ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Vol. 41 - No 39
Columns - 5th Column

Never trust Clowns for they are just a joke

By Rypvanwinkle

My Dear Avamangala,

I thought I must write to you after the rather controversial events of the past few weeks when you were not only stripped of your portfolio, but had your security withdrawn as well. And you never imagined this would be part of the 'Chinthanaya' when you decided to support that cause just over a year ago, did you?

I must admit Avamangala that most of us were surprised at how swift and harsh Mahinda maama was, especially in dealing with you, because it is no secret that it was you who was instrumental in stitching together Mahinda maama's alliance with the rathu sahodarayas. But all that seems have been conveniently forgotten now, hasn't it?

Of course there will be those who say that you deserve all that you got because it was you who decided to dump Satellite and switch allegiances to Mahinda maama, when you realised that he had a better chance of winning that election, even if it was Satellite who brought you into focus and transformed you into what you are today, instead of being an innocent fashion designer.

We think you too were quite happy with what Mahinda maama was doing during his first few months in office, especially as you were entrusted with the subject of Foreign Affairs.

However, even Mahinda maama would concede that you did quite a good job of it, succeeding a man like Lakshman K and having big shoes to fill. Nevertheless, you were successful in getting the Tigers banned in Canada and the European Union, so nobody could blame you for being incompetent...

But your troubles began when Mahinda maama decided to rope in some rogue elephants into his camp, even at the cost of losing the support of the rathu sahodarayas and you decided to oppose him publicly.

A bad situation became worse when Mahinda maama decided to appoint his own man as your secretary, effectively telling you he liked doing things his way, not yours. That was when you began writing him letters, blaming him for many shortcomings and somehow we found those letters appearing rather mysteriously in the newspapers!

The rest as they are history, but we must admit we do feel a sense of sadness at the fate that has befallen you - and that is not because you lost your ministerial job or your security...

Sad though it may seem why we feel sorry for you is mostly because you were naive enough to believe that you could count the Clown Prince as your friend and ally in your battle against Mahinda maama. I think you should have known better, Avamangala...
We are not particularly fond of your sidekick, Sripathi, but we all agree that unlike the Clown Prince, that man has a backbone and is willing to stand by you, disregarding all the threats that have come his way. But then, the Clown Prince was never renowned for having a mind of his own or for a backbone for that matter, was he?

Anyway, Avamangala, comparisons are already being made about what you and Sripathi are doing and the challenges mounted by Lalith and Gamini against their boss at that time. I think we all know that you and Sripathi cannot hold a candle to Lalith and Gamini but even so, keep in mind that they too failed in their mission to oust their boss.

So, Avamangala, we wish you luck not because we like Mahinda maama less but because we love democracy more and if that were left only in the hands of the Green Man we might one day wake up to find the entire elephant herd except for a few faithfuls in Mahinda maama's camp!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha.

PS – And now we hear that Di Moo is negotiating a return for you and Sripathi to the cabinet in exchange for an apology. All we can say about that is anyone who follows the path of the Clown Prince is doomed to fail. Need we say anything more?

 
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Copyright 2007 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka.