5th Column Sunday, December 31, 2006

"Thaaththa," Bindu Udagedera asked, "what will you wish for the New Year?"
"Why, Bindu," his father Percy said, "it is the usual wish for a peaceful and prosperous New Year…"
"Then you will most probably be disappointed, thaaththa…" Bindu said.
"Why do you say that?" Percy wanted to know.
"Why, thaaththa," Bindu explained, "the New Year is likely to be anything but peaceful because everyone seems to want war…"
"How could you be so sure about that?" Percy demanded.
"Why, thaaththa, Prabhakaran wants war, Mahinda maama says he is not afraid to go to war if necessary and our sahodarayas say that there is no option other than war…" Bindu pointed out.
"But the Greens don't want war…" Percy argued, "and they say they are now willing to support Mahinda maama…"
"That maybe because they were at war with themselves all this time and they are now tired of war…" Bindu suggested, "but what good will their support do?"
"Why," Percy said, "they can help Mahinda maama to implement a solution that will be acceptable to all…"
"Ah," Bindu said, "that will be the day…"
"Why are you so pessimistic about that?" Percy queried.
"Why, thaaththa," Bindu declared, "if that happens, Mahinda maama will take all the credit for ending the war and get elected for another term of office and the Greens will be in the Opposition for at least another twelve years if not more…"
"It is rarely that simple, Bindu…" Percy disagreed.
"It is not that simple because the Greens wouldn't want that to happen and would do something else to prevent that…" Bindu suggested.
"That has happened in the past", Percy agreed, "but everyone says this is a historic agreement…"
"I thought," Bindu countered, "they said the same about the agreement Mahinda maama signed with the sahodarayas a year ago…"
"That is so," Percy conceded, "but surely the he trusts the Greens more than he trusts the sahodarayas now…"
"And don't forget that even the ceasefire agreement with the Tigers was called historic when it was signed…" Bindu recalled.
"Yes, it was…" Percy remembered.
"And even the Indo-Lanka Accord was hailed as being historic when that agreement was signed…" Bindu pointed out.
"So, are you suggesting that all these historic agreements have now become obsolete?" Percy asked.
"I think that is quite obvious, so we should be careful in placing all our expectations in the agreement between Mahinda maama and the Greens…" Bindu proposed.
"Very well," Percy said, "then if we cannot hope for a very peaceful New Year can we at least hope for a prosperous New Year?"
"They say inflation is at an all time high, the sahodarayas are saying next year will be a year of strikes and work stoppages, electricity rates have already been increased for next year and tourists are keeping away," Bindu declared, "so it is difficult to imagine how it would be prosperous either…"
"What shall we wish for the New Year then, Bindu?" Percy wanted to know.
"How about wishing each other a year of survival, so that we will survive both the war, and the price hikes that will hit us next year?" Bindu asked.
Percy knew he couldn't disagree with that suggestion.