President, a man of the masses

Vernon BOTEJUE Attorney-at-Law

“The Heights by President Mahinda Rajapaksa reached and kept/ Were not attained by sudden flight” H. W. Longfellow “The Ladder of St Agustine” (with apology to the poet)

For nearly four decades, a long period of time, the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa has walked with the people many miles in the hazardous field of politics of Sri Lanka, not in front of them or behind them but together with them who empowered him; Quote-William Shakespeare - Julius Caesar “to climb young ambitions ladder upwards by degrees”, to enter Parliament, accept office as Minister, Prime Minister and then “attain the upmost round” in the year 2005 being elected President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

It is noteworthy that President Mahinda Rajapaksa did not succumb to the fault reflected in the worked of the author;” But when he once attains the upmost round/He then unto the ladder turns his back, looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees

By which he did ascend.” May be Mahinda Rajapaksa was inspired by the words of the Poet Longfellow: “Saint Augustine! well hast thou said,

That of our vices we can frame
A Ladder, if we will be tread
Beneath our feet each deed of shame!

The fact that the voters of Sri Lanka empowered President Mahinda Rajapaksa without a break to hold Parliamentary office for four decades speaks eloquently that they the voters have accepted his honesty and integrity as a politician that his opponents and inimical forces both in the country and overseas are endeavouring today to denigrate for their own personal ends: Certainly Mahinda Rajapaksa has righteously earned the respect of being called and referred to as the tried and tested friend of the people. Quote - “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried/Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel.”

Through the years President Mahinda Rajapaksa has risen and held political office powered by the people of Sri Lanka. It is chronic irony that President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself by appointing Sarath Fonseka, who held no political office previously, as the Army Commander, provided him the spring board to leap over his head and ungratefully challenge his benefactor.

General Sarath Fonseka in his written political statement printed in Sinhala entitled “Deshayey Veera Senpathy - dushitha paul palanayen mav bima muda ganimey Devana Meheyuma arambai”, writes “I General Sarath Fonseka have kept my promises made to the people”. In his capacity as the Army Commander he had only to carry out the orders of the Government of Sri Lanka communicated to him by the Head of State and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Services through the official channels and nothing more.

General Sarath Fonseka in his written political statement aforementioned has further written, “from the moment I announced my decision to contest the Presidential election various government sections have commenced fabricating false news concerning me and my entry into politics.”

But up to this point of time he has not specifically named the sections of the government responsible for such fabrication or specified what the false news fabricated is or are against him on his entry into politics either in the said written statement under consideration or even thereafter in any other document or otherwise. In the absence of such specific averment a reasonable inference to be drawn is that there are no such false or fabricated news and his statement under reference is a mere politician’s flourish to invoke public sympathy for his unrighteous cause or it is untrue.

In this connection an observation this writer desires to make is that to the best of his knowledge and belief based on what he has read, heard or seen per mass media both print and electronic there was no allegation false or otherwise against the retired General till the episode reported in the newspapers and electronic media concerning General Sarath Fonseka and the Editor of the Sunday Leader Newspaper gained publicity; in respect of which this writer’s comments have already been published in these columns.

This writer also wishes to confirm that the comments and opinions expressed in this publication and all other previous publications are his own personal opinions and comments expressed only in the exercise of his rights and privileges granted under Section 14 (a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka and as a voter.

Since General Sarath Fonseka himself and the political parties supporting him are, while mounting a campaign both locally and among the International Community per mass media both electronic and print, complaining of attacks on media personnel causing injury and even death highlighting certain incidents per internet and blaming the administration of the incumbent President alleging oppression of the freedom of the press which allegation has been emphatically denied and refuted by the Minister for Media it is necessary and expedient for the voter to be cautioned to ascertain the truth of such election propaganda.

It is also manifestly evident that General Sarath Fonseka has mounted a massive election campaign with the cooperation and support of the resident as well as the expatriate LTTE members and sympathizers including countries hostile to President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration that successfully eliminated the LTTE Terrorist Scourge root and branch from the soil of Sri Lanka, to publish false allegations against the President of Sri Lanka and the Government in order to gain political mileage and support for the Retired General and obstruct and impede the re-development program and the re-settlement of I.D.Ps in progress in the country now...

Perusal of news published per the mass media both print and electronic including the internet manifests the conspiracy to denigrate the good name of Sri Lanka and the incumbent President and blow up the image of the rival contender Retired General

Sarath Fonseka as a Messiah born to save his Motherland from the clutches of his former superior under whose directions and orders he faithfully executed his duties till he was moved out from the post he held as Army Commander for reasons mutually known to the Army Commander and the Head of State and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Services of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the lawful exercise of his sole prerogative.

