Naro Udeshi: Founder President of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre Remembered
On behalf of the Mahatma Gandhi centre, I take special pleasure in welcoming all of you to this simple gathering of family and friends in the memory of a soul that departed from us, this day 12th January one year ago. Naro visited this world and lived amongst us for little over eight decades, and although he made this country home by choice for him and his family, he held a strong view and departed with it, that this country could have been better and progressed much faster had there been an environment of good governance that ensured equity and justice to all its citizens in the spirit that the country belongs to all. In the last few years Naro was very actively associated with every effort that stood for good governance, and culmination of this effort led to the birth of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre, Sri-Lanka.
People of Sri Lanka feel notionally divided, and language, religion, race and territorial affinity are dividing factors. Development in Sri Lanka has largely been urban centered and villages are made service units for the cities. We live at a time of racial hatred, during which violence reigns freely, corruption is rewarded, dissension is brutally destroyed, and freethinking is permanently silenced. The country cries for a change, and like many other friends he came to associate with, Naro believed that the country needs a discipline that is relevant and acceptable to all at all times and in all circumstances – a discipline of national life, ensuring the right of individuals blended within the aspirations of their neighborhood, their community, their village, other adjoining villages and the country at large. This search led to the concept of Swarajya.
We in the Mahatma Gandhi Centre are convinced that the new Sri Lanka we wish to build will be safe and prosperous only when the necessary amenities of life are also enjoyed by the poor in common with the rich, and when the masses in the villages feel free to improve their lot by their own effort and shape their destiny the way they like. Therefore, encouraging villages to be self-reliant by producing most of their needs through own efforts is the main focus of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre. People of Wattegedera in the Kurunegala district are leading this effort by having constituted their own Swarajya, and they are gradually learning the power and rewards of collective effort to develop the village.
We all know that violence is evil and should be resisted by all means at our disposal. But, do we have sufficient good in us? Can we marshal all our collective good to overcome violent tendencies of others? These are questions we at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre ask constantly. During 2008 we associated with some other organizations to advocate that the country has the requisite spiritual strength and values to cultivate good in the people for co-existence, and has been in the forefront to recommend formation of village based peace councils. Contact with the youth organizations has revealed that individual goodness in youth is easily transformed to collective evil, and overcoming this tendency in youth groupings has also become another important focus in our work.
We are living in a world of science and technology in which spirituality and its guidance are obscure and viewed as outmoded and have no relevance. The world that has been chasing material comforts seem to be crashing under the weight of those comforts to which the people have become slaves. There is a search for a new paradigm the world over, and the Gandhian Philosophy that has been considered up to now irrelevant to the modern world is being reconsidered and researched. The Mahatma Gandhi Centre was one of the organizations invited for a conference recently held at the Centre for Rural Research and Development, Chandigarh, India to share thoughts on regaining rural democracy along Gandhi’s lines of empowering people. Relevance of Gandhian principles of need based production will certainly have to replace greed based production that has been advocated so far throughout the world, and we believe that Mahatma Gandhi Centre has a vital role to play in the future of this country.
Although many did not understand why the Mahatma Gandhi Centre was being established, I am sure they will now understand the relevance of this centre. We are confident that the family of Naro will be happy that he was one of the main players in establishing this centre, and it will remain a living tribute to Naro. All of us who are now associated with this centre also take pride that we have internalized the wisdom of Naro – that "wealth has no meaning unless used to serve humanity," and we wish to keep it that way.
www island.lk
Monday, January 19, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF TAMILS AND MUSLIMS!!!
Before and after Kilinochchi, and now Elephant Pass.......by Rajan Philips
It is possible and it is necessary, morally and politically, to defend the rights of the Tamils and Muslims to political equality in Sri Lanka, and criticize at the same time the LTTE’s destructive intransigence and the government’s deliberate inaction towards a political solution. Those who are thus disposed would view the fall of Kilinochchi, on the one hand, as LTTE’s deserved comeuppance and, on the other, as a temporary detraction for the government from the deep troubles that it has got into and the even deeper crisis that it is dragging the country into. But the detraction has proved to be less than temporary.
Kilinochchi is no longer the detraction after the vandalizing of the Maharajah TV Station and the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga. Even the government’s worst critics were over-sensitive not to rain on its victory parade, but the parade has now been bloodied beyond belief. Kilinochchi may turnout to be a pyrrhic victory over a not so false struggle! The capture of Elephant Pass, the news of which came as I finish writing this, will not have the gloss as Kilinochchi.
The two events within a week after Kilinochchi have shaken Colombo. More so than any LTTE suicide bombing could have shaken the City. The government has tried to point fingers at its enemies, more imagined than real, and more alien than local. But a million more fingers, both local and foreign, are pointed in the direction of the government. When the Supreme Court ruled to reduce the price of petrol, one of the Ministers talked darkly, and stupidly of course, about external forces mobilizing against the government. Which external force would have wanted to besmirch this government by destroying the country’s largest private TV Station and by killing in cold blood, on a busy road and in broad daylight the irrepressible Editor of the Sunday Leader?
Whether the government was involved in these acts is not the question, for there is no question that the government has created and contributed to a climate of intolerance, impunity and terror in which anyone who dares to criticize the government should be prepared to pay the highest price. There is also no question that the LTTE has devoured much of Tamil society in the name of liberating the Tamils. The grave new question is if the government is going devour the Sinhalese society quite the same way in the course of destroying the LTTE.
The meanings of Kilinochchi
What does the fall of Kilinochchi signify? Neither the euphoria of the government supporters in the South nor the sulking agony of LTTE sympathizers everywhere has grasped the political meanings of Kilinochchi. The supporters and sympathizers are cheer leaders, one side wishing that their side will keep winning, and the other hoping that their bad days will come to an end soon enough. As Tissa Jayatilaka said it with great feeling last Wednesday, neither the government nor the LTTE cares a fig about "the destruction of our, mainly, non-middle class youth who continue to serve as cannon fodder". The seeming motto for both is "we must all hate each other and kill", rather than be literate and live up to Auden’s poetry: "we must all love each other or die."
One unintended outcome of Kilinochchi could be for the LTTE and its advisers to finally embrace a political solution that is less than separation and agree to negotiate on that basis. The growing sentiment across the political spectrum in Tamil Nadu - from the Communist Party of India to Tamil Nationalist local parties - favouring a non-separatist solution is a good enough circumstance for LTTE advisers and fellow travelers to seriously recommend this option to the leadership. Or else, the Sri Lankan Tamils will qualify, if we already haven’t, for what the late Abba Eban, longtime Israeli Foreign Minister, said of Arab leaders in that they "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."
