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by Carlo Fonseka

I read in The Sunday Leader of 25 November Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe's - letter addressed to the Heads of State of the US, UK and EU. In it he puts into the mouth of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge the following words: "We have been patient and long suffering for seven years. If they try to kill us, you kill them. There's nothing wrong in killing a murderer".

I couldn't make myself believe that President CBK would say, "If they try to kill you, you kill them". It was totally out of character. I recalled what she said after a suicide bomber nearly killed her on 18 December 1999. She showed no hatred even to those who tried to kill her. I remember watching a telecast of the occasion on which she spoke the words she is alleged to have uttered. She spoke in Sinhala. If my memory serves me, she urged her supporters to retaliate instead of getting beaten to death. The crucial words were, ................ i.e. kill them if they kill you. To translate the Sinhala phrase ............. into the English phrase "if they try to kill you, you kill them" is both grossly inaccurate and calculatedly mischievous. Perhaps Mr. RW is not to blame for this mistake in translation. Whoever reported the words to him may have accidentally made a mistake in translation. It is possible, of course, that it was an accidental - on - purpose mistake.

It should be clear even to the meanest intelligence that the instruction "kill them if they kill you" cannot be carried out. Why not? Simply because those who have been killed cannot possibly kill others. In other words "kill them if you kill you" is just a manner of speaking. In saying what she did say on that occasion President CBK was urging her supporters to adopt the strategy of "TIT FOR TAT".

In 1984 Robert Axelord wrote a book called "The Evolution of Co-operation" the central message of which is that "TIT FOR TAT" is the most effective strategy for people to adopt, if they wish to maximize their chances of survival and success in a world of self-seeking egoists. In a foreword to this book the famous Oxford zoologist Richard Dawkins, currently Professor of Public Understanding of Science says: "The world's leaders should all be locked up with this book and not released until they have read it. This would be a pleasure to them and might save the rest of us'.

What President CBK was advocating on that occasion was sound strategy. It is no accident that she happens to be the only politician in Sri Lanka who has been elected twice to the highest office in the land. There is no question that she is the acutest political strategist in our country.

The English translation of President CBK's words that Mr. RW has communicated to leaders of the western world is "if they try to kill us, you kill them". This is sound advice for biological survival. And you don't have to be a Professor of Law to know that killing in self-defence has the sanction of law. It is no big deal. By making a song and dance about it you only make a fool of yourself.

Rushing with wringing hands to the Heads of State in the western world to complain about President CBK's advocacy of an effective strategy for survival is hilarious. It reminds one of a pre-school child complaining to her Montessori teacher about a bully in class. It is unworthy of a leader who aspires to become our Prime Minister.

I ask you Fellow Citizens, is that the kind of Prime Minister this proud country deserves to have?

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