Criticism aimed at Govt., not at troops

'Don't demoralize the troops!' This has been the favourite ‘battle cry’ of successive governments, anytime the defence establishment is brought to task over security lapses, reckless expenditure, defective arms and machines and dubious armament deals designed for the aggrandizement of a powerful few, at the expense of the troops and the people.

This government has gone one better than previous governments. It has made such a fetish of this 'song' that it vies in popularity with our National Anthem!

What this government has not understood (as previous governments did not) is that this constructive criticism is levelled not at the brave fighters who face the ruthlessness of a most dangerous enemy, risking life and limb, to save all of us and the country, but is aimed, by those who really love this homeland of theirs, at the powers that be -- the powerful establishment that brooks no criticism -- and which is far-removed from the 'troops'.

So indignant do these so-called patriots get that today it is only a very brave man/woman who dares raise a voice of protest against this establishment. Already, there are those who have lost their lives and still others who are under constant death threats. What is worse is that none of these dastardly murderers, who are worse than LTTE terrorists, has been apprehended, raising strong suspicion that they are receiving state patronage.

Any critic of the establishment is labelled a 'Tiger Terrorist'. This unwarranted condemnation of criticism made for the general public good is reminiscent of that President of the US who made the infamous remark, ‘Anyone who is not with us, is against us', when GB together with his dearly beloved side-kick TB sent their forces into Iraq, against strong world opinion and breaking all norms of international law.

It is time that the power wielders in this country -- those chosen few (they are too well known to be mentioned) of henchmen, friends and relatives -- banged their collective hard, obdurate heads together and awoke to the stark fact that the criticism is levelled against them, instead of collectively sinking their brains deeper and deeper into the sand.

Another salutary exercise recommended to these power wielders is to meditate upon the fate that has befallen those who have been dictators or behaved in a similar fashion. Let them remember that all, including power, is impermanent. In fact this meditation is also recommended to the leaders of an opposition which hopes to wrest power from the present unsavoury crowd.

By Mark Amerasinghe, Kandy