As I have argued earlier in these columns, not only the LTTE but also the government of Sri Lanka could use Tamil Nadu as a viable intercessor to find a principled compromise on the Sri Lankan Tamil question. That the government’s thinking is nowhere close to finding a healthy compromise was made clear by no less a person than the President himself, when he promised to continue the war until "the final act of this false Eelam struggle is played to its finish in the small territory of jungle in Mullaitivu it is confined to today". One could debatably call "Eelam", as separate state, a false demand, but when does a struggle become false? Only if one deems false the existence of all Sri Lankan Tamils on this planet. The description is ignorant at best and insensitive at worst. And the struggle is not confined to a jungle territory, never mind that the government has been making victory laps after "reclaiming" every piece of the same jungle territory including Kilinochchi.
"Eelam is a state of mind" one Tamil journalist (S. Sivanayagam) polemically and publicly wrote to another (S.P. Amarasingham) during the 1977 riots. I have always liked that description of Eelam, even though it has never been the state of my mind. I have also agonized over its political ‘operationalization’ - especially since it was translated into meaningless, counterproductive and self-serving violence not just by the LTTE but also by many others who are now happily receiving their survival stipends from the Sri Lankan government, and not all of them Tamils! Eelam at best is the evolution as a moniker for what has been the political alienation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka at least from 1931, if not earlier. I am not suggesting that Tamil leaders, who developed these monikers, or demands, were infallible. Far from it, they complicated the problem, and are continuing to complicate it. But as long as the alienation remains real, the struggle against it is inevitable and is not false.
Calling the Eelam struggle false also sets the stage to ‘do nothing’ politically after a military victory. It also assumes that after the conventional military victory over the LTTE, the apparent falsity of the Tamil struggle will morph into the practical reality of Tamil submission. The government would be well advised to be not so presumptive, and the advice has much more to do with than a simple military calculation of what the LTTE can or cannot do as guerilla insurgents after a so called conventional defeat. Anyone who has followed the ebb and flow of Tamil politics after 1977 will know that no one anticipated then what has been unfolding since. It would be a mistake to assume that the defeat of the LTTE will be the end of the Tamil struggle.
Tamil Diaspora and Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Diaspora has been credited or discredited with sustaining the LTTE against all odds. The Diaspora, by definition, is all outside Mullaitivu, and whatever happens in Mullaitivu the Diaspora will go on, perhaps more determinedly than before, to be a mighty thorn in any Sri Lankan government’s backside. Enough has been said about the need to have the LTTE’s participation in any viable political solution. From a practical standpoint, the Sri Lankan government has to positively deal with the Tamil Diaspora. The Tamil Diaspora, like any other Diaspora, has its fair share of nuts, but their experiences are real and they cannot be made false by the Sri Lankan President or his speechwriters.
If the government starts on the premise that the Tamil Diaspora is incorrigible, that is what it will get and feelings will be unproductively mutual, as they currently are. I have always thought that the late lamented Lakshman Kadirgamar did only the easy part of getting foreign governments to ban the LTTE and left out the more difficult part of persuading his expatriate compatriots of the political sincerity of his government. Perhaps, the good lawyer he was, he thought he did not have much of a brief to successfully advocate. His successors have made it worse now, by engaging the Diaspora not in any constructive dialogue but in petty debates and internet street fighting. In any event, no dialogue can even start without a clear indication of the governmentreal political intent. There was nothing before Kilinochchi, and there has been nothing after it; only Elephant Pass.
The other main difference from 1977 is Tamil Nadu. When the Eelam idea was first mooted in Jaffna, there was no excitement in Tamil Nadu. Everyone knows what transpired after 1983, but the recent developments in Tamil Nadu would seem to indicate the emergence of a more widespread and sustained concern over developments in Sri Lanka. The interview given by the Tamil Nadu leader of the Communist Party of India to the Editor of the Sunday Leader was exceptionally prescient when it was first published. The killing of the Editor makes it poignant as well. It is again up to the Sri Lankan government to use these developments positively for the benefit of all Sri Lankans rather than bunkering itself in an isolationist hole as the LTTE had been doing.
www island.lk
It is possible and it is necessary, morally and politically, to defend the rights of the Tamils and Muslims to political equality in Sri Lanka, and criticize at the same time the LTTE’s destructive intransigence and the government’s deliberate inaction towards a political solution. Those who are thus disposed would view the fall of Kilinochchi, on the one hand, as LTTE’s deserved comeuppance and, on the other, as a temporary detraction for the government from the deep troubles that it has got into and the even deeper crisis that it is dragging the country into. But the detraction has proved to be less than temporary.
Kilinochchi is no longer the detraction after the vandalizing of the Maharajah TV Station and the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga. Even the government’s worst critics were over-sensitive not to rain on its victory parade, but the parade has now been bloodied beyond belief. Kilinochchi may turnout to be a pyrrhic victory over a not so false struggle! The capture of Elephant Pass, the news of which came as I finish writing this, will not have the gloss as Kilinochchi.
The two events within a week after Kilinochchi have shaken Colombo. More so than any LTTE suicide bombing could have shaken the City. The government has tried to point fingers at its enemies, more imagined than real, and more alien than local. But a million more fingers, both local and foreign, are pointed in the direction of the government. When the Supreme Court ruled to reduce the price of petrol, one of the Ministers talked darkly, and stupidly of course, about external forces mobilizing against the government. Which external force would have wanted to besmirch this government by destroying the country’s largest private TV Station and by killing in cold blood, on a busy road and in broad daylight the irrepressible Editor of the Sunday Leader?
Whether the government was involved in these acts is not the question, for there is no question that the government has created and contributed to a climate of intolerance, impunity and terror in which anyone who dares to criticize the government should be prepared to pay the highest price. There is also no question that the LTTE has devoured much of Tamil society in the name of liberating the Tamils. The grave new question is if the government is going devour the Sinhalese society quite the same way in the course of destroying the LTTE.
The meanings of Kilinochchi
What does the fall of Kilinochchi signify? Neither the euphoria of the government supporters in the South nor the sulking agony of LTTE sympathizers everywhere has grasped the political meanings of Kilinochchi. The supporters and sympathizers are cheer leaders, one side wishing that their side will keep winning, and the other hoping that their bad days will come to an end soon enough. As Tissa Jayatilaka said it with great feeling last Wednesday, neither the government nor the LTTE cares a fig about "the destruction of our, mainly, non-middle class youth who continue to serve as cannon fodder". The seeming motto for both is "we must all hate each other and kill", rather than be literate and live up to Auden’s poetry: "we must all love each other or die."