Articles published in the internet since about 16th December 2009 under pseudonyms with opportunity for reply under pseudonyms appeal to Sri Lankans intending to vote for the other Presidential Candidates at the election scheduled for 26th January 2010 to vote instead to strengthen the voter base of General Sarath Fonseka to defeat President Mahinda Rajapaksa through false propaganda and blowing up his image in the internet and comparing him to General Charles de Gaulle of France and Chavez of Venezuela that have attracted replies from Sri Lankans under pseudonyms.

In the circumstance it is both necessary and expedient in the public interest, in order to disabuse the minds of the viewers of such TV broadcasts and readers and recipients of such news reports email and pubic utterances of politicians, to place on record the true facts in the correct perspective regarding these distortions and exaggerations.

The comparison of General Charles de Gaulle of France to the retired General Sarath Fonseka or the attempt to draw a parallel between them is demonstrative of the height of imagination of the proposer of such comparison and manifests a gross lack of knowledge of the personal background and achievements of General de Gaulle who may well be contrasted with the latter than compared with him.

General de Daulle has been written in the annals of world history not only as an army General but also as a Statesman of France who held Cabinet office in June 1940 at the time of France’s surrender.

He escaped to England and organized the Free French Movement. Following the war he became the Interim President of the New French Republic. He became President in 1959 and went on to establish the Presidency as a democratically elected office in 1962. He resigned in 1969. It is manifestly evident that he did not greedily grab Presidency overnight but gracefully in due course of time spread over 20 years attaining the upmost round as President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka has achieved.

In articles published in daily newspapers (not the Lake House) after General Sarath Fonseka announced his intention to contest the Presidential Election two enthusiastic supporters compare General Sarath Fonseka to Dwight David Eisenhower American General and republican Statesman 34th President of the US 1953-1961.

Here again two contributors of the said publications obsessed by their own enthusiasm to win support for their candidate who is a retired army general endeavors to sway the Sri Lankan voter by comparing him to General Eisenhower undoubtedly without knowing anything more about the world renowned Army General and American Statesman.

Eisenhower popularly called and known as “Ike” was Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in North Africa and Italy in 1942-43 and the Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe 1943-45.

The more important and relevant facts that the two enthusiastic sponsors of General Sarath Fonseka failed to note before making the comparison are apart from world of difference between the military service records of the two compared it is the personal and political background of the two persons compared that is the core issue before the voter.

While General Eisenhower contested the election as a candidate of the Republican Party of America he did not contest the incumbent President of America and in contrast to General Sarath Fonseka who is contesting as a non party independent candidate his former Superior officer who appointed him to the post he held before retirement. An act of gross ingratitude that has been referred to by this writer in his previous publications in these columns.

Under the Civil Law of Sri Lanka our Courts have consistently held “Gross Ingratitude” towards one’s benefactor as a good cause of action to revoke and set aside even a legally valid and irrevocable deed of gift of immovable property. That lucidly expresses the attitude of our law towards ingratitude of man.

This attitude of our law is further strengthened by the teachings of Lord Buddha not only by preaching precept but also by setting example: Soon after Enlightenment he showed his gratitude for the cool and benign shade of the sacred Bo Tree at Gaya - under which he realized the truth - One Whole Week by focusing his eyes. He further preached, “To complete one’s discipline or sila one has to practise the duty of gratitude to one’s Parents, Teachers and all those persons from whom one receives any benefit, service or help”.

All facts and testimony weighed and assessed in this context manifests that even without taking into consideration any allegations or charges made by anyone against the retired General Sarath Fonseka after his decision to contest the Presidential election as he alleges, whether true or false, in the eye of a reasonable and prudent citizen of Sri Lanka he stands disqualified by his own personal conduct and public utterances detailed above that clearly establishes that he has lost the quality of credibility, that any management expert will confirm, is a prerequisite even in a manager of a farm or business.

As the media men who telecast videos endeavoring to expose defects and wrongs under the caption ‘Vimarshana’ say “It is over to you now dear voter” to make the correct decision to strengthen our unity under one flag one nation the slogan of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has publicly declared that there are only two categories of citizens in Sri Lanka - “Those patriots who love their motherland and those who do not and asserted that Sri Lanka belongs to all of them whatever their race or community”.

He demonstrated his sincerity of purpose to the world by addressing the United Nations in the Tamil Language for the first time in its history.

It is the reciprocal duty of all citizens of Sri Lanka to reject all false election propaganda and strengthen the arm of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has eradicated LTTE Terrorism and its concomitant pipe dream of a Separate Flag & State of Eelam and restored peace and order in the country and is paving the way for permanent communal harmony to prevent the raising of the ugly head of LTTE Terrorism in Sri Lanka again anymore.

To be continued