Columns - 5th column

Oh, you take the high road; I’ll take the low
By Rypvanwinkle

My dear General Sarath,

I thought I must write to you when I heard that you have offered your resignation, bringing to an end weeks of speculation about what you would do next.

Of course, we know that you repeatedly said you would decide on what you would do next only on the first of December, when you shed your uniform and don civilian clothes, but as you know everyone expects that you would challenge Mahinda maama at the next election-and they say you would give him a good run for his money.

I must say dear General, in spite of all the speculation we heard in the last few weeks I was indeed surprised to hear that you had finally offered your resignation. That is because we in this country are so new to the idea of a man in military uniform; this is not Pakistan, you know!

Of course, we respect you for your unparalleled achievements in the battlefield and in defeating the deadly Velu and his Tigers. We recognise that it was with your leadership that the armed forces of this country began to believe in the unbelievable-that the Tigers can indeed be defeated and you had the courage of your convictions to pursue that objective until the very end.

For that General, we are indebted to you. We do realise, it is because of you and the armed forces you led that we are now leading peaceful lives without the constant threats of bomb explosions and terrorist attacks. For all that, and for risking your life for the sake of others, we are indeed grateful.

But that is precisely why we are surprised too. As you know, politics in this country has been a dirty business at the best of times and it is a little puzzling why you would want to end your service to this nation in that particular profession.

We do understand that after the end of the war, you were treated rather shabbily and given a ‘kick upstairs’. That is not the way you wanted your career to end and we can understand your sense of disappointment at being given the ‘karapincha’ treatment. For all his political acumen, Mahinda maama got that one wrong and now he has to pay for his mistakes, I guess.

Of course, General, there are those who say that Mahinda maama’s one plus point is his defeat of the Tigers and that if you contest him, you would take that plus point away from him. There is some truth in that, General, but don’t for a moment be deceived that this would ensure an easy victory for you, if you decide to run against Mahinda maama.

After all, Mahinda maama also played a part in defeating the Tigers because without him giving you a free hand to do as you pleased, you couldn’t have fought the war the way you wanted. That is what happened to so many of your predecessors. Also, you must appreciate that it was Mahinda maama who kept the Clintons, Milibands, Kouchners and Ban Ki Moons at bay while you hunted Velu.

Some people recognise this and will be reluctant to support you at the expense of Mahinda maama, especially when the others supporting you are those who negotiated ceasefires with the Tigers and those who ridiculed the armed forces saying they could go only up to Medawachchiya instead of Kilinochchi. So, think carefully about the political forces around you too, dear General.

In that sense, it is indeed sad that two great men of our times who fought together to save our nation now have to part ways and battle each other. But then, if that battle is fought in the best of democratic traditions and with no animosity between the two of you, I suppose our country will be the winner and that is what we are hoping for...

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha

PS-They say that war is too serious a matter to be left to Generals alone. You seem to have decided that politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians alone. Whatever way you see it, don’t forget that those who said that you are not fit to lead the Salvation Army are now very eager to support you!

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