One unintended outcome of Kilinochchi could be for the LTTE and its advisers to finally embrace a political solution that is less than separation and agree to negotiate on that basis. The growing sentiment across the political spectrum in Tamil Nadu - from the Communist Party of India to Tamil Nationalist local parties - favouring a non-separatist solution is a good enough circumstance for LTTE advisers and fellow travelers to seriously recommend this option to the leadership. Or else, the Sri Lankan Tamils will qualify, if we already haven’t, for what the late Abba Eban, longtime Israeli Foreign Minister, said of Arab leaders in that they "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."
As I have argued earlier in these columns, not only the LTTE but also the government of Sri Lanka could use Tamil Nadu as a viable intercessor to find a principled compromise on the Sri Lankan Tamil question. That the government’s thinking is nowhere close to finding a healthy compromise was made clear by no less a person than the President himself, when he promised to continue the war until "the final act of this false Eelam struggle is played to its finish in the small territory of jungle in Mullaitivu it is confined to today". One could debatably call "Eelam", as separate state, a false demand, but when does a struggle become false? Only if one deems false the existence of all Sri Lankan Tamils on this planet. The description is ignorant at best and insensitive at worst. And the struggle is not confined to a jungle territory, never mind that the government has been making victory laps after "reclaiming" every piece of the same jungle territory including Kilinochchi.
"Eelam is a state of mind" one Tamil journalist (S. Sivanayagam) polemically and publicly wrote to another (S.P. Amarasingham) during the 1977 riots. I have always liked that description of Eelam, even though it has never been the state of my mind. I have also agonized over its political ‘operationalization’ - especially since it was translated into meaningless, counterproductive and self-serving violence not just by the LTTE but also by many others who are now happily receiving their survival stipends from the Sri Lankan government, and not all of them Tamils! Eelam at best is the evolution as a moniker for what has been the political alienation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka at least from 1931, if not earlier. I am not suggesting that Tamil leaders, who developed these monikers, or demands, were infallible. Far from it, they complicated the problem, and are continuing to complicate it. But as long as the alienation remains real, the struggle against it is inevitable and is not false.
Calling the Eelam struggle false also sets the stage to ‘do nothing’ politically after a military victory. It also assumes that after the conventional military victory over the LTTE, the apparent falsity of the Tamil struggle will morph into the practical reality of Tamil submission. The government would be well advised to be not so presumptive, and the advice has much more to do with than a simple military calculation of what the LTTE can or cannot do as guerilla insurgents after a so called conventional defeat. Anyone who has followed the ebb and flow of Tamil politics after 1977 will know that no one anticipated then what has been unfolding since. It would be a mistake to assume that the defeat of the LTTE will be the end of the Tamil struggle.
Tamil Diaspora and Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Diaspora has been credited or discredited with sustaining the LTTE against all odds. The Diaspora, by definition, is all outside Mullaitivu, and whatever happens in Mullaitivu the Diaspora will go on, perhaps more determinedly than before, to be a mighty thorn in any Sri Lankan government’s backside. Enough has been said about the need to have the LTTE’s participation in any viable political solution. From a practical standpoint, the Sri Lankan government has to positively deal with the Tamil Diaspora. The Tamil Diaspora, like any other Diaspora, has its fair share of nuts, but their experiences are real and they cannot be made false by the Sri Lankan President or his speechwriters.
If the government starts on the premise that the Tamil Diaspora is incorrigible, that is what it will get and feelings will be unproductively mutual, as they currently are. I have always thought that the late lamented Lakshman Kadirgamar did only the easy part of getting foreign governments to ban the LTTE and left out the more difficult part of persuading his expatriate compatriots of the political sincerity of his government. Perhaps, the good lawyer he was, he thought he did not have much of a brief to successfully advocate. His successors have made it worse now, by engaging the Diaspora not in any constructive dialogue but in petty debates and internet street fighting. In any event, no dialogue can even start without a clear indication of the governmentreal political intent. There was nothing before Kilinochchi, and there has been nothing after it; only Elephant Pass.
The other main difference from 1977 is Tamil Nadu. When the Eelam idea was first mooted in Jaffna, there was no excitement in Tamil Nadu. Everyone knows what transpired after 1983, but the recent developments in Tamil Nadu would seem to indicate the emergence of a more widespread and sustained concern over developments in Sri Lanka. The interview given by the Tamil Nadu leader of the Communist Party of India to the Editor of the Sunday Leader was exceptionally prescient when it was first published. The killing of the Editor makes it poignant as well. It is again up to the Sri Lankan government to use these developments positively for the benefit of all Sri Lankans rather than bunkering itself in an isolationist hole as the LTTE had been doing.
www island.lk
Friday, January 16, 2009
THE COURAGEOUS SINHALA EDITOR: GREAT PATRIOT!!!
The courageous patriot
Lasantha Wickramatunge
It was with stunned disbelief I watched the news item on the shooting of Lasantha Wickramatunge a legend of our time. The incident was corroborated by the numerous telephone calls and text messages that followed.
The country lost a national asset. A man who did an exemplary service to the country is gone. His loss is truly irreparable. His well structured articles probably running into thousands were portended extensively for their material quality, accuracy of content, truly investigative style and more than all the bold way of presenting, no matter who is in the spot light. In his writings he maintained the liveliness of the event throughout in such a way the mind of the reader was never distracted. He had the knack of stimulating the system so that the mind of the reader was totally focused. Lasantha had the knack of manoeuvring the language in a manner the thought provoking stimulation he provides naturally exposed the anti-social elements or activities.
His direct and lucid art of journalism provided inspiring and valuable insight to the subject in question. His writings depicted his personality, wide ranging knowledge and experience he possesses. His writings expounded the crux of the matter in analysis without leaving any doubts in the minds of the readers. His conquering way of journalism tends to portray an inimitable character. He was firm, forceful and positive. The manner in which he displayed profound wisdom, limpidness, magnetic personality, exemplary writing style, intellectual integrity, moral sincerity is commendable.
Country has lost a man infinitely precious especially at a time like this. We pay tribute to a dedicated man and a great patriot. If we had more of people of your calibre, courage, capacity, capability and competence this country would have been a better place.
K.R. Pushparanjan
Lasantha Wickramatunge
It was with stunned disbelief I watched the news item on the shooting of Lasantha Wickramatunge a legend of our time. The incident was corroborated by the numerous telephone calls and text messages that followed.
