5th Column

My Dear Manmohan,

I thought I must write to you when I heard that you were planning to travel to Jaffna. Needless to say, it came as a big surprise because we had been told that you were too busy to attend the Commonwealth Summit a few weeks ago.

We heard that although you rejected the invitation sent to you by Mahinda maama, you were happy to accept an invitation by Wigneswaran maama. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that, Manmohan, but I hope you realise that you may be losing some of your friends over here.

And anyway, I also hope you realise that no matter what you do now, you will not be the first overseas Head of State to visit the North. That chap Cameron has beaten you to it, staging his own publicity stunt and I don’t think he earned a lot of goodwill either.

We know, Manmohan, that although you make noises from time to time sounding as if you are the saviour of all those in the North, what you are really doing is trying to get votes and win elections which are only a few months away-and that is what many of your predecessors have been doing too.

We also know, Manmohan, that in Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi are having a battle of their own trying to outdo each other in trying to ‘save’ those in the North of Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, it looks as if you will need the support of one of them to form the next government, doesn’t it?

Anyway, we do appreciate that India has always been quite concerned about the welfare of its little southern neighbour. That was demonstrated to us in no small measure by some of your predecessors and most Sri Lankans still remember these gestures quite well.

Why, there was the time when that Grand Old Lady, Indira, provided training facilities for little Tigers who were no more than tiny cubs at that time and were still learning to sharpen their claws. We all know what they grew in to, so we are ‘grateful’ to your country for that.

Then there was the time when we were about to cage the then grown-up Tigers after Vadamarachchi. That was when the Grand Old Lady’s son decided to take matters into his own hands-again, possibly to win votes-and started air-dropping parippu and asking us to make a military withdrawal.

Of course, that young man had to later pay the price for his folly with his life but by then, matters had been much worse for those of us in this country and thousands of lives were lost as a result. In the end, it was left to us to end the war on our own, disregarding what you wanted us to do.

Even after the war was won, we find that you are trying to influence us, insisting on the thirteenth amendment that was introduced at your insistence. And you have also been keen to support the Americans when they bring resolutions against us at the United Nations every year!

Because of all this, Manmohan, we know by now how much you are ‘concerned’ about us. So, when you say you want to visit the North, we know exactly what you are trying to do. So, it won’t come as a surprise even if you visit only Jaffna and give Colombo a miss.

After all, if Jayalalithaa decrees that you should travel only to Jaffna and not to Colombo, that is what you will have to do. Isn’t it sad though that while Sri Lankans are free to travel anywhere, you being the Prime Minister of the world’s last largest democracy, have to get permission from Jayalalithaa?

If you do visit Jaffna, you are bound to meet Wigneswaran maama. He has so far appeared to be a reasonable man and he has a difficult job to do. Whenever he talks about reconciliation, there are those on both sides who snarl at him and try to find fault with him for ‘betraying’ the cause.

That wouldn’t matter to you though because all you want to do is mark your presence in the North and take a few photos so that you can return to your country as a hero and a saviour, just like Cameron did. Well, if we can help you in your re-election campaign in any small way, we’ll be glad to do so!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha

PS-That Cameron chap, we hear, is planning to bring yet another resolution against us at the United Nations next year. This time, we won’t hold our breath wondering how you will vote because, it will then be a few weeks before your election and we know which way you will have to turn. But then, Manmohan, when the Chinese come calling, don’t get annoyed if we welcome them with open arms. After all, with ‘friends’ like you, we don’t need enemies, do we?