Is Fonseka a ball passed from JVP to UNP to TNA to the Paathalaya?

I am aggrieved folks. Really. I confess, I didn't know much about Sarath Fonseka apart from the fact that he was the Army Commander at a decisive moment in our history and that he played a key role in eliminating the terrorist threat. Sure, he owes much to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and President Mahinda Rajapaksa if not for whom he would have had to retire as just another Army Officer with hardly any glory to speak of, but be that as it may he was a key member of the team led by the President and his brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, that made this country safe again.

I confess that I had serious reservations about this man when he was making noises about entering politics. I predicted that he would soil his uniform and devalue his medals. Knowing well that human beings are blemished creatures and having made some preliminary inquiries I predicted that his track record when scrutinized would cause him embarrassment that would take the gloss from his 'hero-status'.

A lot of things have happened since Fonseka turned politician. The shady elements of his past deliberately hidden because of military imperatives during the war have surfaced and rightly so because the people need to know the man inside the uniform before they go to the polling booth. His various transgressions while in the Army, including inappropriate interactions with females, have come out with proof.

He has been charge-sheeted on February 1, 1976 for something he did on December 25, 1975. It is a letter signed by Cyril Ranatunge where it is mentioned that he 'behaved in a manner unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentlemen' and thereby 'committed an offence punishable under AA Section 129 (1)'. The seriousness of the transgression is said to warrant a charge under some other provision in the Army Act and not Section 129 (1) which is a catch-all provision for very minor offences.

Cyril Ranatunge, if he is an officer and a gentlemen could not come forward and tell us what Fonseka really did (since Fonseka has kept mum on this and many other issues). And Ranatunge could tell us whether or not he said 'Sarath Fonseka is an abomination' just two weeks before he expressed support for Fonseka (because his friends asked him to and he could not refuse them).

Then there is the matter of how he abused his position to gift himself the uththama seva padakkama and the vishishta seva vibhushana title after having perpetrated certain offences that automatically disqualify officers from receiving these kinds of recognition.

It was also revealed that Fonseka abused phone privileges to the tune of over Rs. 2 million. This man who claims he is a pauper somehow managed to pay off this sum and it is alleged that he used Army funds to do so.

Then there is the procurement scandal and shady deals with his son-in-law. A lot of things have been said and retracted. Claims have been made and then been debunked.

Fonseka lost a lot when he began hobnobbing with Mangala Samaraweera. That alone disqualifies him as a man of principle. Samaraweera's was the loudest voice of vilification during the past four years, sparing no pains to insult and humiliate the Security Forces.

I was surprised when Fonseka let himself be positioned as a poster boy of the JVP. Tilvin Silva, ex-terrorist himself (now reformed and of course forgiven) said that Fonseka would contest under the 'bell' symbol of the JVP. Then Tilvin passed the Fonseka Ball to Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Fonseka happily said that he would defer to Ranil Wickremesinghe's economic policies (in effect nothing less than selling national assets to foreign interests). Tilvin now has to 'grin and bear' when Fonseka promises anything and everything to anyone and everyone just to get some votes.

Here's the latest, folks: The Tamil National Alliance (long-time proxy for the LTTE) has gone on record to state that Fonseka has agreed to all conditions for support put forward by the TNA while that party has not agreed to anything the Fonseka has demanded. The TNA demands include treating LTTE with soft-hands and re-merging the North and East, let us not forget.

So what has happened now? Politics has reduced this man we once admired into a veritable quack, just another politician, and worse, one who is willing to compromise everything that our Security Forces fought to protect just so he can win an election.

He has gone from being the JVP's ball to the UNP's ball to the TNA's ball. He has become the proxy of the Eelam Project, the new poster boy of the Eelam- Dream and a slave to Prabhakaran's slaves.

This was the last straw, ladies and gentlemen: we need a President who is made of sterner stuff and certainly not one who in civvies is doing everything possible to turn back all the victories he helped bring about while in uniform.

From Army Commander to being the JVP's candidate is a slide. Downwards. From there to being a UNP puppet contracted to defeat the incumbent and enthrone a weakling like Ranil Wickremesinghe is a further slip. From there to being proxy of the LTTE's proxy is funny if it is not troubling and a security risk. As things stand, I will not be surprised if Sarath Fonseka is purchased from the TNA for some appropriate amount by the underworld drug cartels.

I am aggrieved ladies and gentlemen. I admired this man once. I could suffer his political ambitions and even applaud some of his sentiments. Now, however, he's lost my vote. I am sorry folks I am not going to vote to further the TNA's agenda. Would you?

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