The country lost a national asset. A man who did an exemplary service to the country is gone. His loss is truly irreparable. His well structured articles probably running into thousands were portended extensively for their material quality, accuracy of content, truly investigative style and more than all the bold way of presenting, no matter who is in the spot light. In his writings he maintained the liveliness of the event throughout in such a way the mind of the reader was never distracted. He had the knack of stimulating the system so that the mind of the reader was totally focused. Lasantha had the knack of manoeuvring the language in a manner the thought provoking stimulation he provides naturally exposed the anti-social elements or activities.
His direct and lucid art of journalism provided inspiring and valuable insight to the subject in question. His writings depicted his personality, wide ranging knowledge and experience he possesses. His writings expounded the crux of the matter in analysis without leaving any doubts in the minds of the readers. His conquering way of journalism tends to portray an inimitable character. He was firm, forceful and positive. The manner in which he displayed profound wisdom, limpidness, magnetic personality, exemplary writing style, intellectual integrity, moral sincerity is commendable.
Country has lost a man infinitely precious especially at a time like this. We pay tribute to a dedicated man and a great patriot. If we had more of people of your calibre, courage, capacity, capability and competence this country would have been a better place.
K.R. Pushparanjan
INTERVIEW-2009 JAN: TMVP- LEADER:COL. KARUNA!!!
India is very keen to start discussions on a power sharing method
De facto LTTE Leader Karuna................By Shakunthala Perera
De facto LTTE Leader Karuna tells Hard Talk that with the LTTE breathing its last it was a matter of time before the LTTE is completely wiped out and a political process that meets the rights of the Tamil people is in place. He reiterates that it was the responsibility of all Tamil parties to engage with the government and join the discussion on a political solution and not boycott such a process. He maintains that today’s visit of Indian Foreign Secretary was in no way one to exert any form of pressure on the government to stop the war, but to express their concerns towards the plight of the Tamil civilians caught in between.
No pressure from India to stop the war.
Govt. should be able to finish off the war by the end of the year.
People hate the LTTE in the Wanni today because their lives have been restricted to refugee camps.
Enough chances have been given the LTTE to reform.
The best thing to do right now is to engage with the government.
Q: You recently claimed that the secondary leadership in the LTTE were ready to defect. On what are you basing these claims?
Simply, on the fact that the LTTE are facing many internal problems due to the military exercises and the capture of Kilinochchi. The morale of the cadres is totally down. The news I have from the Wanni is that a large number of lower level cadres of the group have thrown away their weapons and fled to other areas in fear. The LTTE is in its final stages today. Prabhakaran will try guerilla warfare but he won’t be able to sustain it for long. His cadres are used to and trained in conventional warfare so it will anyway be difficult for them to change immediately.
Q: What in your opinion is the strength of the LTTE right now?
His strength both cadres and weapons wise is very low. His cadre number can’t be more than 2000. He had tried to recruit people but has failed as well because the people are angry that with all the forceful recruitment and the losses they faced they realize it was a farce. Those days when we were part of the LTTE the people believed us, but with my defection the people finally realised that it was a futile attempt. The problem is that Prabhakaran won’t change even if he knows that he can’t recruit people anymore. People hate the LTTE in the Wanni today because their lives have been restricted to refugee camps. They don’t blame the government for that but the LTTE for giving unattainable goals to them.
Q: Are you saying that there is no longer support for Eelam within the Tamil community today?
People don’t believe Prabhakaran can get them Eelam.
Q: According to your information where is Prabhakaran now and what option is available to him now?
He can’t go anywhere in the world today because no one will accept him. He will certainly be trapped in the jungles. He will try to defend the bit of land left using the human shield, but it will be very difficult. The government can clear up the area faster than he believes. I also spoke to the President and Gotabaya about the plight of the civilians caught in the middle. They are also very concerned about this situation. I explained the need for making sure the people are secured. But Prabhakaran’s future will be a question mark, because neither can he survive in the jungle nor hope to flee abroad because no country will accept him. The only countries that he has clandestine dealings with on arms and ammunition are ; Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. Again, the sea voyage will be a very difficult one. He can only try and survive in the jungles.
Q: Are their dealings with these three countries still in operation?
Yes, they have companies registered as business entities so it is difficult to find out which ones they are and exactly how they operate. Arms dealings continue as well.
Q: There were reports that certain senior leaders of the LTTE were also negotiating their way out of the group. How far is this true?
Senior leader like Nadesan is not a courageous man. He can’t do anything in the battlefield. And Soosai can only operate as long as he has access to the sea and with Navy patrols his movementsw are also restricted, so their morale is completely down. But they can’t defect so they might look at the option of surrendering. The fact is that the LTTE is today restricted to a 40 km stretch of land and even that they won’t be able to hold on to for long. And after that bit is also lost that will be the end of it all.
Q: There are many arguments against the government decision to ban the LTTE on the grounds that such a move removes any chances for negotiations between and blocks any form of engagement with the LTTE. How do you see this situation?
I think it is a very positive move. The government gave them every opportunity to join the democratic process. But every time it was refused, so it is now the right decision to take. Enough chances have been given the LTTE. The Tamil people are finally able to think of a peaceful life. They have been forced to go through much difficulties during the last two decades. No one likes to sacrifice a child to a worthless cause like this.
Q: Different reports giving vastly different time frames are given to when the war may come to an end. In your estimation how much time do you think will it take for the security forces to finish this war?
I don’t think its easy to give a deadline like that. It all depends on the strategy adopted by the security forces. But given the areas so far captured it will be difficult for the LTTE to hold on for long. But given that the Army has very sophisticated means to fight this war, I think they should be able to finish it off by the end of the year. Now that their de-facto state is lost it would be difficult for LTTE to go on anymore. It was important that the security forces captured the coastal areas because their strength was the sea. But now that the western coast is completely lost to them especially with their clandestine dealings with Tamil Nadu at a standstill, and losing the East completely, capturing Mullativu will be easy. Now the Army is moving from Jaffna and with the low morale and loss of arms it would be a matter of time before it is completely destroyed.
Q: You spoke of Tamil Nadu. Given the immense pressure on the Indian centre how do you view today’s visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary?
The Indian government understands the position of the government and the military exercises. They are only concerned about the civilians. But there is no pressure on the govt. to stop the war.
Q: But there is a definite pressure from the international community including India for the government to seek a political solution parallel to the military exercises isn’t there? Do you think this is justified?
