Electioneering: leave war heroes alone

The decision taken by the Defence Ministry to ban the use of our war heroes’ images in the current election campaign is indeed a welcome move. Today, our valiant men who sacrificed their lives for the Motherland have become fair game for all and sundry with some unscrupulous elements even going door to door with lists collecting money “for the welfare of soldier families”.

But the biggest insult that could be made to these heroes is to drag them into the squalid waters of politics that is today inhabited by crooks, imposters and even criminal elements. This is not to cast a slur on the decent politicians who have never sullied their name.

True, many a politician will not pass off an opportunity to exploit any situation in his or her favour to the hilt for maximum political milage. As our post independence history shows most politicians rode to power either on the dead bodies of their spouses, parents or kith and kin.

Even dead bodies were not spared in appealing to the emotion of the voters. Similarly, today, the voters are in a highly emotional state almost deifying our soldiers. Any smart politician knows only too well the merits of keeping the voters in such a state of mind. Hence the use (abuse) of the image of soldiers for parochial politics say the least is a denigration of the noble sacrifice made by our valiant men.

No doubt all politicians are today basking in the reflected glory of the achievements of our Heroic Forces and the Commander-in-Chief.

The unwavering stand taken by the President to pursue with the war against terrorism amidst severe odds has earned for him unprecedented popularity and goodwill of the masses of this country. It is plain to see that this massive popularity is being used by a majority of politicians to secure their positions using the image of the President to remain in the limelight.

They similarly have been using the heroism of our Security Forces towards the same ends. The multitude of posters, banners that still adorn the country’s landscape put up by a grateful nation no doubt is aiding the campaign of these politicians to identify with the valiant troops.

There were instances during the Western Provincial Council elections when certain candidates even constructed trenches resembling Army bunkers as party offices. This as they say is the giddy limit and the Government should have acted promptly to halt this obscene exploitation of the deeds of our Security Forces for cheap political gain.

But better late than never. Now that the Defence Ministry has put its foot down on this abomination, steps should be taken to ensure that the directive is strictly complied with.

Politicians of all hues should be told that the blood sacrifices of our soldiers to protect the Motherland should not be trivialised by bringing these into the equation of something like politics which has become abhorrent to a majority of our people not least by the conduct of certain politicians.

The deeds of our valiant men should thus be kept well apart from such an exercise. The din and cacophony of the political market place certainly will not accord with the noble deeds of our valiant men and women who gave their lives to the Motherland. They deserve a much higher pedestal than murky depths of politics.

The same policy should also be adapted with regard to the image of the President which needless to say is today being exploited by unsavoury elements masquerading as politicians. Today, the President’s picture is lent willy nilly to all political campaigns which at times descend to low depths.

One recalls that the President’s office issued a directive to Government politicians during the Western Provincial Election campaign to desist from using the President’s image for their election propaganda.

But apart from the initial compliance with the directive with even the police brought in to obliterate such posters, unscrupulous politicians continued with the exercise exploiting the name of the President who was the biggest draw as the Commander-in-Chief following his relentless pursuit of the LTTE.

Strict instructions should be issued to party organizers to leave out the images of soldiers in political campaigns henceforth while the President’s image should appear only where appropriate.

Our soldiers certainly do not deserve the ignominy of being dragged into the political market place after their heroic role in salvaging the Motherland.