An Open Letter To Lt.General Sarath Fonseka

The long speculated news is out now that Lt.General Sarath Fonseka has given his resignation from his post of Chief Defence of Staff (CDS) and that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has accepted it. Well, it’s your fundamental right to choose what ever you want as a career and purely a personal matter. I am sure the people of Sri Lanka has no qualms about it but would not like to see you falling from an esteemed position you held as the Army commander and then CDS to just a nincompoop.

Sir, there is no other army general compared to you in our recent history. You are a brave officer and a gentleman. You have saved the country from scourge of LTTE terrorism. Of course, there are many other contributory factors made your task easy like right political leadership by the President, right strategy by Defence Secretary, the skilful and precise Navy and Air force operations, STF, Police force and the people of the nation who morally supported. Mr.Gamini Gunewardena (Ex-DIG) in his article in the Island on 12/11/2009 quite rightly pointed out the INTERGRITY of the top hierarchy of the Government and the Forces is another contributory factor. In the peoples’ mind you are a war hero and should be treated as a national treasure. When LTTE was defeated, the people were rejoicing of the victory praising the gallantry of our forces. The nation owes you a great deal for leading the war against terrorists and crushing LTTE military operations conclusively ably supported by the SAF, SLN and STF. BUT it is now confirmed that you are on your way to accept invitation from newly formed alliance UNF as the common candidate from the opposition mainly comprise of non-patriotic UNP who handed over a defacto regime with demarcation of borders to LTTE by infamous CFA. It’s still premature to say anything since you still have not accepted the invitation by the UNP new alliance. However, if you accept to contest Presidency as their common candidate, it is appalling and regrettable for a true patriot like you who once said that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhala Buddhists and other minorities should learn to live with the Sinhalese. Aren’t you ashamed to accept invitation from the people who told you that you are only fit for salvation army and many other humiliating and insulting remarks like Thoppigala is only a rock, Alimankade-Pamankade, Killinochchi and Medawacchi, any fool can fight a war made by those very people who are leading the New UNP Alliance. How are you going to compromise your good values with them when you have been insulted like this?

In your letter of resignation you have mentioned that the President was misled by those people close to President of a possible coup d’e’tat against President Rajapaksa. The way it has turned and that you are planning now to contest for Presidency, it clearly shows that that you would have some intention of staging a coup against President Rajapkasa at some stage and his suspicion is not without any reasons to get you out of the Commander’s post..

I wrote an article titled Maj.Gen (retd) Janka Perera commits Hara kiri (The Island-7/7/2008). I summed up the article with the following paragraph. Quote” Rtd Janaka Perera made the biggest mistake in his life by getting into politics more so by joining UNP-the party who sold part of Sri Lanka to LTTE through CFA. He has committed a har-kiri and he will soon be forgotten as a war hero and a gentleman “Unquote Sadly, within a couple of weeks, he his wife with many others paid the price of their lives at the hands of a LTTE suicide bomber.

Dear Sir, I will have to tell you the same thing to you now. You are committing a hara-kiri by joining the UNP lead traitors to contest as President. Like Late Major General Janaka Perera, you are also one of the three prime targets of LTTE (LTTE suicide bombers are still at large in Sri Lanka and they will strike at the least expected place and time) namely President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and YOURSELF. We respect you; we admire your courage; we acknowledge you as a skilled war strategist and we do not want your life also to be ended like Late Maj General Janaka Perera. In the same way, we do not want to see fall into atrap laid by the new alliance UNF. So, please think wisely before accepting the UNP-New Alliance’s invitation as common candidate for Presidency and not to fall prey to Ranil’s cunning tactics.

The New UNP Alliance

You sir, do not need to be a rocket scientist to assess the people representing the new alliance which you will be asked to represent. The UNP lead by Ranil has lost all the elections since 2001. Rauf Hakeem as the hat turns (Thambige thoppiya wagey) will change his colours for his personal benefit. Don’t forget the infamous Hakeem -Prabhakran meeting at LTTE Headquarters. JVP as a party has lost its credibility and its voter base over the years has been dwindling. Then the waley wal nathi bankrupt politician Mangala Samaraweera who even does not want to contest his former electorate Matara at a General Election but prefer a seat in the national list. It is now rumoured that you are going to contest in Mangal S’s party. What a come down for an army general to a foot soldier. Then, the one man show Mano Ganeshan with no voter base except for a few Tamils in Colombo District. If you decide to join this front with no voter base and expect to win the presidency, sir, you must be day dreaming. You know that Sri Lankans forget the past very easily. Likewise, the people will very soon forget you as awar hero if you make the wrong decision.

GREEN CARD MANIA

It’s surprising to see many Sri Lankan politicians are chasing after the Green Card Mania including yourself.. I cannot fathom why people of such status are kneeling down to get the Green Card. If you sir, go to live in States, you will be just another insignificant number or person among a population of 308 million as at 2009. You may be known to about 80% of our population but you will be known in the States to a few for wrong reasons. Surely, I do not think that Barack Obama will recall the army commander in Afghanistan and hand over the billet to you, sir.

Dear Lt. General Sarath Fonseka, we still hail you as a hero. You will be disappointing and breaking the trust of millions of Sri Lankans if you decide to contest against President Rajapaksa. Before you commit for anything drastic in the political arena, think before you leap. Although you have been a strong soldier, there were times you have been naïve like a child when you were not aware that your own favorite cook was planning to bump you off. You may be naïve again if you accept the invitation from the UNP led new alliance for the candidature of Presidency. In the political arena, I don’t think you have the political experience or acumen like our President (just as much President Rajapaksa has no experience to go to the war front to fight) . There is no doubt that you are going to loose so that Ranil can come back and say that he did not loose but it was Sarath Fonseka who lost. Let me reiterate the fact what I told about late Maj Gen. Janaka Perara and that you are also committing hara-kiri if you join the UNP-new Alliance to come as their candidate for Presidency.

Malin Abeyatunge
Melbourne
14/11/2009