That may only be possible after capturing the land under the LTTE, when a PC election could be held in the North. The govt.’s position maybe that after the war to implement the 13th Amendment. After that I think we can talk to the government about a power sharing method. India is also very keen to start discussions on it. The Tamil people will be happy with such a solution and we will definitely solve it soon. Otherwise there will be a serious loss to the people on both economic and educational grounds. Once we solve it as such the people will accept the political reality of such a solution. Every body knows the Tamil people need their rights to be met. Already the APRC has started work on it although there is no solution from it yet. After the capture of Mullativu even the TNA will participate in that process. We have to participate in the process. Otherwise we can’t get anything from the government. Boycotting the process is never the answer. We have to do something for our people. The best thing to do right now is to engage with the government.
Q: But how do you plan to win the confidence of the Tamil community for such a process when the East still remain volatile? Your own cadres still refuse to disarm and a power struggle has already commenced between you and Pillayan.
We have already decided for our cadres to join the forces on a volunteer basis and if sufficiently talented join the police force as well. They are very happy to do so. That process is on. The delay is due to the lack of documents to process. We have no difficulty in disarming. I have explained to my cadres that we can’t carry weapons in a united Sri Lanka. We don’t need weapons. The Army has given us the security that we need. Our work with the UN has also started. With the support of the people in the East rejoining society will be easy with proper counselling and opportunities.
The problem between me and Pillayan is already resolved. Every political party has problems. But people in both the East and the North expect us to look after them. In the future we will have to develop a positive plan for development. Now I can coordinate very well with the central government. Everyone understands the ground realities.
DAILYMIRROR.LK
De facto LTTE Leader Karuna................By Shakunthala Perera
De facto LTTE Leader Karuna tells Hard Talk that with the LTTE breathing its last it was a matter of time before the LTTE is completely wiped out and a political process that meets the rights of the Tamil people is in place. He reiterates that it was the responsibility of all Tamil parties to engage with the government and join the discussion on a political solution and not boycott such a process. He maintains that today’s visit of Indian Foreign Secretary was in no way one to exert any form of pressure on the government to stop the war, but to express their concerns towards the plight of the Tamil civilians caught in between.
No pressure from India to stop the war.
Govt. should be able to finish off the war by the end of the year.
People hate the LTTE in the Wanni today because their lives have been restricted to refugee camps.
Enough chances have been given the LTTE to reform.
The best thing to do right now is to engage with the government.
Q: You recently claimed that the secondary leadership in the LTTE were ready to defect. On what are you basing these claims?
Simply, on the fact that the LTTE are facing many internal problems due to the military exercises and the capture of Kilinochchi. The morale of the cadres is totally down. The news I have from the Wanni is that a large number of lower level cadres of the group have thrown away their weapons and fled to other areas in fear. The LTTE is in its final stages today. Prabhakaran will try guerilla warfare but he won’t be able to sustain it for long. His cadres are used to and trained in conventional warfare so it will anyway be difficult for them to change immediately.
Q: What in your opinion is the strength of the LTTE right now?
His strength both cadres and weapons wise is very low. His cadre number can’t be more than 2000. He had tried to recruit people but has failed as well because the people are angry that with all the forceful recruitment and the losses they faced they realize it was a farce. Those days when we were part of the LTTE the people believed us, but with my defection the people finally realised that it was a futile attempt. The problem is that Prabhakaran won’t change even if he knows that he can’t recruit people anymore. People hate the LTTE in the Wanni today because their lives have been restricted to refugee camps. They don’t blame the government for that but the LTTE for giving unattainable goals to them.
Q: Are you saying that there is no longer support for Eelam within the Tamil community today?
People don’t believe Prabhakaran can get them Eelam.
Q: According to your information where is Prabhakaran now and what option is available to him now?
He can’t go anywhere in the world today because no one will accept him. He will certainly be trapped in the jungles. He will try to defend the bit of land left using the human shield, but it will be very difficult. The government can clear up the area faster than he believes. I also spoke to the President and Gotabaya about the plight of the civilians caught in the middle. They are also very concerned about this situation. I explained the need for making sure the people are secured. But Prabhakaran’s future will be a question mark, because neither can he survive in the jungle nor hope to flee abroad because no country will accept him. The only countries that he has clandestine dealings with on arms and ammunition are ; Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. Again, the sea voyage will be a very difficult one. He can only try and survive in the jungles.
Q: Are their dealings with these three countries still in operation?
Yes, they have companies registered as business entities so it is difficult to find out which ones they are and exactly how they operate. Arms dealings continue as well.
Q: There were reports that certain senior leaders of the LTTE were also negotiating their way out of the group. How far is this true?
Senior leader like Nadesan is not a courageous man. He can’t do anything in the battlefield. And Soosai can only operate as long as he has access to the sea and with Navy patrols his movementsw are also restricted, so their morale is completely down. But they can’t defect so they might look at the option of surrendering. The fact is that the LTTE is today restricted to a 40 km stretch of land and even that they won’t be able to hold on to for long. And after that bit is also lost that will be the end of it all.
Q: There are many arguments against the government decision to ban the LTTE on the grounds that such a move removes any chances for negotiations between and blocks any form of engagement with the LTTE. How do you see this situation?
I think it is a very positive move. The government gave them every opportunity to join the democratic process. But every time it was refused, so it is now the right decision to take. Enough chances have been given the LTTE. The Tamil people are finally able to think of a peaceful life. They have been forced to go through much difficulties during the last two decades. No one likes to sacrifice a child to a worthless cause like this.
Q: Different reports giving vastly different time frames are given to when the war may come to an end. In your estimation how much time do you think will it take for the security forces to finish this war?
I don’t think its easy to give a deadline like that. It all depends on the strategy adopted by the security forces. But given the areas so far captured it will be difficult for the LTTE to hold on for long. But given that the Army has very sophisticated means to fight this war, I think they should be able to finish it off by the end of the year. Now that their de-facto state is lost it would be difficult for LTTE to go on anymore. It was important that the security forces captured the coastal areas because their strength was the sea. But now that the western coast is completely lost to them especially with their clandestine dealings with Tamil Nadu at a standstill, and losing the East completely, capturing Mullativu will be easy. Now the Army is moving from Jaffna and with the low morale and loss of arms it would be a matter of time before it is completely destroyed.
Q: You spoke of Tamil Nadu. Given the immense pressure on the Indian centre how do you view today’s visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary?
The Indian government understands the position of the government and the military exercises. They are only concerned about the civilians. But there is no pressure on the govt. to stop the war.
Q: But there is a definite pressure from the international community including India for the government to seek a political solution parallel to the military exercises isn’t there? Do you think this is justified?
