5th Column

Aiyo Sirisena,

It is not that I enjoy writing to you or hearing from you, but I feel I cannot but help doing so this week. That is after learning what you and some from your Blue Party had to say about continuing to be in government with the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps – and enduring the step-motherly treatment you get from them.

You and your ‘group of 14’ have kept a low profile while being part and parcel of the ruling alliance in the last two years. That is despite having just two ministerial portfolios for Mahinda and Nimal while you were ignored. The ‘R’ family has five ministers compared to your entire party’s two!

That you are being treated as ‘poor cousins’ is obvious when party seniors such as Susil, Dayasiri and Duminda – who have been ministers before – are given state minister posts and SB is not considered even for that. The message is clear – if you were with Sirisena, you are treated like a leper.

The ‘R’s don’t forgive and forget easily. It is now becoming apparent that they have still not forgiven you for what you did seven years ago – suddenly defying Mahinda maama while still being the general secretary of the Blue Party and daring to run against him. Then the unthinkable happened. You won.

The rest, as they say, is history. However, Aiyo Sirisena, you must accept that you also blundered after taking over. You – along with the Greens who were your partners – didn’t punish those responsible for corruption and abuse of power as you promised – and the people were very disappointed about that.

In fact, the opposite happened. Some Greens were caught with their fingers in the till, trying to rob the big bank. To be fair, you tried to put a stop to that. The relationship between you and the Green Man deteriorated to such an extent that you were paranoid about him. I suspect the feeling was mutual.

Your biggest mistake, though, was the ‘coup’ you tried to stage. You ousted the Green Man as PM and installed Mahinda maama in his job. This was after you had addressed the nation three years earlier promising never to appoint Mahinda maama as PM ever again. Then, people lost all faith in you.

We saw in that, an attempt to stay on in the top job for a second term, with Mahinda maama as PM. With that 52-day government – until it was declared illegal – you proved you were as bad as the rest of them and not the innocent farmer who promised to abolish the Presidency and retire to Polonnaruwa.

The nail in your political coffin came with the Easter attacks. Although there have been many commissions and inquiries, no one seems to know the truth about the attacks; but what is clear is that you were incompetent and that you ignored the warnings that were given.

As it became clear that the people held you at least partly responsible, you were sensible enough not to run for a second term. Your Blue Party was so unpopular then that you had no choice but to join the ‘pohottuwa’ bandwagon. That is why you find yourselves being used and abused now.

I hope you realise, Aiyo Sirisena, that you are being given this ‘karapincha’ treatment because they have a trump card up their sleeve: that commission you yourself appointed into the Easter attacks has recommended that criminal proceedings be commenced against you. So, they can do so at any time.

That is why they are daring you to leave the ruling alliance. Of course, even if charges are made against you, they have to be heard and you have to be found guilty, but we also know that the wheels of justice turn at different speeds for different people in this Paradise – so you need to be very careful.

While most of the ‘group of 14’ in Parliament with you are fiercely loyal to the Blue Party, the ‘pohottuwa’ chaps might still try to steal at least a few of them, so you need to watch out for that too. Also, remember that even if all of you leave, the ‘pohottuwa’ will still have a comfortable majority.

We are watching what happens next with great interest, Aiyo Sirisena. You should realise that even if some people support you, that is not because they like you more – but only because they like what is happening now even less. Many have not still forgiven you for breaching their trust – repeatedly – a few years ago.

The word is that your parting of ways with the ‘pohottuwa’ is imminent. To give credit where it is due, you wrecked the Blue Party first, reducing it to nothing. Then you destroyed the Green Party. Now, if the ‘pohottuwa’ is the next party on your list, I wouldn’t be surprised, Aiyo Sirisena!

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: You and others in the opposition must realise that you can march separately but strike together. For that, we need someone like your namesake who left us recently, Sajith’s father’s right-hand man. He won an unwinnable election for Sajith’s father. That is what the opposition will have to do too.