5th Column

Now that you're out we await your next move
My Dear Seeni Bola,
I thought I must write to you, now that you are free and your mail need not go through the high walls of the Welikada prison. I am sure you must be relieved, even though your battles are far from over.

We did see you at the celebrations organised at the Town Hall just after your release and the first thought that came to mind was that you seemed remarkably agile and animated for someone who had been warded in hospital for backache, for nearly a year!

Of course Seeni Bola, you must know by now that we Sri Lankans have very short memories. So, with your imprisonment they have begun to treat you like a hero forgetting that you were one of the most arrogant and controversial politicians when you were Satellite's right hand man just a few years ago. Being the clever politician that you are I am sure you will put this new-found 'hero' status to good use!

But, Seeni Bola, you would have also realised that the Greens are in disarray. The Green Man meanders from one issue to another but luck just does not seem to be on his side. And the infighting between the Dissanayakes, Karunanayakes, Senanayakes and Attanayakes have only meant that the party has no real 'nayaka'.

We do realise that had Velu decided differently and allowed all those voters in the North and East to go to the polls in November, it may have been a different story but then it is also true that the Greens absolutely failed to read the mood in the South where Mahinda maama won with a handsome margin.
The greens felt your absence enormously as the south was swayed not by Mahinda maama's false promises but by the effective campaign launched together with the reds and the saffron robed brigades which cleverly portrayed the Green Man as someone who would sell the country on a platter to Velu.

It is to counter a campaign of that type that the Greens need someone like you who could speak the language of the 'common man' and shoot from the lip, countering the likes of Wimal Weerawansa in much the same style! No one did that well in the Green campaign and in the end, they paid the price…
Now that the Greens have been reduced to a state where they cannot even file a set of nomination papers properly, you will have your hands full, trying to reorganise the 'pakshaya' at the grassroots level and bring a semblance of efficiency to what is still the single largest party in the country.

Be that as it may, we also noticed that you were careful not to criticise Mahinda maama in your public statements, choosing instead to thank him for releasing you, while at the same time reserving for Satellite a few choice words that betrayed your feelings towards her.

So, with the local elections around the corner, we await your next move with interest and we hope you succeed in reorganising the greens, not because we like Mahinda maama any less but because it is equally important that the country has a vibrant opposition, not allowing anyone to enjoy absolute power!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS-Of course, Seeni Bola, there is still the little issue about your civic rights. Now, there is some speculation that you may just consider embracing the Mahinda Chinthanaya and crossing over to the other side, in return for your civic rights.

That is something that you must be wary about, because nothing is impossible in Mahinda maama's book. But, remember, if you were to do that, you wouldn't be able to settle a score with the man who was responsible for your plight, just because you chose to call a spade, a spade…!

Back to Columns