Lalin’s Column: ‘Bye Bye Miss American Pie’ (or Deutschland schnitzel) - Killinochchi to Sri Kotha

DB-Dead and buried. The rumpus at Sri Kotha on 19 Dec 2011 made sure that the last line in the chorus of the above song ‘’This’ll be the day I die’ had rung true for all acolytes and promoters of the USA in SL. One of its leaders was proudly called Yankee Dickey.

(The same USA tried to inveigle SL to fight the Taliban as a bargain for retracting its never ending HR accusations). What a long march from Killinochchi, Toppigala (‘just trees’) and Elephant Pass to Madawachchi and Grand Pass to the final rites at Sri Kotha . Today its members are vigorously and possibly correctly calling each other ‘terrorists’.

R2P. Was it also the last stand, Vietnam style? Was it the way to commit inevitable political suicide so beloved of its one time ‘ally’, the LTTE, which was covertly helped in fighting the IPKF, a legal military ally of SL.? The Colombo Yankee super stars always took all their troubles to the White House (Bus (h) - as Weerawansa pronounced. They begged for R2P if not WMD retaliation (for imagined and actual HR violations) on SL’s rulers if not SL itself.

Sri Kothagrad. Remember the ‘Royal’ (eight thousand thronging Liberty Plaza environs) reception Ranil got when he returned once from his USA tale carrying mission during the first CBK innings? They had now finally came under siege in their own garrison, surrounded not by the enemy but their own mutinous, berserk and crazed cadres, most of whom must have thronged the Plaza then-to hail the king! What a debacle.

Berlusconi. The war of lurid words given impetus and space by a behind the scenes Berlusconi type (plenty of wine, women and song) power became uncontrollable. It sought, provoked and was the under writer for this fraternal war. It has had a long, well known history of surreptitious strong armed tactics and covert LTTE bias. In 1988/9 it hired foreign mercenaries. Who were their mercenaries now? The ubiquitous under world/ employees or party supporters?

Kristallnacht. It was said that a SS (JSS?)or Fatherland group in Colombo, (Germany’s own) gave covert flanking fire. If so their local collaborators, fittingly the same lot that started a pogrom against the Tamils in 1983, gave another convincing performance of their deadly potential. Were these the ‘reformists’ on whom the West had bet their last, fast disintegrating dollar for regime change?

Lord Haw Haw. Their last bet had been to offer another ‘green card’ to a non combat General in exchange for his soiled soul. He, having been at base HQ many leagues from the action in the Wanni in 2009, carried ‘eye witness’ tales of dastardly HR violations (according to the UK Telegraph) to the USA. Was this a specially selected ‘command stream’ General? There have been Sinhala traitors before and this one will not be the last even if Yankees here and there try to adopt them.

Lone ranger forgotten. One man had made an art of changing horses in mid stream. Another man begged and pleaded with this former turn coat to contest his own leader in what was to be a shrewd fire and forget exercise. He was to be the figure head ‘preferred leader’ of what was to become a rent a mob group, reminiscent of the days when Supreme Court judges houses were sacked. Who was it that wanted SL soldiers arraigned before the War Crimes tribunals?

CFA Hero. Appeasing Terrorists. VP and Wijeweera were protégés of sorts of this emasculated lot. VP was given the wherewithal to fight the SL Army by Premadasa, immensely supported by Sunray TV. VP later cut a deal with dreamer Ranil with a CFA that was eventually going to hand over a third of SL to VP. Ranil’s then fawning cohorts made out that he was SL’s saviour. They boasted he was the darling of the West. They deceived themselves that VP had granted SL a reprieve. Little did they realise, even as the West funded SL, the guillotine had also been set up at the same time.

