Green
Man has taken everyone by surprise
(This is the text of the speech that Prabha really wanted
to deliver on 'Heroes Day'....)
Enemies, Countrymen and Sinhalese,
I didn't think
that I would ever be talking to you in this manner because I prefer
sending messages through bomb blasts and landmines but even I have
to accept that the world is now changing and that I have to change
with it.
But what surprises
me is how everyone wants to analyse every word that I say to see
whether we have given up our demand for a separate state and whether
we have ceased our armed struggle. It really makes me laugh when
people ask "Did he actually say he is giving up Eelam?"
or "What did he really mean when he said that?"
After all,
none of us including Satellite, the Green Man and even people like
Bush, Saddam and Osama never really say what they want to say and
I would have thought you people already knew that. All of us say
what our people want us to say and that is all there is to it.
Then, it also
makes me laugh to see your people finding fault with the Green Man
for organising and attending that Oslo meeting with Bala, calling
him a traitor for that.
Just see what he has achieved with that: he tricked us into attending
the meeting and we did just that because we thought we were gaining
some international credibility instead of being branded 'terrorists'.
But what we
got in return was a slap in the face by that American chap who said
that we were still in fact terrorists till we promise we won't take
up arms again. And, when Bala tries to tell something to offset
that damage, you react by trying to analyse every word that he said!
But of course,
it does seem that contrary to expectations we do seem to have been
taken for a ride by the Green Man which is quite the opposite of
what we wanted to do, though few would give him credit for that!
In his own words, he said that he would like to see the 'peace process'
become "irreversible" and that indeed seems to be happening
even though I don't enjoy this at all.
The problem
with all of you who sit and analyse the so-called process is that
you do not for a moment consider what will ultimately happen to
the man who decides on the process-me.
And what I
would like to know now is what is there in it for me while you chaps
are passing 200-year death sentences and our neighbouring giant
is offering a reward for my head. Are you chaps willing to sacrifice
all of that in return for peace? I have yet to hear anyone saying
'yes' to that!
But of course,
I am not unduly worried. I still have some tricks up my sleeve.
In fact, at times I wonder whether I should really bother about
the prospect of peace talks succeeding. Why should I, when Satellite
is there to sabotage it all? I only have to utter a few words about
a 'homeland' for our people and there she is talking about protecting
the country! With enemies like that, who needs friends?
So, don't bother
to read too much into what everyone says or does. I'll just go along
for the moment but I do admit that I have to be careful about what
the Green Man is planning for all of us-the way he is doing it,
it may be very difficult for us to say 'no' to what he is offering!
And, by the
way, just in case we settle for something short of a separate state,
don't believe that everyone will live happily ever after. Why, we
can always trust Rauff's brethren to spoil the party!
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