SL: CONFLICT OF COURAGE AND COWARDICE!!!

Conflict of courage and cowardice

My dear Mahinda Aiya,

Ayubown, vanakkam, assalamu alaikkum and congratulations on the commanding heights reached by the military on the battle front, though opposition critics accuse the government of abusing the military success and sacrifices for personal gain or glory at the up coming provincial elections.

According to latest reports, intense battles are continuing with heavy casualty tolls, while government leaders or spokesmen are expressing confidence in a total victory by Independence Day February 4 or Provincial Council Election Day February 14. The main opposition UNP, the JVP and other parties while hailing the military triumphs and the brave troops are accusing the government of misusing the victory over terrorism for election purposes or to cover up attacks of on human and democratic rights including media freedom. The UNP and other opposition parties have formed a joint front to launch a full scale campaign against what they see as the intensifying moves to suppress media freedom. This comes in the wake of the daylight slaying of The Sunday Leader’s courageous editor-in-chief Lasantha Wickrematunge.

He was killed on January 8 by four gunmen, in a high security zone close to the Sri Lanka Air Force’s Ratmalana base. Ten days after the slaying of the brave and high profile editor, police as usual have made little progress in tracking down the killers. The epitaph written by Mr. Wickrematunge before his death and published in the newspaper on January 11 has become a worldwide hit with millions of people reportedly reading it on the website. Speaking at Mr. Wickrematunge’s funeral last Monday SLFP (M) leader Mangala Samaraweera said at least two more well-known journalists were leaving the country following the killing of the outspoken editor. On Wednesday Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in a long interview telecast live on several channels accused the MTV/Sirasa of being a voice of the Tigers. He hit out particularly of MTV channel 1 chief Chevan Daniel, accusing him of being a Tiger and threatening to put him in jail. Amid wide speculation Mr. Daniel went missing from that night and some reports say he also has left the country. The CID Chief told a Sunday newspaper that his detectives were looking for Mr. Daniel to question him. But The Sunday Times in its political column quoted President Mahinda Rajapaksa as saying he knew nothing about plans to arrest the MTV channel 1 chief.

Mangala Samaraweera also told a news conference on Wednesday that he would be going to the United States soon to tell new President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that an American citizen was planning a coup in Sri Lanka. This set off speculation, rumours and a guessing game as to who this American citizen is.

As the battles on the Northern front reached a climax , The Sunday Times in its front page lead story, highlighted another bombshell – the looming economic crisis.

According to independent economists, Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves have plunged to an all time low and are sufficient for only another six weeks, while the basic minimum should be two months. The economists believe, the government has two options to overcome the crisis – a 20 per cent devaluation which means a US dollar would cost about Rs.130 or to accept an IMF bailout package which might include conditions such as privatization of state enterprises. But the Central Bank and its controversial Governor Ajith Nivaard Cabraal appear to be confident that Sri Lanka could would deal with the situation. They seem to be placing their bets on a different bailout package – raising about 500 million US dollars from Sri Lankans working overseas. This will be launched on February 4 apparently tapping into the patriotic fervour of some one million Sri Lankans working overseas. Government leaders or Central Bank officials are likely to go to some of the countries where hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans are working to add fuel to this fund.

Another vital issue in the headlines last week was the visit of India’s Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. The Foreign Ministry gave various reasons but a Sunday newspaper said Mr. Menon had told a TNA delegation he had come to reiterate India’s call for a political solution based on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. While government leaders were saying different things about Mr. Menon’s visit, the JVP came out with all guns ablaze accusing India of arm-twisting Sri Lanka, and attacking the government for bowing to Indian pressure.

The crisis within crisis, conflict within conflict and horse deals within jack boots continue with the added mystery as to who is planning a coup against whom as a former editor said in a tribute to Lasantha Wickrematunge the four motorcyclists who killed The Sunday Leader Editor portrayed the imagery of the four horsemen in the story of the apocalypse and we need to read the signs of the times. The end time story of the apocalypse concludes with a word Maranatha. Whatever that may sound like in Sinhala, the meaning in the Aramaic language of the apocalypse is the hope that at least the Wickrematunge family is clinging to. Brave crusaders like Lasantha die but once. Cowards and sanctimonious humbugs die many times before their deaths. Yours sincerely,

Koththa-malli

courtesy:dailymirror.lk