5th Column
Fractured opposition within a failed State
View(s):My Dear Green Man, Somey and Lalkantha,
I am writing to you because you staged-or wanted to stage, really-a general strike this week that was supposed to have brought the country to a standstill. I think even you will agree that didn’t happen and that is what I wanted to write to you about.
I am sure you must also be wondering why this didn’t happen. After all, you were not staging a strike against the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution or the impeachment of a Chief Justice-matters which don’t really affect our average citizen in their day to day lives.
You were staging a strike against the electricity rate hike, an issue that every one of us who has a light bulb in his or her home has to face. And yet, you were not able to make an impact with your call to the general public to stay away from work for a day.
You must also agree, Green Man, Somey and Lalkantha, that Mahinda maama’s government is far from popular these days. I know they still talk about winning the war and killing Velu but that was four years ago and surely there must be a limit to how long they are allowed to cash in on that.
We all know that they deserve to get credit for winning the war but they have won two elections because of that and since then the handiwork of some of their members has hardly been reassuring and the conduct of the two Silvas, for example, has been downright disgusting.
There have been other issues too. The General who won the war was treated rather shabbily and now a Chief Justice who dared to give a different verdict is being hounded as if she was the most wanted criminal in the country.
Such events have naturally left a bad taste and people are wondering whether Mahinda maama’s team is fast losing the trust that they placed in them in return for winning the war. And yet, Green Man, Somey and Lalkantha, they don’t seem to trust you too.
Green Man, most people blame you for all this, just as much as they blame Mahinda maama’s men and women. They say that you are too busy squabbling with your own kind than fighting Mahinda maama. And when you do fight him, it is often limited to a statement in Parliament, they claim.
The more uncharitable among your critics are even saying that you have a ‘secret deal’ with Mahinda maama. Now I don’t for moment believe that you do, but when for instance you choose not to oppose the impeachment of the Chief Justice saying that ‘Parliament is supreme’ it sure looks like you do!
Green Man, you must take at least part of the blame for the never ending leadership struggle which is more intense than your battle with the Blues. I know you are dealing with a young man in a hurry but he does have mass appeal-a factor which you struggle with-and he must be given his due place.
Wouldn’t it be better if both of you did what your uncle and his father did: work together despite your differences in opinion and differences in your leadership styles? I don’t think you have much of a choice because if you don’t, there won’t be a Green party to lead very soon!
Then, Somey and Lalkantha, you too need to think about why your calls for a strike didn’t have the desired impact. I know your party has been hit by two factions leaving the party but you seem to be always unable to translate the massive crowds you draw at your rallies into votes-or staging a strike.
Maybe it is time you took a long hard look at the policies you promote. They are still very much your policies of yesteryear at a time when the rest of the world has moved on, modifying the concepts of socialism to suit the needs of the day.
Also, I don’t think you have done enough to convince people that you are no more the outfit that staged two unsuccessful insurrections in the country that led to the deaths of thousands of youth. It is a pity because, with the Greens being the way they are, you could have easily become an alternative!
Think about all this, will you, Dear Green Man, Somey and Lalkantha. And I also hope that you go your separate ways because your policies are so different. The last time you tried to sing different tunes and march together with the General, it was a disaster, remember?
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS- You will need to mend your ways quite quickly if you don’t to wish to extend your stay on the opposition benches for another six long years because I hear Mahinda maama is an awful hurry to hold the next elections before you get your act together!
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