So you call yourself a patriot - Dr Vickramabahu
Thursday, 02 April 2015
Soon after the Prabhakaran-Ranil Pact (MoU), prepared with the help of the famous 'Peace Maker' Norway and initiated by the international community led by global powers was signed , an article written by Dr Gunadasa Amarasekara titled ‘Sama Diyareddde’ appeared on a newspaper in March 2002. For those who have not read or forgotten this non poetic product of this great poet, I should reproduce it here. Unfortunately I can only give a secondary version; However, it maybe good enough for the purpose of this article. So let me indicate how this great novelist’s and so called patriot described what it is all about. - ‘Diyaredden Bella Kapanawa’ is a parochial Sinhala saying to illustrate how one is decapitated or destroyed without his being fully aware of what is happening. He is taken completely unawares. It’s only much later that he realizes that he has been decapitated and that too with hardly any pain or trauma. The producer, the so-called international community was well aware that the ‘Sama Diyareddde’ is the simplest device available for the ‘decapitation of the nation with a minimum of pain and trauma’. - This is how the writer incorrectly and short sidedly identified what happened.
Recently, US President Barack Obama reiterated his support for a two state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, where he criticized comments made by the newly re-elected Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday, Obama said,
“Prime Minister Netanyahu in the election run-up stated that the Palestinian state would not occur while he was Prime Minister and I took him at his word that that’s what he meant and I think that a lot of voters inside of Israel understood him to be saying that fairly unequivocally. Afterwards he pointed out that he didn’t say ‘never’ but that there would be a series of conditions in which a Palestinian state could potentially be created but of course the conditions were such that they would be impossible to meet anytime soon.” This reactionary view of Netanyahu has annoyed Obama. He emphasized that the issue would cause difficulties of policy between the States and Israel going forward, saying,
“We believe that two states is the best path forward for Israel’s security for Palestinian aspirations and for regional stability. That’s our view and that continues to be our view and Prime Minister Netanyahu has a different approach and so this can’t be reduced to a matter of somehow let’s all hold hands and sing kumbaya. This is a matter of figuring out how we get through a real knotty policy difference that has great consequences for both countries and for the region”
What is the analysis of poet Gunadasa about the conflict that has developed between Israel and US? Does he believe that Obama is trying to fool innocent Israel leader and cut his neck by Diyareddde or on the other hand Obama wants to mislead the Palestinian to believe that US is on their side? The reality is that the world wide power of masses has put America on the dock and Obama has to say some thing sweet to the world community, in particular to the working masses.
In relation to Lanka Dr. Amarasekara identified the First Act of US led drama as the signing of the MoU. He considered the second act as the de-proscription of LTTE. According to his analysis interim councils appeared under various names to keep the Sinhalese in a state of blissful ignorance, first to form the ‘Tsunami Joint Mechanism’ and to the stage of proposing a Interim Self governing Authority (ISGA) as a part of “Peace Process’ mediated by the so-called Peace Maker. Finally the producer of this tragi-comedy appeared very pleased with the achievements of their plan and reported even to have increased their "Aid" package to lubricate the decapitation processes. However, contrary to the predictions of our great poet, the change of government by the so called patriotic people instead of saving the people, created a fascistic regime which brought untold suffering to the people of Lanka.
Now the patriotic front of our poet laments that the “SLFPers are being beaten up by the UNPers while the so-called leadership of the SLFP is keeping a blind eye. The so-called leadership of the SLFP is appointing Cabinet Ministers, State Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Governors, practically any one recommend to any position by the very same person who signed the notorious pact with Prabhakaran without any hesitation. Basically the so-called SLFP leadership has kept his own SLFP parliamentarians under house arrest. Nearly 5,8 million people who voted for Mahinda Rajapaksa, former SLFP Leader, are being kept in a state of dilemma by high jacking the SLFP.” What a hilarious statement! Unfortunately for these lot, both the President and the pro democratic astute men who agreed to join the government have only abide by the wishes of mass uprising that broke the back bone of the fascistic Mahinda regime.
