5th Column

My dear Rishad,

I thought I must write to you because you – and your family members – appear to be so much in the news these days and not even a return of the coronavirus can take them off the headlines. Still, what I found most interesting was how important you seem to be, to whoever is in power at any given time.

We remember the last days of the last regime, when you were constantly accused of being of dubious character and accused of being responsible for the deforestation in Wilpattu. Social media was full of posts as to why we shouldn’t be supporting anyone who even posed for a photo with you.

Then, Easter 2019 happened. I don’t want to comment about that because, after one and a half years, two governments, three commissions, and dozens of witnesses giving evidence several times over, we are no closer to the truth than we were at the outset. Even the Cardinal has lost his patience.

First, your brother was cast as the villain of the piece. He was accused of aiding and abetting in the heinous attacks. You were seen as guilty by association. At the last two big elections, we were told to steer clear of you – and those who you supported – because it would amount to supporting terrorists.

The elections are over and done with now. You have remained with the telephone chaps and in the opposition. Then, suddenly there is a story doing the rounds that you may switch allegiances and extend your support “to strengthen Gota maama’s hands”. To be fair to you, this is only speculation.

Now, even if that were to happen, you wouldn’t be the first person to suddenly switch sides after a change of government. We in Paradise have been blessed with many of that special talent – and who can blame them, when we, the voters, keep sending them to Parliament, election after election?

There was Thonda (Snr) who made it a fine art, and Thonda (Jnr) followed in his grandfather’s footsteps. Then there was Ashraff who struck deals with Preme first and then with Satellite soon after 17 years of Green rule came to an end. Rauff then simply continued the party tradition.

These antics were not confined to the so-called ‘minority’ parties and their leaders. Why, there was SB who crossed over from the Blue camp to the Green camp after being Satellite’s loyal lieutenant, earning a prison sentence for his efforts. He is still around, though he is not even a state minister now!

Even the supposedly ‘educated’ politicians are not immune from this malady. There is GL with the lean hungry look who was first Blue, then Green and is now Maroon. Then we have Justice Wije who became jumping Wije, who divides his time between the Blues and the Greens with effortless ease.

With such colleagues to learn from and emulate, Rishad, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if you are suddenly welcomed with open arms by Gota maama, even if he and the ‘pohottuwa’ were elected on the promise that people like you should be avoided like the coronavirus.

After all, Gota maama needs all the support he can get to see the 20th Amendment through Parliament, so that he enjoys the powers that he needs to govern us like a king – especially when principled people like Vasu sahodaraya and Vidura, Ratnasiri’s boy, are making noises indicating their dissent.

Even if we ignore that, Rishad, because as they say, all is fair in love, war and politics, we can’t ignore the fact that your brother has been released, not by the courts after meticulous investigation, but by the investigators who say they have insufficient evidence. This is why tongues are wagging.

Don’t get me wrong. Every person is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and, in the case of your brother, he hasn’t been proven guilty yet. Still, questions are being asked as to how he came to be released suddenly and whether it is all part of a ‘deal’ that you had struck.

Chamal maama explained matters, saying your brother will be re-arrested if there is new evidence against him. If someone is detained on suspicion, shouldn’t he be released only after investigations are complete? In explaining why your brother was let out, has Chamal maama let the cat out of the bag?

You would know the answer to that, but we then see the spectacle of your colleagues in Parliament handing over petitions to Gota maama asking for a fresh investigation into the release. So, it looks as if there will now be a new inquiry into the old inquiry, inquiring as to how your brother was released!

Pardon me, Rishad, but we thought that the courts of law were independent, acting on their own and not making decisions based on what people in Parliament want them to do. Isn’t that where ‘yahapaalanaya’ went horribly wrong? So, are those who followed them making the same mistake?

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: Or, do we have a new law that operates in these kinds of matters, as spelt out so clearly by Gota maama? He announced that what he said amounts to a circular and officials should treat it as such. So, now we know why it is called a ‘circular’: it is in fact the ‘sir kiyoo law’- or the law as ‘Sir’ says it!