That may only be possible after capturing the land under the LTTE, when a PC election could be held in the North. The govt.’s position maybe that after the war to implement the 13th Amendment. After that I think we can talk to the government about a power sharing method. India is also very keen to start discussions on it. The Tamil people will be happy with such a solution and we will definitely solve it soon. Otherwise there will be a serious loss to the people on both economic and educational grounds. Once we solve it as such the people will accept the political reality of such a solution. Every body knows the Tamil people need their rights to be met. Already the APRC has started work on it although there is no solution from it yet. After the capture of Mullativu even the TNA will participate in that process. We have to participate in the process. Otherwise we can’t get anything from the government. Boycotting the process is never the answer. We have to do something for our people. The best thing to do right now is to engage with the government.
Q: But how do you plan to win the confidence of the Tamil community for such a process when the East still remain volatile? Your own cadres still refuse to disarm and a power struggle has already commenced between you and Pillayan.
We have already decided for our cadres to join the forces on a volunteer basis and if sufficiently talented join the police force as well. They are very happy to do so. That process is on. The delay is due to the lack of documents to process. We have no difficulty in disarming. I have explained to my cadres that we can’t carry weapons in a united Sri Lanka. We don’t need weapons. The Army has given us the security that we need. Our work with the UN has also started. With the support of the people in the East rejoining society will be easy with proper counselling and opportunities.
The problem between me and Pillayan is already resolved. Every political party has problems. But people in both the East and the North expect us to look after them. In the future we will have to develop a positive plan for development. Now I can coordinate very well with the central government. Everyone understands the ground realities.
DAILYMIRROR.LK
SL: WHITE FLAGS.....GOD FEARING COMMON PEOPLE.....KINDNESS.....CARE......DECENT LIFE!!!
When the guns become silent
Capt Elmo Jayawardena
The longest wars of history did see their flags of white. Ours will not be different. The smell of cordite will drift away and the dust will settle. The ones who walk in crutches will bear witness to an untold tragedy. They could be the lucky ones, the rest lie unnamed, in mark-less graves buried in a hurry in shallow sand, lost in a war they didn't understand.
Their mothers pray in kovils and temples, divided by lines that need to be erased.
My wife and I were in Dubai, a few months ago, to talk to people who are connected to AFLAC, a humanitarian organisation that we are associated with and the gist of the address was how to help the needy in Sri Lanka. After the meeting we were driven back to our hotel by Nagarajah, as Tamil as a palmyra tree. He made a request; for AFLAC to find someone who had a kidney deficiency.
He would take care of him; that was the promise.
Back in Sri Lanka inquiries were made and a kind doctor from Ragama found someone in absolute need of assistance. Jayasiri is 32 years old; has been on dialysis for four years and now needed a kidney transplant. His father left his job and collected the gratuity; and then mortgaged their home to meet the medical expenses that reached cloud high. It was only the beginning. The surgery needed a lot more money and the answers were in "no hope" land. They were God fearing Catholic people, the praying type and someone volunteered to gift a kidney. No pieces of silver, just the ultimate generosity, and a stranger in saffron robes became the matching donor.
A Montessori teacher in Kandy coordinated the monetary matters and the stage was set.
None of these people had known each other before; the Tamil gentleman and the Catholic boy and the Buddhist priest were total strangers, the doctor and the Montessori teacher and my wife paddled the same canoe. That was the team.
The house was redeemed; all medical needs supplied, logistics dealt with and the transplant took place a few days ago. It wasn't cheap, and the promise made in Dubai was totally fulfilled.
People gathered through kindness and care and the spirit of giving had reached a zenith.
No rewards asked and no medals given, there was a human need and that was all that mattered.
Ours is a land of gentle people, generous and kind, that is what we have been. Don't tell me "NO", I have seen it a thousand times in a thousand places that spreads from Kankasanthurai to Devundara. Such is the essence of Sri Lanka; the proletariat who in the core value of life who know how to care. That is our hope for the redeemed future when the white flags flutter in peace. It is the common man who will make the difference and not the empty promises from political platforms or the vociferous bloating in boast on television screens in meaningless accusations and arguments. It is the ordinary Sri Lankan who 'dares to care' through ethnic and religious separations that will herald a new day of peace.
When the guns are silent - I pray people of this land will remember to forget.
The sorrows will remain and those who made supreme sacrifices will always be sacred in memory. The mothers who cried and the fathers who buried should find some solace. The need would be for the widowed wives to simmer their sadness with time and the orphaned children to wake to new and hopeful beginnings. Then we might walk as one nation to be counted as decent human beings.
At such times the footprints of the Palmyra man and the saffron robed sadhu should be a vision to us, how they carried the Catholic Jayasiri is a covenant of kindness. We need such lessons to make us aware how beautiful this land could be when delivered from the carnage that ruined.
(Names have been altered for privacy)
dailymirror.lk
Capt Elmo Jayawardena
The longest wars of history did see their flags of white. Ours will not be different. The smell of cordite will drift away and the dust will settle. The ones who walk in crutches will bear witness to an untold tragedy. They could be the lucky ones, the rest lie unnamed, in mark-less graves buried in a hurry in shallow sand, lost in a war they didn't understand.
Their mothers pray in kovils and temples, divided by lines that need to be erased.
My wife and I were in Dubai, a few months ago, to talk to people who are connected to AFLAC, a humanitarian organisation that we are associated with and the gist of the address was how to help the needy in Sri Lanka. After the meeting we were driven back to our hotel by Nagarajah, as Tamil as a palmyra tree. He made a request; for AFLAC to find someone who had a kidney deficiency.
He would take care of him; that was the promise.
Back in Sri Lanka inquiries were made and a kind doctor from Ragama found someone in absolute need of assistance. Jayasiri is 32 years old; has been on dialysis for four years and now needed a kidney transplant. His father left his job and collected the gratuity; and then mortgaged their home to meet the medical expenses that reached cloud high. It was only the beginning. The surgery needed a lot more money and the answers were in "no hope" land. They were God fearing Catholic people, the praying type and someone volunteered to gift a kidney. No pieces of silver, just the ultimate generosity, and a stranger in saffron robes became the matching donor.
A Montessori teacher in Kandy coordinated the monetary matters and the stage was set.
None of these people had known each other before; the Tamil gentleman and the Catholic boy and the Buddhist priest were total strangers, the doctor and the Montessori teacher and my wife paddled the same canoe. That was the team.
The house was redeemed; all medical needs supplied, logistics dealt with and the transplant took place a few days ago. It wasn't cheap, and the promise made in Dubai was totally fulfilled.
People gathered through kindness and care and the spirit of giving had reached a zenith.
No rewards asked and no medals given, there was a human need and that was all that mattered.
