5th Column

My dear Vijayakala,
I thought I must write to you because everyone is talking about you these days, after you said that people in the North needed the Tigers to be back to ensure that there is law and order. Since then, you have been asked to resign as a state minister by the Green Man and we heard that you have done so.

Since that explosive speech of yours, we haven’t really heard from you. The Greens have told us that you will be given a chance to explain yourself but we haven’t had an explanation. We were also told you would be talking to the media to set the record straight but that hasn’t happened either.

All we know – and what we saw in video clips – is you clearly saying that there was more law and order in the North when the Tigers were in control. You also said that for children in the North to be safe and for them to live without fear and return home from school, the Tigers need to be resurrected.
We then heard you tell Ranjan – who likes to become a hero by calling people in front of the media – that that was not what you meant. You claimed that all you said was that when the Tigers were in control, crime in the North was less. Pardon me, Vijayakala, but that is quite a change of tune, isn’t it?

I agree with you on one issue, however. Crimes committed by others – the types of crimes you referred to – were much less when the Tigers ran the show there. However, there was a corresponding increase in atrocious crimes committed by the Tigers, because the law of the land didn’t apply to them then.

They killed whoever they wanted, they recruited child soldiers, they used civilians as human shields and extorted money. Ironic as it may sound, while they created mayhem in the South from time to time through bomb blasts and terrorist attacks, those who suffered most were those in the North!

I know that politicians make statements from time to time to please the gallery. Wigneswaran has been doing that for some time, and you have to compete with him as well as Sampanthan seeya’s chaps to ensure that you are re-elected, but I’d rather have Wigneswaran than Velupillai any day!

Your words are even more confusing to us, because we recall that your husband, a former Green parliamentarian, was also assassinated, and the man who was sentenced to death for that after a fair trial was known to have had links with the Tigers – and it is the same Tigers that you now want back!

However, when Ranjan asked you whether you were supporting the same outfit that assassinated your husband, your answer was to ask Ranjan whether he was there when your husband was shot and whether he saw the Tigers doing so. So, do you have a different theory about that too, Vijayakala?

Even if the Tigers killed your husband you can still argue that you are not the first to join hands with the assassins. Why, Satellite’s husband Vijaya was killed on his doorstep by the rathu sahodarayas but she made a deal with them, gave them ministerial portfolios and formed a government with them!

Vijayakala, we all know that the Greens are in dire straits and it will take a miracle of sorts for them to win the next election. Already Mahinda maama and his ‘pohottuwa’ chaps are playing the role of ‘patriots’ trying to take the lion’s share of the majority community’s vote – and doing a good job of it.

Do you realise that what you have done will not help the Greens? Mahinda maama, Gota and the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps must have been jumping up in joy and cheering you on when they heard your speech – after all, it was important enough to push the New York Times out of the front pages!

The only way the Greens can recover lost ground is by dealing with you as harshly as possible. That is what they are trying to do. You might even be charged in court and sent to jail. In this instance, believe me, the wheels of justice will turn faster than it did for Mahinda maama’s ‘pohottuwa’ chaps.

You must realise, Vijayakala, that what you said is not what the majority of people in this country want. By doing so, you have become to the people in the North what Gnanasara hamuduruwo is to the people in the South. Like him, you may be a hero to a few, but most people will reject you.
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS – You want Prabhakaran back in the North and someone else in yellow robes wants Hitler in the South. Ah, wouldn’t that be the perfect recipe to make Sri Lanka great again?