Himal SouthAsian, December 2009
The Sri Lankan military won the war against the Tamil Tigers over six months ago. But since that time, the island has been steadily losing the peace that the people – Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese – so deserve. The main hurdle towards lasting peace has been the continuing war mentality and ultra-nationalism on the part of the Rajapakse regime – for this is what we have to call it. Those elements that had been the regime’s main strengths in fighting the war – the dangerous mix of militarisation and Sinhala Buddhist mobilisation – are now not only undermining peace, but also creating instability in the government hallways of Colombo.
In the single-minded pursuance of the war, President Mahinda Rajapakse and his brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya, with full support from the military, put together a broad and formidable coalition. This was made up of the ultra-nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and then its breakaway faction, sections of the left parties, as well as Tamil paramilitaries, including the breakaway faction of the LTTE. Yet just weeks after the last shot was fired, that coalition began to unravel, with increasing anti-government mobilisation by the JVP, criticism from sections of the JHU and, finally, the need felt by the president for a full overhaul of the armed-forces leadership.
The latest in these twists and turns has been the alienation and vocal opposition of the former army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, who is popularly credited with winning the war. Gen Fonseka, even more a militarist and Sinhala Buddhist nationalist than the president, is now expected to contest Rajapakse in the next elections. And with the opposition United National Party (UNP) backing the general’s candidature, there appears to be little hope of a credible or strong opposition.
Within weeks of the end of the war, the Rajapakses changed the entire high command of the armed forces, giving the top military brass different assignments, from secretaries of other ministries to ambassadorial appointments. Gen Fonseka’s control over the army was severely clipped, by ‘promoting’ him to a symbolic position as chief of defence staff. The general, in his recent resignation letter, claimed that it was widely understood that he was sidelined because various agencies misled the president regarding the possibility of a military coup.
The sidelining of Fonseka is not very surprising, given that the Rajapakses have been clear that they have no ‘friends’ – only their large clan. Brothers, cousins and nephews are thus being put into key political positions without any sense of embarrassment. Initially, they seemed certain that with the war victory they could entrench the family in power for the foreseeable future. Very quickly, however, that future began to seem uncertain, with the challenge posed by Fonseka.
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(Submitted by Harsh Kapoor)