“The irony is that while the President of Sri Lanka stands before a world forum at the United Nations just two days ago and acknowledges Tamils as fellow citizens of the country in no small way, his armed forces head takes the opposite view altogether. If this is not a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde game, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has no alternative but to fire his army commander and have him under some kind of discipline or even court martial him."
by Victor Karunairajan
(September 28, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) If Major General Sarath Fonseka is not aware that Sri Lanka is the homeland of the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers and whoever to whom it has been home for generations, he must be relieved of his duties straightaway and sent to grass; even court martial proceedings commenced against him.
A forces man has no right whatsoever to make a political statement especially of this nature. He has to obey the government one hundred percent. If this is not the position of the government this army man has no right to wear the gear and uniform of the forces. He has in effect insulted the country’s forces as well.
This man cannot be entrusted with the task of liberating whatever areas he has been put in charge from terrorism. If he has the conviction that Sri Lanka is only the land of the Sinhalese, he is as terrible a terrorist with the kind of men he has at his command and the types of arms they carry; possibly even worse with the license to kill. His statement or observation or whatever he has made in this respect amounts to rank racial bigotry that has plagued Sri Lanka for five decades now.
Involved in the current operations under his charge is an army on the march with thousands of civilians at great risk all along the way. Thousands more are already displaced, lives are lost every day, properties are indiscriminately damaged, nobody is safe anywhere in the country and the war is being fought with extreme ruthlessness. The country is in a state of chaos and violence prevails everywhere.
If the man who is leading the government forces against the LTTE has the view that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese only, he will certainly not be the guardian of a community that is not Sinhala. He is bound to use the opportunity he has to wipe out the Tamil civilian community too.
The tragic aspect of his stand is that some of the top army and naval folks have established excellent relations with the civilian people on the peninsula and made it one of the safe areas in Sri Lanka today. And yet, in a situation of that nature the army commander has come out with a statement that disturbs many people especially from the minority communities. Widespread reactions from Jaffna suggest that the peninsular community is shell-shocked by the statement of Major General Sarath Fonseka.
The irony is that while the President of Sri Lanka stands before a world forum at the United Nations just two days ago and acknowledges Tamils as fellow citizens of the country in no small way, his armed forces head takes the opposite view altogether. If this is not a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde game, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has no alternative but to fire his army commander and have him under some kind of discipline or even court martial him.
He cannot anymore be the head of the liberation forces.
Or he could be retired to the country he chose for himself giving up Sri Lanka as his home. Whatever President Rajapaksa chooses to do, Major General Sarath Fonseka has lost his credibility altogether as a forces personnel. This is not a matter for the Tamils alone but for the entire people of Sri Lanka. - Sri Lanka Guardian
by Victor Karunairajan
(September 28, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) If Major General Sarath Fonseka is not aware that Sri Lanka is the homeland of the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers and whoever to whom it has been home for generations, he must be relieved of his duties straightaway and sent to grass; even court martial proceedings commenced against him.
A forces man has no right whatsoever to make a political statement especially of this nature. He has to obey the government one hundred percent. If this is not the position of the government this army man has no right to wear the gear and uniform of the forces. He has in effect insulted the country’s forces as well.
This man cannot be entrusted with the task of liberating whatever areas he has been put in charge from terrorism. If he has the conviction that Sri Lanka is only the land of the Sinhalese, he is as terrible a terrorist with the kind of men he has at his command and the types of arms they carry; possibly even worse with the license to kill. His statement or observation or whatever he has made in this respect amounts to rank racial bigotry that has plagued Sri Lanka for five decades now.
Involved in the current operations under his charge is an army on the march with thousands of civilians at great risk all along the way. Thousands more are already displaced, lives are lost every day, properties are indiscriminately damaged, nobody is safe anywhere in the country and the war is being fought with extreme ruthlessness. The country is in a state of chaos and violence prevails everywhere.
If the man who is leading the government forces against the LTTE has the view that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese only, he will certainly not be the guardian of a community that is not Sinhala. He is bound to use the opportunity he has to wipe out the Tamil civilian community too.
The tragic aspect of his stand is that some of the top army and naval folks have established excellent relations with the civilian people on the peninsula and made it one of the safe areas in Sri Lanka today. And yet, in a situation of that nature the army commander has come out with a statement that disturbs many people especially from the minority communities. Widespread reactions from Jaffna suggest that the peninsular community is shell-shocked by the statement of Major General Sarath Fonseka.
The irony is that while the President of Sri Lanka stands before a world forum at the United Nations just two days ago and acknowledges Tamils as fellow citizens of the country in no small way, his armed forces head takes the opposite view altogether. If this is not a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde game, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has no alternative but to fire his army commander and have him under some kind of discipline or even court martial him.
He cannot anymore be the head of the liberation forces.
Or he could be retired to the country he chose for himself giving up Sri Lanka as his home. Whatever President Rajapaksa chooses to do, Major General Sarath Fonseka has lost his credibility altogether as a forces personnel. This is not a matter for the Tamils alone but for the entire people of Sri Lanka. - Sri Lanka Guardian
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