When the election happened

By Helasingha Bandara

(February 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I woke up with the screaming of peacocks. The Sun had risen high and the atmosphere was already hot although it was around eight in the morning. The Peacock population has multiplied in rural Sri Lanka. Many years ago, when we were children, seeing a peacock or a wild elephant simply did not happen in the village. We can see them everywhere now. Perhaps their habitat has been denied by human invasion of the jungle. With my eyes still half shut being unable to look at the sharp rays of the sun I came out into the compound to get some fresh air. Herath, who came to the village some years ago and settled, was there with a rolled up bundle of posters. I greeted him with a smile and the usual “Kohomada” (How are you?).

Instinctively, I knew he was carrying posters of Mahinda Rajpaksha. Besides, no one dares coming to our house with any one else’s posters.

Me- “Rajathumatada weda?” (Is that the King you are working for?)

Herath- “Nethuwa Hitlerta karandada? (Should we work for Hitler otherwise?)

My sarcasm vanished without a trace for the spontaneous reply that he blurted out effortlessly. Although I laughed and went in without engaging in conversation with such a convert, I thought that Mahinda Rajapaksha and company had been miles ahead in their political campaign. It was only the 6th of January 2009. People had already been brain washed.

Various election campaign missions were conducted from our house and I had the misfortune of witnessing the sheer folly of the vulnerable villager. At times I could not resist the temptation of asking “what about this road, it is impassable. Your great grandfather, grandfather, father, you and your children all have walked on mud while the advanced world does not even see such potholed gravel roads. Your children acannot get proper education because they cannot travel to good schools. Even if they managed to go to town they may be run over by a maniacal driver. There is no decipline in any aspect of life in this country. Do you not want a change?”

“Loku mahaththaya, Janadhipathi Thuma has had no time for roads. He has been a God for us so far. He has saved a country for us. We should be grateful”

A couple of days of futile reasoning with the party supporters who flocked to Mahagedara created unease among my family. They appealed to me not to express my free views. They said “you do not have even voting rights here. Please keep quiet”. This appeal made me mad. I felt that they have no right to appeal to me not to express my views. But finally they managed to emotionally blackmail me.

One morning my brother came steaming with anger. “See, some one has cut down our flag lines. If the UNPers are bold enough to do that while we are in power what wouldn’t they do if they win?” You have forgotten the past. You have forgotten how UNP killed your own brothers”

I did not want to argue against this emotional outburst. It was obvious my rationalisation of the need to have a disciplined country would only fall on deaf ears. When we argued about corruption my brother in law said “it is necessary for the politicians to steal because it costs them a lot of money to campaign at elections” With such people should there be any debating?

Some of the rumours the government had spread with the intention of winning this election were unheard of in mature democracies. To someone who has experience of long–term living in such countries this election campaigh was just incredible, disgusting and unfair. My own brother told me with total conviction that Sarath Fonseka has agreed with the Tamil parties to give them a separate country. He would kill all his opponents. Mahinda has initiated many mega projects that it is a matter of time for him to achieve a self sufficient country and so on.

Just ten days of my stay in the village and the travels to neighbouring villages during that period, made me believe that MR would win comfortably. The reasons were not only the clever manipulation of state media by the government to fool the citizens but the long time divisions that the politicians had created among the people. We are SLFP forever irrespective of what the government does because we do not want our enemies (the UNP) to come to power. That is the only policy that the villager understood.

The ordinary Singhalese citizen would have liked to halve his vote between the General and the incumbent President for their war efforts. The ruling party managed to add the other half on the race card and made one full vote for Rajapaksha. The opposition failed to convert the other half in their favour as Sarath Fonseka failed to get the little things right first.

Now that Sarath Fonseka has been arrested and treated in the most unfair and degrading manner that was undeserved by a loyal servant of the nation, it is in the hands of the opposition to convert the other half of the vote in their favour. Sri Lankans may be easily deceivable .They however do not like violence and injustice. Those who were made to believe that Sarath Fonsaka is a villain may turn and begin to believe him a hero for the ill-treatment that he is receiving from the Rajapakshas. The conversion could become easier if Ranil and Mangala go underground and a person from the old Senanayaka clan leads the general election campaign on behalf of all opposing forces.