Rumours of Freedom: Whither Fonseka now

“I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot” – Gary Hart

The grapevine has been rife with many a gossip and rumour over the last couple days about the impending pardon/release of General

Fonseka. The reasons adduced and scenarios imagined for this atmosphere are many and diverse. However, the electricity that the news has generated is beyond any doubt and there is a very good reason for it. After the last presidential elections and the incarceration of the defeated candidate, no Opposition leader or for that matter, any politician has challenged the present regime the way in which General Fonseka had been doing during his court appearances-the misfortunes of which were many-even though those utterances were confined to one or two catchy phrases or political allegations.

The vertebrate among the jellyfish

In an ugly atmosphere of inaction and impotence, General just showed that at least there is one man with a spine. People love strength, they love those who call a spade a spade, come what may. They judge their leaders not only by words; they look for nuanced utterances that directly relate to their fiber of thought. What is being whispered in Parliament lobbies by Government Ministers, spoken softly in closed door boardrooms by company directors, transmitted via SMSs by ordinary men and women, murmured inside judiciary canteens by attorneys and what is not being given expression by the opposition or its reformists, General Fonseka chose to say in public, in broad daylight for everyone to hear. He just criticized the regime and named names.

Some  ‘editors’ may be squirming

The media, both electronic and print, covered his every move, the supporters and well-wishers waved their hands in unison and the country at large silently applauded a man of undiluted courage and conviction. Then the news that this man is going to be free once

again, while sending thrills and joy to the common man who respects liberty and freedom, must be definitely making some newspaper ‘editors’ quite uncomfortable!

Fonseka phenomenon

What is this Fonseka phenomenon? How did it originate and does it have legs to stand on? These are the questions that will be asked in the coming months and answers sought for.

This columnist was told a fascinating story by one of Gamini Dissanayake’s close associates:

Gamini and Fonseka

According to this associate, Fonseka, at that time a Brigadier in rank, had sought an appointment to see Gamini Dissanayake. This was in 1994, after Gamini came back to the UNP in the wake of the demise of R Premadasa. Brigadier Fonseka had met Gamini for about fifty minutes and whilst coming out of Gamini’s main office, Fonseka had thanked this associate for facilitating the meeting and stated that he was quite happy that he had the opportunity to discuss with him some salient issues. After Fonseka left, Gamini had called this associate and told him, ‘I can win this war with him as our Commander”.

This episode sheds light, not only on General Fonseka; it also illuminates the character of Gamini Dissanayake, his uncanny ability to assess a man’s capabilities and potential.

Leading to victory

Fifteen years later, as Commander of Sri Lanka’s Army, General Sarath Fonseka led his troops, with the able support of the Commanders and men of the Navy and Air Force, and finished a twenty seven-year old war against one of the most dreaded terrorist organizations in the world. What followed after May 19, 2009, the white flag case, numerous court marshals, Fonseka’s arrest, Hicorp case and the rest, is a sordid part of Sri Lanka’s contemporary politics.

A war by any other name

The buildup created by the Government-sponsored media outlets after Fonseka decided to exercise one of his fundamental human rights enshrined in a democratic social order, the right to contest an election, was despicable, especially in the electronic medium. A man who nearly laid down his body and soul for his country, not once, not twice but three times, was portrayed as an outright traitor. The war that Fonseka fought and won assumed bizarre attributes and some cronies gave titles to it after naming it after their “heroes”, obviously for their own selfish ends.

Fonseka has some thinking to do

Well, that is all in the past. If and when General Fonseka steps back into civilized society, to assume the day-to-day living of a free man, the General has some thinking to do and if he treats what he has to do as a privilege and another challenge in his illustrious life, the ultimate beneficiaries would be the country and her people.

Fonseka’s options

If General Fonseka secures an unconditional release, given his propensity to engage in Sri Lankan polity, he will have the following options:

1. Join the Government forces, accept what it gives him and retire.

2. Assume leadership of the Party from which he was elected to Parliament in 2010 and organize it as a strong third force.

3. Join the UNP’s Ranil Wickramasinghe wing

4. Join Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith Premadasa’s reformists’ group and agitate for a genuine change in the UNP leadership, and in this option, the General would have to accept Karu Jayasuriya as his leader.

5. Walk into the gentle night…

Option 1.

This option, if he does take it, would be personally comfortable for his family and himself but will disappoint a large number of his supporters who hero-worship him and would not offer any thrills or satisfaction to a man who had fought and won an incredible war. It will make Sarath Fonseka, the hero an “unhero”.

Option 2.

With the JVP not in unison to support the General, it will be quite a task for even a seasoned politician to put together an alliance like the Democratic National Alliance which was formed to fight the Parliamentary Elections in 2010. Even if he succeeds in holding the Alliance together, the appeal of the JVP is dwindling daily as a viable alternative political party capable of forming a government in Sri Lanka, coupled with the socialist tinge that the JVP still assumes. Thus Sarath Fonseka would find himself in alien territory as far as the economic policies are concerned. Yet it’s still an option.

Option 3.

The United National Party as it is, embroiled in personality and policy clashes at present, one that is distanced from the Sinhalese Buddhist majority segment-will not be an attractive hub for an extraordinarily active soldier. Furthermore, given the dynamics it may  only aggravate the existing fissures of the Party. Here he would be a new comer among UNP stalwarts with decades of politcal experience.

Option 4.

Option four seems to be the most attractive scenario for Fonseka. With Sajith Premadasa and Karu Jayasuriya leading the “reformists” group of the UNP, which includes newcomers (relatively speaking) such as Shiral Lakthilaka and Maithree Gunaratne from the outside, and MPs, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Ashok Abeysinghe, Thalatha Athukorale, Rosy Senanayake, Sujeewa Senasinghe and Dunesh Gankanda from within the Parliamentary Group, Fonseka will immediately command some presence.

Whatever the scenario and whether one likes it or not, General Fonseka represents “change”, which is a most saleable commodity in the political marketplace today.

Option 5.

Well, we did not discuss the fifth option. The General, after a winning an incredible war, after being incarcerated for almost two and half years, after being maligned by his enemies as a traitor, today has become a subject of envy, one admired by his peers and feared by his opponents. Provided his health is within manageable measures, he can take an active role in politics in Sri Lanka. Or as was said earlier, he can just walk into the gentle night.

Released

People will speculate as to why the Government decided to release or pardon him. Some say that the collective pressure brought upon the regime by the USA and India is one sure cause. America has categorized General Fonseka as a “political prisoner”. Political prisoners are usually found only in dictatorships and Communist countries. Sri Lanka is supposed to be a “five-star democracy”. There cannot be any political prisoners in any democracy, five-stars or otherwise. Standing for election is a right, not a privilege in a multi-party democracy. Sarath Fonseka became a traitor overnight, after he declared his candidacy for Presidential Elections. A wrong has to be righted.

Yes, he can walk into the gentle night, as in the fifth option.

 

 

 

1 Comment to “Rumours of Freedom: Whither Fonseka now”

• ananda patherana
  May 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm

  In this Country of asses made of a majority of spineless sinhala buddhists who bear no gratitude to any, a man like Sarath fonseka may be risking his future working for their freedom & democracy.The high ranks of the Buddhist clergy should be ashamed of themselves for the so little support they gave to getting Fonseka released. What a pity!!!! We raise our hats to Most Ven.Maduruwawe Sobitha who has done so much;may he be blessed.