New Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah made no bones about what he thinks about service personnel who engage in criminal acts or flout the law in any manner. Shortly after assuming office, Sinniah said he would show no mercy against, whoever it was in the Navy, who had committed crimes, taking refuge behind his uniform. A similar view was taken by the new Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake upon assuming duties. Echoing the views of his compatriot in the Navy, he said all his men were subjected to the law and those who take the law into their hands and commit foul deeds would be brought to justice, no matter who they are.
It is in this backdrop that a disabled former member of the Sri Lanka Navy had chosen to conduct a death fast against what he called the ranaviru dadayama or witch-hunt against the war heroes, at the Mahamevuna Uyana in the Anuradhapura sacred city, of all places. He has vowed to continue with the fast until all those war heroes currently in custody are released. He makes special reference to former Navy spokesman Commodore D.K.P. Dassanyake, who is now behind bars for his alleged involvement in the abduction of Tamil youth in Colombo.
We are not exactly aware as to who is behind this whole episode of arranging for disabled soldiers to stage demonstrations on the streets, to highlight their so called grievances. But we can make a guess. The spokesman for these disabled soldiers too is another disabled former combatant who is known for his strong connections to Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and has not been shy to voice the identical sentiments expressed by members of the Joint Opposition as regards the ‘treatment’ of the war heroes by the Yahapalanaya government. It is therefore not hard to guess as to who is behind the latest move to have disabled servicemen stage death fasts in Anuradhapura which is part of the North Central Province, poised to go for elections soon.
Why no such death fasts were staged, when the foremost war hero of them all, Sarath Fonseka was thrown in the slammer and insulted in the open when he appeared before courts to answer a plethora of cooked up charges, or, why was there no protest of any kind held when war heroes, who were providing security to defeated presidential candidate, the self same Sarath Fonseka, when he was billeted at a five Star hotel, were made to kneel on the driveway of the hotel, no one ventures to answer today. Neither has anybody tried to ascertain as to why was there no big hue and cry when the war heroes who supported Fonseka were forced to flee the country on behalf of which they fought, after the latter’s defeat, being hounded by Gota for the crime of backing their leader who led the war from the front.
Today, hardly a day passes without it being reported in the media about the involvement of former members of the armed forces in grievous crime such as murder, rape and armed robbery. Some of them are even being hired by criminal gangs due to their special skills in weapons handling, to engage them in the most henious of crimes. According to the members of the Joint Opposition and the ex-sailor now on the death fast, these criminals should not be called into account, all because they fought the good fight against the LTTE and to hell with the victims of their crimes. What would our courts and the justice system come to, were our Lordships called upon to set free accused hauled before them for murder, rape and gang robbery, all because they risked their lives on the battle and thus are war heroes to the core?
That night of shame
Cricket is today billed as Sri Lanka’s national sport, for the fame and glory it has brought to the country and not least due to its mass following in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the World Cup victory in 1996. It’s appeal and allure is today not just confined to the keen followers of the game but also among the ordinary folk like the Maggie akkas and Jossi akkas in the far flung villages to whom the Jayasuriyas, Mahelas and Sangakkaras are no strangers.
All this folk, nay, all Sri Lankans, no doubt, would be despondent with the shambolic state of the game at the present juncture and wish for fortunes to change sooner rather than later.
But under no circumstance would they have endorsed the happenings at Pallekelle the other night, when, for the first time in this country, an international cricket match was marred by spectator violence - our cricketers themselves being the target.
Hitherto, this type of incident was witnessed only in India, the World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka in Culcutta in 1996, a glaring example. The authorities should take immediate steps to nip this type of incident in the bud before the trend catches on. Cricket, after all, is only a sport. The country’s image is more important.
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