POLITICS OF HATE: confrontation,injustice,violence,corruption,crimes...!!!

General Janaka Perera and the politics of hate
by K. Godage

We as a nation appear to be wallowing in hate. It was hate without apologies that came to the surface both before and consequent to the assassination of a war hero. It was bad enough and most unfortunate that the government did not declare a day of national mourning on the day of the funeral of a Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera (retd.) but what was equally unfortunate to say the least, was that some imbecile denigrated the solemnity of the occasion by screaming over a public address system, venting his wrath against the government, transforming the sad occasion into a political circus when the funeral procession was approaching Kanatte.

Who was Janaka Perera? This country owes him a deep debt of gratitude as it does to Gen. Sarath Fonseka, for it was they who were able to beat back the LTTE in April of 2001 when Jaffna itself was about to fall. It was indeed Generals Perera and Fonseka who saved this country from being divided at a time when our Indian friends were offering us ships to evacuate troops from Jaffna. There is little doubt had the troops been compelled to evacuate from the north after Elephant Pass and the Vanni had fallen, the LTTE would have resorted to UDI and Eelam.

How these two Generals inspired their men as related by officers who served under them in that operation, is a story which every man, every woman and every child in this country should be made aware of.

The late Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera had not only this great achievement to his credit but he had become a legend in his own life time in the Eastern and North Central Provinces of this country in particular. It would be recalled that the LTTE suffered their biggest defeat in the Eastern theatre at Welioya in 1995 at the hands of troops led by Gen. Janaka.

He was reported to have been in the thick of many other battles with the LTTE where the latter suffered heavy casualties. He served this country for over three decades and was without doubt considered an enemy by the LTTE whom they had to avenge. It was no secret that, just as they assassinated the late Gen. Lucky Algama, they wanted to assassinate him too. They have only failed, fortunately for us, in their attempts on the lives of General Fonseka and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

General Janaka Perera without doubt was a great soldier and gentleman who gave his life so that this country will remain undivided.

Many of us claim that we are a Buddhist country but I can say without fear of contradiction that we remain so only in name; we only pay lip service to the teachings of the Buddha. The first lesson that the Buddha taught by example was gratitude. After he attained Enlightenment, he stood before the Pipal tree under which he had meditated – the tree that had provided him shelter and protected him from the sun and rain – to show his gratitude even to the tree which we worship recalling his act of gratitude, even today. But, where was our gratitude shown to Janaka for his services to this country. Buddha also stated in the ‘Maha Mangala Suta’ "Pujacha pujaniyanam, Aatham Mangala Mutthamang" — respecting those who deserve respect is the highest of virtues or values. How have we shown our respect for one who together with Gen. Fonseka saved this country from being divided?

What was the ‘wrong’ committed by Janaka? Was it that he joined the UNP? It appears to have been an unpardonable crime. It appears that he was as much an enemy as Prabhakaran! How else can we explain the manner in which his requests for security were treated or the manner in which his funeral arrangements were handled. Though he was a private citizen, the state should have taken over all arrangements as he was indeed a national hero who had served this country with distinction before he entered politics ‘on the wrong side’, according to his detractors who were his political opponents. What he achieved for his country has been interred with his ashes.

Where is this hate taking us?

The political culture of this country has been built on adversarial, confrontational politics based on hate without regard to the national interest. Our politicians have missed the wood for the trees. This is the unfortunate tradition which we seem to want to perpetuate. The cement that has held this form of confrontational politics together has been the vulgar pursuit of political power.

Have we been desensitised to injustice, violence, corruption and what is fundamentally ‘wrong’ ? I have often thought that we the people are the victims trapped in a certain system created for us by itinerant politicians. But, then again are we not co-conspirators as by not confronting them we allow the power hungry politician to dictate terms and decide for us. Should we be so helpless?

I say NO. We must come forward and take responsibility without letting ‘evil’ in whatever form triumph. It is we who have allowed the political culture of this country to degenerate. Is it not a sad indictment on us that we who do not trust the politician. We who do not believe them and we even despise some of them but we are compelled to suffer them even when they act in their own interest merely to stay in power.

We the people should be grateful to the Supreme Court and our Chief Justice, in particular, for restoring our faith in Justice, for it is only the Supreme Court that has saved us from the exercise of arbitrary power.

The need of the hour is for just government. It is only a just government that can end the insurgency in the North. It is only a just government that can create the requisite political and economic climate to meet the challenges of globalization. A partisan government cannot meet the challenges we face today.

What incidentally are these challenges? We have the insurgency or the war in the North, a depressed economy, staggering debts, an unprecedented level of corruption, a very high level of crime, a sluggish system of courts, which takes years to bring criminals to justice and an education system which does not cater to the new world that is emerging, leave alone catering to forging national unity.

The public service needs to be reformed and energised to meet the needs of the times, new skills are urgently needed. Agriculture is in the dumps. We need to urgently develop our physical infrastructure. We need to augment our energy supplies. Otherwise we shall not have power in a few years.

We need to usher in an age of cooperation and leave behind us the age of confrontation and hate, which has done immeasurable harm to this country. Whilst other countries are forging ahead, we are moving backwards. The disease of confrontation has spread to all levels of our society.

Let us hope that our leaders will indulge in introspection, rise above petty party politics, bury the past and follow in the footsteps of the great Nelson Mandela setting an example to the younger generation of this country.

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