Ours is a land of gentle people, generous and kind, that is what we have been. Don't tell me "NO", I have seen it a thousand times in a thousand places that spreads from Kankasanthurai to Devundara. Such is the essence of Sri Lanka; the proletariat who in the core value of life who know how to care. That is our hope for the redeemed future when the white flags flutter in peace. It is the common man who will make the difference and not the empty promises from political platforms or the vociferous bloating in boast on television screens in meaningless accusations and arguments. It is the ordinary Sri Lankan who 'dares to care' through ethnic and religious separations that will herald a new day of peace.
When the guns are silent - I pray people of this land will remember to forget.
The sorrows will remain and those who made supreme sacrifices will always be sacred in memory. The mothers who cried and the fathers who buried should find some solace. The need would be for the widowed wives to simmer their sadness with time and the orphaned children to wake to new and hopeful beginnings. Then we might walk as one nation to be counted as decent human beings.
At such times the footprints of the Palmyra man and the saffron robed sadhu should be a vision to us, how they carried the Catholic Jayasiri is a covenant of kindness. We need such lessons to make us aware how beautiful this land could be when delivered from the carnage that ruined.
(Names have been altered for privacy)
dailymirror.lk
Thursday, January 15, 2009
UNMASKING A FMR PRESIDENT: R.PREMADASA!!!
Unmasking Premadasa
A review by Neville JAYAWEERA
“In the Shadow of a People’s President” by Evans Cooray Published by Vijitha Yapa publishers
Knowing both the writer and his subject fairly intimately, it was with some reluctance that I accepted an invitation to review Evans Cooray’s book “In the Shadow of a People’s President”.
The truth is simply that despite Cooray’s 35 years with Premadasa, I do not think that he has succeeded in fully uncovering his master’s labyrinthine and multi-layered personality. Premadasa was not simply the run of the mill politician and leader. He was a phenomenon, who combined in himself attributes of a genius, as well of a psychotic.
The soaring vision he had for his country, and I do not mean merely for the Sinhala people but for Sri Lanka as a nation, was unmatched by any political leader of the last century, either conceptually, or in terms of the intelligence and managerial energy with which he backed it up, even though that vision was tainted by his many failings.
The chattering classes’ criticisms of him, were a travesty of the man he really was, and telling the full story, the good, the bad and the ugly, has yet to be undertaken.
Cooray’s book will be of immense value to whoever will want to write Premadasa’s definitive biography. As Press Secretary to Premadasa, he had a unique opportunity to observe his master shorn of the many masks he wore for the public.
Though none of Cooray’s disclosures are shatteringly new, they have the ring of authenticity, and are to be valued for that reason. They are not gossip or hearsay, but the real thing!
Two narratives
Evans Cooray’s book is in fact two closely intertwined narratives. One narrative has President Premadasa for its subject, while the other, minutely threaded into it, is Cooray’s own life story. The book is therefore both a biography as well as an autobiography, and as to who gets more space and column length in it, is not immediately obvious.
In seeking to use Premadasa’s political career as a scaffolding on which to drape his own life story, Cooray is saying that, though richly endowed with journalistic talents, he could never have come even close to the heights he reached, without Premadasa’s patronage. Hence, the metaphor, “Living in the shadow”.
From the day in late 1956, when as a young journalist working for the Dinamina, he quoted in his paper one of Premadasa’s poems delivered spontaneously from a party political platform, and caught his eye, Cooray was sucked relentlessly into the vortex of Premadasa’s turbulent life, from which he could not break loose until that fateful day on the May 1, 1993, when his idol was assassinated.
It was not merely that Premadasa sought him out, but that Cooray himself hitched his wagon to what he saw as a rising star.
However, I must confess that I find the concept of “Living in the shadow of “ anyone, except of Deity itself, quite problematic. To live in the shadow of another human being, and to snuff out one’s own light in his presence, is not what it means to live the complete life. Self-denial is a great spiritual virtue, but not self-immolation, especially when undertaken in order that another’s manic ego may prosper.
Destiny and astrologers
Cooray admits to believing in “destiny”, although his hero Premadasa impresses on him that there is no such thing as “destiny” and that man shapes his own ends, through the power of his “mind” (Premadasa’s word). I found that quite curious, considering that on Cooray’s own account, Premadasa would closet himself with his astrologer regularly, seeking to uncover from his horoscope his “destiny” for the day, which leads one to wonder what his astrologer might have foretold for him for the May 1, 1993!
Premadasa also quotes to Cooray the famous first stanza from the Dhammapada. (Mind is the forerunner of all conditions. All things are mind made), which of course is universally true, regardless of one’s beliefs. However, the problem is then how Premadasa reconciled its acceptance with his faith in astrology. The Dhammapada and astrology cannot both be true!
Although Cooray amasses a mountain of material concerning Premadasa which would be manna for a psychiatrist or for a political analyst, he does not attempt to analyse the material himself, or try to peer behind them to discern hidden realities. To that extent, his 35 year association with Premadasa has been allowed to run to waste and the material he has amassed awaits an intrepid commentator or analyst.
I found Cooray’s life story quite fascinating. He writes about his humble origins and attributes to Premadasa his successes in life.
He confesses freely that through that relationship he was able to girdle the globe, shake hands with celebrities, dine and wine with the rich and the famous, be photographed with ruling sovereigns and Prime Ministers, benefit from scholarships, and be hosted to lavish lifestyles, all of which he obviously valued very highly, but none of which, on his own admission, he would have savoured had he stood on his own status, as plain Evans Cooray. However, to board that gravy train, Cooray had to pay a mighty price.
Living in the shadow
For over 35 years, except for a few years when Premadasa was out of political office, Cooray had no life of his own.
As Premadasa’s Press Secretary, he lived utterly and wholly at the service of his master, quite literally in his shadow, pandering to his every behest, on call 24 hours of the day, the phone in his home ringing incessantly and devoid of any space for a private life.
Working for Premadasa was frenetic, tempestuous and exhausting but in a curiously masochistic way, Cooray seems to have carried on, as most public servants might probably have done, never protesting, for fear of losing their livelihood.
Perhaps the vast majority of Cooray’s colleagues, relatives and friends, might also envy his successes and the dizzy heights he trod for over three decades, even if they had to pay the same price as Cooray willingly paid.
On the other hand, a miniscule minority might ask, “Besides gorging oneself on perks and privileges, and soaking up the publicity and the reflected glory that comes from being close to the high and mighty, aren’t there some fundamental values one can never compromise, some principles which one can never trade for anything else”?
