Lanka
needs to be in one piece, not three
My dear Rauff, I thought of writing to you when I heard that you too
had gone to the Wanni to see the powerful Mr. Pirapaharan, as he calls
himself now. I suppose you could claim the distinction of being the
first government minister since the late great All Countries Seen
to have met the man himself and I daresay it will look good on your
CV when you are nominated for the Nobel Peace prize -or at least the
Magsaysay-one day, but then Rauff, what really were you talking with
him?
But first tell
me Rauff, all the scribes who went for last week's show were screaming
in protest against having every square inch of their anatomy searched.
Now, did they do that to you or did they just welcome you with open
arms? And so it looks like Mr.P has nothing better to do these days
other than sign Memoranda of Understanding first with the Green
Man and now with you. Well, according to you he agrees to recognize
you and your party as the 'sole representative' of 'your people'
just as much as Mr.P is the 'sole representative' of 'his people'.
Gosh, I wonder what the Mohomeds and the Fowzies must be thinking
about that!
But Rauff, you
must be careful because being in the company of Mr. P puts you in
a rather delicate position, doesn't it? And anyway, you only have
to stop shaving for a few days to look a little like that missing
Osama chap- so just make sure that Uncle Sam doesn't get the wrong
ideas! So, now do you dream of being Shiekh or Emir or whatever
of the East, being the regional equivalent of what Mr. P will get
for himself in the North? Not bad, eh, after Mr. P does all the
dirty work for you to run off with the spoils?
Never mind,
Rauff, we won't grudge you your fifteen minutes of fame but we do
hope that this fashion of being photographed with the elusive Mr.P.-begun
by that Solheim chap- doesn't catch on. Who knows, the Mahanayake
Theros might want to see Mr. P next and the poor fellow's diary
will be clogged up with all these photo opportunities. After all,
the man has a terrorist organization to run! Then, Rauff, there
is the Eelam question. Mr. P still says that he hasn't given up
on the idea, so how far more are we going to extend our generosity
to him? Don't forget that he's bitten the hand that fed him before
which is why India for instance is insisting that Mr.P still has
to be brought to book. And, Rauff, compared to what the tiger has
had for dinner-Rajiv and our own Mr.P- you are small fry, my friend!
But of course,
as the man who brought down the previous government so maybe you
fancy yourself as the peacemaker here. But just remember, at the
end of it all, we want one piece;not three!
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha.
PS- Of course, you must also remember that you are not the first
to go to the North and talk to the Tigers. Remember, Satellite and
VJ did it sometime ago when they were 'podiyens' in politics? And
VJ took pot shots at cut-outs. At least, you didn't do that, did
you?
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