The Dog Of War – Letter To Major General Kamal Gunaratne
Muhammed Fazl
“A hero is not coz someone puts on a uniform and picked up a weapon… but because he put it down and stood up for the truth” – Dahlia Wasfi, M.D.
Dear Sir,
Having gone through a period of self-induced hibernation for almost a year, let me first thank you for being that person who made me pick up my ‘pen’ again. Though I have chosen not to read your book due to your stoic silence in the last 7 years and assuming it was your solo effort, let me also congratulate you on your first attempt in the literary world. But before I delve deeper, let me start with the following questions:
1. Why did you even bother writing a book if you are not willing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?
2. Based on your claim that you will never betray the SL Army under any circumstances, does it mean even if they had committed war crimes?
3. Based on your claim that you will take war secrets to your grave, being a military officer, can you please give a definition to the two words – ‘war secrets’? And do ‘rules of engagement’ have anything to do with this ‘war secrets’ that you talk of?
4. What were the real reason behind narrating a story about FM Sarath Fonseka berating you over your ‘failure to capture’ LTTE Supremo Prabhakaran a day earlier? Was it to spice up the contents and to sell more books?
5. On an interview a couple of days ago, you talked about doing a service for ‘Ratata & Jaathiyata’ while wearing Army uniforms for 35 years. Does it mean in addition to fighting for the country, were you fighting for the Sinhalese race as well? And if so, did it ever impair your judgement when on killing sprees against people belonging to a different race?
6. If the well documented killing of tens of thousands innocent Tamil civilians (Sri Lankans) has not been acknowledged by you, do you really think you have the right to talk about patriotism (love for the country and its people)? Or were you just being patriotic to the Sinhalese race only?
7. Were you in a coma or in a deep slumber when unnamed forces (allegedly linked to SL Army) abducted and killed many civilians extra-judicially under the Rajapaksa government and even before?
8. Did you not think of your poorly-thought-of decision to invite Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa to grace your book launching occasion being considered as an insult to millions of law abiding citizens who made their case against multi-million theft of public funds and murderous leaders on January 08, 2015? Or is it that you consider Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa to be the most patriotic leader Sri Lanka ever produced?
9. Having watched a recent interview of yours where you distanced yourself from politics while castigating negative remarks about army officials getting into politics on retirement, were the remarks intended at Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as an indication of your deep-rooted resentment towards him?
