Sunday Times 2
Jumbo-human conflict: Challenge to ex-military warriors
An American admiral who commanded a global fleet and an outstanding American diplomat, on the eve of their retirement from their services, were talking about how they would spend their retirement.
The admiral wanted to be appointed an ambassador in a Western capital, where after working at an easy pace he could enjoy himself at cocktail parties or at diplomatic dinner parties. The diplomat said he wanted to be an admiral in command of a powerful regional fleet where he could relax on deck of a mighty vessel, reading and thinking. He had spent highly tensed years during the Cold War preventing the two superpowers warring against each other and destroying humanity.
This yarn was related by Ben Fonseka, reputed Sri Lankan diplomat and former Foreign Secretary shortly after his retirement. He was not amused at the attempts made at that time by a retired military top brass to scale the rungs of the diplomatic hierarchy using his family connections but without any experience in diplomacy.
There is a mistaken belief prevalent in Lanka as well as many other countries that ‘military men’ can pull off any job when called upon to do so very well and even better than civilian professionals trained for the job.
Certainly, General Dwight Eisenhower, the Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe that defeated Nazi Germany was elected twice as the President of the United States and was an outstanding president. Sri Lanka’s first army commander, Major General Anton Mutukumaru is acclaimed as a successful diplomat having served as our High Commissioner in Australia and Pakistan and Ambassador to Egypt. But they have been exceptions and there have been disasters as well.
The issue of appointments of ex-military officers to posts usually filled by civilian officials was raised last week by former Cabinet Minister and Jathika Hela Urumaya leader Champika Ranawaka. A morning daily quoted Ranawaka as saying that the Government does not know when and where to send the army. They had sent soldiers to places where those conversant with agriculture and marketing should have been sent. Sending military personnel to deal with rice mill owners was one such example. The end result was that we do not have rice at low prices and the army officers too have lost their respect. These army men have no understanding of the cartels of rice mill owners who hoard rice and paddy. The Government should understand that agriculture cannot be managed with the help of guns, he had stressed.
We cannot vouch for the veracity of Minister Ranawaka’s allegations or the accuracy of the report but the point he made of using military men for civilian administration is one which needs earnest consideration in view of the trend in the appointment of ex-military officials to high ranking posts in civilian administration by the Rajapaksa Government. Have members of the Administrative Service been found wanting in implementing government policy?
Opposition politicians have consistently alleged that the government is heading for a military dictatorship under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa , a Lt. Colonel (Retd) of the Sri Lankan army. The appointments of former military officials to key government posts are a positive sign of this development. Political observers say Gotabaya Rajapaksa though elected as president with a convincing majority will need a two-third majority in parliament to make the necessary constitutional changes but the Covid 19 pandemic is holding up the elections to summon a new parliament. The continuing saga of the pandemic and the parliamentary elections is too well known and need not be repeated.
A particular issue, in which the current civilian administration has failed disastrously, in our opinion, is the inability to resolve the tragic human-animal conflict in the Dry Zone region. Poor people who have settled in these areas on small plots of land to eke out a living by working on the soil are having their homes destroyed and the loved ones killed regularly by the animals while the elephants whose traditional lands have been occupied by these inhabitants have been deprived of the vegetation they live on and go into human habitations in search of food.
This rare species of animals, very much a part of the country’s heritage, is being slaughtered to a point of near extinction. Some TV channels spotlight this tragic conflict between man and animals quite regularly, but the administration seems to be paralysed. Perhaps this is an area where the security forces would be better equipped to handle — not by shooting down the Noble Beasts that can be done by illicit poachers at lesser cost — but by ex-military trained to handle such a situation. The Sri Lankan military proudly claims that they conducted a ‘humanitarian war’ against the terrorists, and won. This could be a challenge to them — resolve the human-elephant conflict that has defied solution for long years.
(Gamini Weerakoon is a former editor of The Sunday Island, The Island and former Consulting Editor of the Sunday Leader)
| A report on a Covid-19 Era wedding reception: Not by Flying Kisses By our Pandemic Reporter The gates to the star class hotel were firmly locked and only consistent honking of the horn brought out the stern looking ’Security’ in khaki. They examined our ID and Invitation Card while a pistol like object was levelled at our forehead to take our temperature before we were waved on to proceed. At the entrance to the hotel there was a board declaring: No parking in front of hotel while few feet away another board ordered: No kissing in reception hall. We were fortunate to be hailed despite our mask by the Master of Ceremonies (MOC) at the entrance, a former campus colleague who informed: Some of our old girl friends are here with their hubbies at tables far out separated by regulated social distancing. We were excited though our former Old Girls were still looking sprightly with all of their heads in spotless black I say, Old fellow will there be any objections if I greeted some of my old girl friends by planting a peck on their cheeks? They might misunderstand me if I do not greet them in the usual way as in the old days, we asked the MOC. The fellow guffawed loudly through his mask. Would they misunderstand if you did not kiss them? Ha! Ha! They used to run a mile way when you were sighted and he continued with his laughter. The fellow was always jealous of me, we told ourselves. But he was being cheeky. Whether your health regulations permit me or not I am going to kiss who or what I want right now, we declared and stepped forward. The fellow stopped us. See those guys in black wedding suits and gaudy ties seated in the perimeter? They are from the Secret Health Regulation Unit — Anti- Kissing Squad. The moment you become foolish as you threatened to do, you will be hauled into a Black Maria and speeding towards a magistrates’ court. He then turned diplomatic, probably because we were from the Press. Why don’t you sit here and sip a good Scotch and Soda, he suggested beckoning a waiter loaded with glasses brimming with the Golden Water of Scotland. We enjoyed the drink after a long period of abstinence thanks to Gota, bemedalled Shavindra, Dr. Jasinghe and their intrepid band who claim they saved millions of us from kicking the bucket. The sight of the bride and groom on the Poruwa made us query: I say, do your health regulations permit the groom to kiss the bride after the ceremonies are over? The MOC was not amused. You know bloody well that Sri Lankans don’t kiss in public. Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims don’t. Some Christians and may be a few Buddhists do. It’s against our cultural norms…. Ah, so. The same old story: Sri Lankans don’t have sex. How then did the population which was 12.5 million in1970 explode to 20.5 million in 2020? By not kissing or what ? By parthenogenesis like what the amoeba does? The MOC too has been imbibing the stuff that cheers as time passed and so our dialogue proceeded with vigour: The economic crises, unemployment delayed marriage age shortening the fertility period thus reducing the birth rate, if not…, the MOC went on. Time had passed and soon we realised that the bride and groom were taking off. So were the guests including our old girl friends. One of them was waving at us from a distance. Send her a flying kiss, the MOC advised. No. We didn’t recalling the delightful lines of American Journalist Ogden Nash. Kisses blown are kisses wasted Kisses blown are never tasted Kisses spread germs and diseases But kiss me honey, I am vaccinated. Vaccinated? The scientists say a vaccine for Covid may take years, perhaps never. It’s a hell of a long time to await a kiss.
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