes on a platform of containing Christian fundamentalists were supporting. Simple arithmetic indicates that not all of the UNP and JVP crossovers and the earlier UFPA members could all get re-elected on the UFPA ticket in the General Election They will do their own calculations and jump, this way and that.

Pillayan, the Chief Minister of the Eastern province "announced" that he and his TMVP would not campaign for Rajapaksa. A few hours later, the report was denied. Sajith Premadasa whose father had allegedly handed over weapons to the LTTE leading to the cold-blooded massacre of 700 policemen was cheering for SF. The Karuna faction who led this massacre and who should be a prime candidate for war crimes was supporting MR.
A key unknown would be the minority vote. MR won the last Presidential race through the LTTE ban on voting. Other Tamils had now chosen the path of integration as evidenced by the various Tamil parties supporting either MR or SF. The CWC of Thondaman was supporting MR. But Rauff Hakeem's Muslim Congress opted for SF as did Mano Ganeshan.

The TNA, the LTTE front was "elected" only through the LTTE ban on other Tamil parties. Their racist predecessors had misled the Tamil people to the disaster which ended in the Nandikadal lagoon. Their disastrous strategy had denied development to the North and East and reduced the once prosperous Jaffna peninsula to the war damaged shell it now is. The TNA was said to be considering having their own candidate.

Lessons had not yet been learned. Sections of Tamils and Muslims together with foreign interests were still campaigning for breaking up the unitary state in the colonial tradition of divide and rule. A meeting of Tamil and Muslim parties in Geneva funded by the Swiss government and organised by the separatist Tamil Information Centre suddenly surfaced. It was an attempt to resurrect LTTE ideology, especially the fictional Tamil homelands. Sanctimonious Switzerland who funded this event however had just instituted a barbarous ban on Muslim places of worship. Ethnic equality indeed!

The big state propaganda approach once rightfully used against the LTTE was being used by the government against SF. The JVP once the darling of the state channels during the last Presidential election, now decided to ban state TV coverage from their news conferences because of gross distortion. Fonseka was being covered by the private channels who had once taken antinational stands.

Many get their news today from "new media" (I do). New media like the Internet, SMS, and twitter could overcome any state media stranglehold. These new modes can be accessed by mobile telephones which the majority today have. Already there was a Sarath Fonseka Face book as well as a phoney one attempting to slander him. In countries like South Korea and the Philippines, such new media had been crucial in political campaigns.

Parents pawn their wealth for the education of their children on the belief in merit promotion as a passport to advancement. In the post war Presidential battle, talk of corruption and nepotism were coming to prominence. During a press conference of a group endorsing MR, some journalists raised the corruption issue. A key person at the podium admitted that there was indeed much corruption, adding that many in the Cabinet were corrupt. At the same venue, SL Gunasekara said that he had written a book on government corruption (although for other reasons he was supporting MR.) If the JVP had joined the government with its 39 seats when it had high popularity, it could have well prevented corruption.

Rajapaksa was also worried. He told the press that his family was being accused of waste, corruption and irregularities. He said that a big house could not be built in any part of the country without him, Gotabaya or Basil being blamed. "We are being accused of buying coconut estates in Chilaw and houses in Colombo 7," he said. From being hailed as Maha Raja in billboards and songs, to be called a thief would unnerve any royalty. Both Fonseka and Ranil ratcheted up the rhetoric, SF saying that "This family gang should not be allowed to use the military victory to plunder the country.” Ranil claimed that LTTE Treasurer KP’s money was going into MR family fortunes and further that Rajapakse was trying to enter the Guinness Book of records as the wealthiest family in SL. Clearly some of these rumours were wrong as the one that Gotabaya had bought Apollo Hospital - he only headed it as representative of the government owned Insurance Corp.

There is no doubt that Gotabaya Rajapakse was essential to the war victory. And one could add that without Basil to keep together the various political groups including through enlarging the number of ministers to the highest figure in the world, Parliamentary stability needed for the war could not have been reached.

But the expansion of the number of relatives and cronies in various positions has possibly reached intolerable levels. Government TV channels once had breath catching war reporting but soon, the same media was turned into blatant sycophancy of the ruling family with almost every government channel vying with each other to depict this Rajapaksa or that Rajapaksa. Rumors are rife that the clan’s spread is far more extensive. "Informed persons" give various figures of Rajapaksa relatives in state jobs. An editor of a popular private newspaper told me the figure was over 250, others give different figures. These may be all in the category of gossip that MR referred to. As the election campaign progresses, we should see more accurate lists. And no doubt the UNP and the JVP and their supporters will put out any such names in websites - with possibly COPE Chairman Wijedasa Rajapakse helping.

The Government information website accused the former Army Chief SF of illegally using vehicles and soldiers. SF went to the Supreme Court complaining that in contrast to the less vulnerable retired Navy Chief and Karuna, his security had been slashed putting him in danger. His son-in-law working in the US was accused by pro-government media of irregular arms purchases. SF spat back saying that all purchases were done under Gotabaya. And SF's son was suing a website for millions for these accusations.

One area where there has been relatively very little corruption and nepotism is in the internal promotion scheme of the army. Under SF, a policy of merit promotions based on battlefield performance was adopted. It seems none was promoted because of family connections. SF may have made mistakes in some promotions but as a principle, it was decisive for the victory.

Both SF and MR waged war with determination. Surprisingly both were saying similar statements now.

MR declared that he too wants to do away with the Presidential system - after his next term. Government spokesman Yapa said that the UPFA planned to abolish the executive Presidency but “need a two-thirds majority in Parliament to do it " and they did not have enough votes to do so. The solution is simple. The UPFA can immediately move a motion in the Parliament to the effect that the Presidential system be abolished in six years' time. This will get near unanimous approval, both his UPFA and the UNP and JVP supporting. MR at a stroke would have diminished the opposition’s demand and win the Presidency easily. The Presidential system after a referendum will then be abolished at the most, in six years time. And if Sarath Fonseka becomes the President, he would move a motion to abolish it immediately. At least in six years, we will undo JR’s curse.
There is also a very easy solution for Rajapaksa’s complaints that people were saying that his family was thieves. The simple solution was to declare publicly the assets of each candidate and of every relative and crony. Fonseka has required that.The pot is churning and should be further stirred. I am saying this as a person who supported MR’s candidacy last time, both in ideas and resources - incidentally requesting no favours in return. MR looks a worried man these days, the post-war jauntiness has subsided. But I still think he will win. The electorate however may think otherwise.

-Sri Lanka Guardian