Clearly, Cooray was not troubled by such questions and, I am sure, neither would the majority of his readers. Interestingly however, in a solitary moment of illumination, Cooray says, “Keeping the company of those in power was as dangerous as living with poisonous snakes”. (page 307) The question is then, why is there such a stampede to live in snake pits?
This raises an important moral dilemma for any public servant who has to work closely with a President or a Prime Minister, especially for any considerable length of time, as Cooray had to.
Thirty five years is a very long time! Granted that no politician is immune from serious character flaws, how far, and for how long, can a public servant go without compromising his integrity? At what point would he say, “Thus far and no further”.
In mitigation of Cooray, it must be said that he was only a Press Secretary and was not complicit in the decisions that brought disrepute to his master. His accredited job was to blow up his master’s image and in his defence it must be said that he was not the only one who did it.
A clothes line
Cooray uses the story of his career like a clothes-line on which he hangs out a multitude of little anecdotes, which enable us to gauge the kind of persons both he and his master were.
He tells us how he was overbearing towards those lower down on the bureaucratic or social ladder and how he would pick up the telephone and lambaste them, very much in the style of his boss. Finally he tells us that it was only the unspeakable trauma of Premadasa’s assassination that transformed him and imparted to him a humility that he never had.
At least Cooray is not self-righteous, and does not try to justify the many errors he committed while working for Premadasa. He tells us that it is only now he feels liberated, able to walk the streets of his adopted country, breathing the exhilarating air of anonymity and freedom.
Although Cooray virtually deified Premadasa during his lifetime, he does not do so in his book. As far as I know only two books have been written about Premadasa in English.
One of them, while Premadasa was still alive, but anonymous, abusive and scurrilous and not worth the paper on which it was printed.
The other, written by a senior member of his staff, while he was still in the master’s employ, at the latter’s behest, and therefore of not much value either. Cooray’s book stands out as presenting as truthful an account of Premadasa as one has yet seen in print and, though lacking in analysis and depth, it is distinctive for its transparent honesty.
The sunny-side
Premadasa’s commitment to the poor defines his character, more than does any other of his many attributes, and this attribute alone, mitigates and even obliterates much of what was negative about him.
For him, alleviating poverty was more than just another aspect of development. It was the passion that drove his politics, and he sought power, primarily as a launching pad for his onslaught on poverty, summed up in his slogan “nethi beri aya, ethi heki aya karamu”. Having savoured poverty at first hand, amidst the squalor and degradation of Colombo’s slums, he dedicated his whole life to its alleviation.
For Premadasa, to be poor meant more than merely to be deprived of life’s wherewithal, but also to be ignored, humiliated and marginalised, by the rich and the powerful. As he clawed his way upwards, over the country’s rugged political rock-face, Colombo’s high caste grandees, and the rich and the powerful, placed every conceivable obstacle across his progress.
He was deeply lacerated and scarred, mentally and emotionally, and throughout his career as a politician he carried those scars like military men wear campaign medals.
He made it his life’s central resolve, that no one should be diminished as a human being by reason of material lack or social anonymity, and his flagship programmes, such as Janasaviya, the Million Houses project and the 200 Garment Factories project, had for their primary objective the lifting of people from poverty.Cooray also presents Premadasa as a totally committed patriot.
His open letter to the Prime Minister of India (Indira Gandhi) written in June 1984, while he was still only the Prime Minister, and therefore without any executive status, castigating her for interfering in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs, was unprecedented in Lankan-Indo relations.
It was also outrageous, because it was sent without President Jayawardena’s approval, without the Foreign Ministry’s knowledge, and in total violation of acknowledged protocol! It qualified Premadasa to be sacked from the Cabinet and it is bewildering why JR refrained from doing so.
Premadasa followed it up with an onslaught on India at the 40th General Assembly of the UN in 1985, and with another challenge to Rajiv Gandhi when he met him at the Harare Non-Aligned Summit.
Cooray shows Premadasa as compassionate, extremely hardworking, absolutely disciplined and as abstemious in dress as in food. In his climb to power he subjected himself to the most rigorous disciplines, and he demanded from his staff, and from all his political associates, including members of the Cabinet, adherence to the same extreme standards, not only in work output but equally in time management, in dress, in abstinence from alcohol and in decorum and good manners, all of which, though highly admirable, were not always welcomed by everyone.
It was partly his resolve to force his colleagues to conform to these puritanical standards that sparked the attempted impeachment.
The dark side of Premadasa
However, it is also true that Premadasa’s many magnificent attributes came diluted with a lot of dirt and dross. Cooray confesses that the man he virtually deified was driven by an enormous “inferiority complex” (Cooray’s words) and all the evidence he presents bear this out. He had a ravenous appetite for publicity and would go to great lengths personally to monitor every word the media wrote about him.
His monumental ego would brook no opposition, and he was highly paranoid, suspecting conspiracies being constantly hatched against him by the “upper classes” as he called them.
He could be extremely vengeful and unforgiving towards anyone who he thought had insulted him, or had crossed his path, as Cooray illustrates clearly in the instance of his treatment of Felix Dias Bandaranaike when the latter called on him when he was Prime Minister.
It is possible that like many other politicians driven by a manic ego, Premadasa was psychotic and was suffering from a psychiatric condition known to professionals as “Multiple Personality Disorder” or “manic-depression”, with strong dispositions to obsessive behavioural patterns.
Omissions in the story
There are some major omissions in Cooray’s presentation of the Premadasa story. He fails to bring out Premadasa’s vision for his country, based on an entrepreneurial economy and an elaborate welfare programme, his famous twin-track approach to development, aimed at creating wealth and simultaneously at uplifting the poor. As to whether this vision would ever have been realised, considering all the circumstances, is entirely conjectural.
Another of Cooray’s omissions is that he does not tell us what Premadasa’s role was, if any, in the terrible blood letting of the two years 1987/89, during the JVP’s second uprising, when vigilante death squads rampaged through the country like a forest fire.
Although most of those atrocities were committed immediately before he became President, his critics have been unremitting in placing responsibility squarely on him. Was he a helpless spectator entrapped by the military, or was he the silent and sinister protagonist?
All that notwithstanding, Cooray’s profiling of Premadasa has been an honest effort. Even if he has not been able to tie all the ends together he does present us with masses of data which can serve as an authentic foundation for a future biographer.
Written in a relaxed prose style, and sometimes in the dramatic mode, Cooray’s book makes easy reading. Not least, he regales us with anecdotes, both about himself and about his idol, which are rich in human interest.
The publishers Vijitha Yapa have done a good job, although even a limited edition in hard copy would have been appropriate.
sundayobserver.lk
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