Internal elections. This lot, once self appointed great defenders of free and fair elections created a free fire zone at their own elections before TV cameras. There had been none when the Supreme Court judges were stoned in their houses when they were in power in the 1980s. This time too it was crude, vulgar, violent, barbarous and nearly murderous too. It was a fight to the finish. There would be neither white flags shown nor any Wijeweeras taken. Some said they would sacrifice their lives for the party. None of this lot however had volunteered to serve in the forces except for one Saturday night soldier. True Sri Kotha heroes.

Poof manoeuvres. One man for the first time in SL shamelessly blurted that a proposition was made to him. This was broadcast on Sun God TV (SGTV) by his mates as though it was a WMD. The nadir of politics and the zenith of disgusting TV.

TV on super charge. Although the Green leader was defeated in 2005 he would not dance to crooked tunes, his saving grace. SGTV (‘we cook up - you swallow’) realised that with the defeat of the LTTE to which it had hitched its star, there would not be any rewards for them for ages if not for ever. It believed this man had to be dumped if they were to make (remake) their fortunes. He irked them. They decided a little bit of terrorism would cure him. They made a fair show on 19 Dec 2011, with its supporters themselves laying claim before anyone else said so. Like all losers in SL, the Greens first cursed the umpires (Elections Officers) then maligned the winners cursing and appealing to false Gods (by breaking coconuts?).Finally they started flagellating each other publicly.

All time losers. What they did not understand was that they kept losing not simply because of the leader but of their standing in the country as a disloyal if not treacherous group that opposed its own armed forces in war and thus the country. Thousands of soldiers from the villages died. There was hardly anyone who died from Colombo, their comfort and safety zone. Isolated from the rank and file they did their damndest to mock the Forces including promoting desertion from the ranks .They also prayed silently that the LTTE would not be defeated, knowing well that a LTTE defeat would spell their political doom. (NB. They also prayed the SL would lose to India in the Cricket WC finals).

Goebbels. In the aftermath of the war the losers and their backers were for good reason considered traitors. When the war ended this lot relentlessly attacked the Achilles heel of any governing party in SL, nepotism and corruption. They disarmingly asked if it was those attacks that made them traitors. As if they and everyone else in SL did not know what made them traitors. The people held their peace and voted silently. The vote was not against the Green leader only but his whole ill begotten tribe including the local Goebbels in print and electronic media and other ‘Alternatives’. Their defeat was comprehensively overwhelming.

Thundering inferiority complex. The local Goebbels (SGTV)show gave out personal details of the ‘winners’ of the carnage and mayhem of 19 December. It said of one that he was from Royal College. What was this in aid of? Did any one think he was from St Joseph’s like his father claimed he was? Did this man not attend an International school in Colombo too? But he could not contain himself. This man from the party of basically the moneyed elites of Colombo, who has lived in clover if not with dangling precious metal since 1977, has a boulder on his shoulder. He claimed, after being narrowly voted Deputy Chairman that his own party was for the elites. Was this to explain why the leader and not his hoped for puppet won? Are we back to the old despised game of shame without a name for which his father gained notoriety? What a permanent complex for a man with national aspirations to harbour.

Pay the price. Sri Kotha rabble rousers, fifth column, thugs and layabouts should not forget that when the country’s armed forces that had 23,000 dead were battling the very terrorists Sri Kotha had spawned in 1983, their elected representatives if not themselves deliberately decided after 1994 to do their wickedest to prevent victory for the nation. They even betrayed SL’s interests to the West. There is a price to pay for their folly if not their treachery.

Reconciliation with the people will not be easy. They should face up to that, ask for forgiveness and start afresh. Blaming their leader is devious. It will never be an escape route. They were all a vocal dedicated part of his defeatist team then.

They should try to rise above defeat as their leader has done if it is only at Sri Kotha. Otherwise their dreams will only be nightmares. Let not a Hitler arise in the party that has always loved ‘a little bit of’ (Green only) dictatorship amongst other evils and miseries too well known. Bye bye Yankees, Fatherland and SG TV.

Happy New Year blessed Sri Lanka - Lalin Fernando