Premier
headlines and tailpieces
My Dear Ratne,
I thought I must write to you because
you have lately been seen and heard to make statements that are,
to say the least, controversial. For instance, Ratne, you have said
that Norway should give up its facilitator role, pack its bags and
go home. You also said that there is a limit to the patience in
the South, while the Tigers systematically keep eliminating their
opponents and called upon the armed forces to "defend themselves"
if provoked.
Honestly,
Ratne we do not know what to make of your statements: whether to
treat them as the antics of a politician who is now virtually retired
and is trying to grab some headlines or as a more serious declaration
of government policy.
But
we do hope these statements are not like those bold declarations
you made saying the government will bring down the cost of living
in two days ? because petrol prices rose again just after that!
And
if your purpose was indeed to grab some headlines just before your
eventual retirement, your statements were very badly timed, Ratne.
Just in case you are not aware, the public at large now do not care
about the Tigers killing Tamil journalists or Karuna's faction killing
the Tigers in revenge. They have more mundane issues to worry about
? like how much tomorrow's bus ticket will cost.
But
then there is another school of thought which believes that what
you said was what Satellite really wanted to say but couldn't because
that would not be considered very diplomatic. After all, you have
always been Satellite's loyal and trusted friend, much more than
your successor for instance. It is also unthinkable that you made
such statements without the approval of Madam!
But
just to confuse us a little bit more the very next day Avamangala
pours scorn on your remarks saying that there is no threat of war
and that all is well with our country, even if there is a drought
in the North Central province, a lack of control in the North and
anarchy in the East…
Or
is this all a well thought out strategy, Ratne, to confuse Velu
too and frighten him into thinking that the South is also preparing
for war? But really, Ratne, do you think Velu would care about what
you, Wimal and a few Buddhist monks say? I am sure he too must be
suffering from the rising cost of living, having to feed his growing
army of children and young adults with the cost of parippu and kiri
piti rising almost daily. Besides, if he were to respond to every
statement made by a politician in Colombo he wouldn't be in the
position of strength he is now in, would he?
Anyway,
Ratne, it is always nice to hear from you even if what you say is
sometimes controversial. We eagerly await more of the same because
it is at least different from the news of daily price increases
of gas, petrol, electricity, kiri piti and bus fares. Well, at least
the government is kind enough to do it while the cricket team is
winning their matches so that everyone is kept reasonably happy!
Yours
truly,
Punchi Putha
PS- I'm told that you have been called 'gedara yana gaman' because
you seem to have the knack of getting top positions. Unfortunately
Ratne, that title has now been stolen from you by someone else on
whom the title is perhaps a little more justified! |