5th Column

The 'Letter'! Would it keep the Blues and the Greens apart or bring them together?

The Green Man was puzzled. He had received a letter from Mahinda maama asking him to join the rulers. The Green Man was not sure what he should do. He decided he would ask his most trusted colleagues. He summoned Karu first.

"What do you think we should do, Karu?" the Green Man wanted to know.

"I am not sure, and what I cannot understand is why the letter was written to me instead of you…" Karu said, but he was hoping the letter was written to him because he would be appointed Prime Minister.

"Shall we ask Seeni Bola?" The Green Man said.

"This is nothing but a conspiracy to destroy the Greens..." Seeni Bola declared, "he has already taken so many of our people and now he wants to officially ruin our party…"

"You should know…" the Green Man said, "you were with them for a long time…"

"I don't want to say anything publicly because I don't want to spend another couple of years in jail…" Seeni Bola said, "but believe me, maama appears to be smarter than Satellite ever was…"

"Let's ask what Professor Gas Labu has to say…" the Green Man proposed.

"I think this is a laudable move to further the exemplary objectives of reuniting our embattled motherland and I believe we should extend our unmitigated and unequivocal support to the democratically elected leader of our sovereign nation…" Professor Gas Labu said.

"What you are saying is you would like to be a minister again…" the Green Man observed.

"If the opportunity presents to serve our beloved country in whatever capacity, I would not hesitate to do so…" Professor Gas Labu said, "but if you are not sure of what I say, why don't you ask the Dentist…?"

"Ah," shouted the Dentist, "we should not join the war mongers but if we think we can stop the war by joining them, we should give it a try…"

"And you too would relish the idea of being a minister now that your rival from Kalutara is already one…" the Green Man said.

He summoned the Accountant from Kotte, next. "How do you think we should respond to Mahinda maama's offer?" the Green Man asked, "Do you think it would help the country if we join them?"

"It is difficult to say whether it would help the country or not," the Accountant from Kotte said, "but I am prepared to join if I am given the Trade Ministry and Sathosa again…"

Finally, with still no clear answer, the Green Man summoned Milinda and put the question to him.

"I think it is a good idea to join them without languishing in the opposition for maybe the next twelve years or so," Milinda said, "but when cabinet portfolios are being distributed, I want a chance to go through the list with my Tippex at hand…"

The Green Man knew that he still did not know what he should do. So, he decided on the next best move. He announced that he would be appointing a committee to study the matter and report to him within a couple of months.

"Take your time to decide on Mahinda maama's offer," the Green Man told his handpicked committee, "the Blues and the Greens have stayed separate for more than fifty years, so a few months more will not do any more harm, just as delaying our party's reforms does no harm…"

Karu, Seeni Bola, Gas Labu, the Dentist, the Accountant and Milinda looked at each other. They may have no choice but to join Mahinda maama now, they thought…