Are we so bad?

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

I never knew I may have so much influence till I read the response to my article “Should we be eternally subservient?” (The Island, 11 October) by retired Brigadier Ranjan de Silva in The Island of 17th October! He has urged me to use my influence on the governing politicians to change many things. Whilst thanking him profusely, I can only wish I were that influential! Perhaps, I may have been so in the eighties, when I was at the top of my profession in Cardiology in Sri Lanka and was wanted by many, politicians being no exception.

Afterall, politicians too have hearts; not of gold, perhaps, of stone! I am now retired and no longer in demand, lacking any influence! Though I did not want to take part in active politics, coming from a political family, I have always kept in touch with politics and continue to write expressing my personal opinions, praising politicians of all hues when they do good as well as criticising them when they do otherwise.

Though the Brigadier has stated, “Furthermore, on his own admission, he is a longstanding supporter of the party that keeps the President propped up”, I have made no such admissions and am no member of any party or pressure group. Further, I have no political ambitions and am not seeking any rewards. In my retirement, I have taken to writing and am pleased to note my contributions evoking such interesting responses.

I admit that I fully supported Gotabaya in the belief that he will bring about the dawn of a new era, considering his track record as the Defence Secretary, etc. and that he may do for our Motherland what Lee Kwan Yew did for Singapore. I was hoping an apolitical administrator may change our political culture but it was not to be, unfortunately. By the way, LKY was far from being a democrat as he mercilessly suppressed any opposition but that aspect is largely forgotten as he was able to transform Singapore.

However, I was not a blind supporter and was among the first to be critical of ‘Pohottuwa’. In fact, I concluded my opinion piece titled “Pohottuwa: Will it blossom or wither?” (The Island, 6 July 2021) with the following paragraphs:

“It looks as if the withering of Pohottuwa has already started. Unfortunately, this would have disastrous consequences for the country as there does not seem to be an alternative. SJB seems full of puppets and disgraced politicians. Ranil does not seem to allow anyone else to develop in the UNP, as long as he is alive. The JVP has turned out to be a bunch of spent revolutionaries who lost credibility by propping up Yahapalanaya.

They say a vacuum would not be left and would always be filled. But with what? A revolution? As an appendage of the USA, India or China? I fear the worst unless the Rajapaksas see sense and make an immediate course correction!”

I can well understand some cloaking in anonymity for fear of reprisals but many are brave enough to criticise the powers that be openly. I have been a great admirer of The Island editorials, as the editor is merciless in justified criticism of politicians. In fact, as the editorial “Cries for justice and smoke and mirrors” (The Island, 18 October) puts the Channel 4 documentary in perspective, I would not delve into that subject further except to say that I fully support a comprehensive investigation. But, why should it be international? George Bush and Tony Blair invaded Iraq on false pretences while Obama and Cameron destroyed Libya for no good reasons. So many countries in the Middle East are in turmoil, as a result. Where were the international investigations?

The Brigadier supports Ranil and Mangala cosponsoring the UNHRC resolution and gives reasons which seem beyond my comprehension. After all, they represented Sri Lanka and its government and may well have been cosponsoring in the belief that it was against the previous government! Neville Ladduwahetty has written extensively on this issue and Lord Naseby has pointed out repeatedly the unfairness of the UNHRC resolutions on Sri Lanka. Anyway, Ranil and Mangala achieved uniqueness, Sri Lanka being the only country that cosponsored a resolution against itself!

However, what alarmed me was the following paragraph, which appeared quite out of context, in the Brigadier’s opinion piece:

“Sovereignty belongs to ALL the people of Sri Lanka all the time irrespective of what race or religion they belong to. The agent chosen to handle the sovereign powers of the peoples called the government. That agent government is chosen by the sovereign people at an election. In a multi-racial multi- religious country, the government so elected must reflect this fact. A government elected by the people living in a particular geographical area of the country to the exclusion of people living in other parts of the country, is not a true agent fit to hold the sovereign powers of the people. Or, to be precise, in a multi-racial and multi-religious country, a government elected by a single community, cannot be recognised as a true agent of all the sovereign people of that country. This has in fact happened in Sri Lanka today.”

The implication of the foregoing claim is that the LTTE was fighting a just war, and did the Brigadier, if he was in active service, fight against them with a clear conscience?

Does he mean that all governments since Independence have used democracy as a means of suppression of the minorities? Are we worse than the USA, which allowed segregation on racial basis till 1964 and still shows discrimination against blacks? Are we worse than South Africa, which practised apartheid till 1990? Did we introduce a Bumiputra policy, like Malaysia, to give preference to the majority community in all appointments? When the LTTE resorted to ethnic cleansing of Sinhalese and Muslims from the North, did the Sinhala majority government decree all Tamils should go North? In fact, it was Prabhakaran who ordered all Tamils to move North, on the first anniversary of the 1983 pogrom, which the Tamils who were living peacefully with the Sinhala and Muslims in other areas totally disregarded. We should be thankful to them as it saved the integrity of the nation.

Whilst admitting that more can be done for national unity, I fail to understand the Brigadier’s logic. Are we so bad?