Simoundou Chronicles - 3

(Continued from Simoundou Chronicles - 2)
Prabha smiled at Pottu's suggestion as he watched another explosion on the big, high-definition screen. "It is one thing to blow him up in Colombo. But to take him out here when he is our guest - that doesn't sound right Pottu. We can even justify blowing up bus loads of civilians as revenge for their clymore attacks and air attacks on our civilians. But killing someone when they come to our place for talks is different. We have never done anything like that before have we? "

"No sir. I don't think so" Agreed Pottu.

"And then there is international opinion. Our image is already badly damaged. But if we do anything like this it will destroy it"

"But sir, already we are listed as terrorists by many countries and we are banned almost everywhere. So can it really get any worse?"

"Yes Pottu. It can get worse. We would get banned in the few remaining countries where we can still operate legally - like Norway and Switzerland. And worse still, those countries that have already banned us could put more effort into crippling our front groups there. We are already having a bit of a problem these days. The money isn't flowing that smoothly anymore. We can't afford to make things any worse"

"But sir if our image abroad is that important, then how come we have always ignored those foreign idiots all the time?"

"Of course we can't please those white guys. If we send all those under aged kids back to their homes or refugee camps or wherever they came from then you and I will be minced meat in minutes!" Prabha said as he picked up the remote. "We can't do everything they want us to do. But we can't ignore them either. That's one of the reasons why I selected Mahinda during the last elections"

"What has Mahinda got to do with those foreign guys and what they think of us sir?"

"Well, we can't turn into nice guys to please those western countries. And those white skinned do-gooders don't like bad boys like us. so what do we do?" Prabha paused the movie and continued. "We simply make our enemy look just as bad as us, if not worse. That way things are a bit safer for us. Although we are evil so is our enemy. That way those western countries won't be so enthusiastic about helping our enemy defeat us. So all we needed to do was to make the Sri Lankan government look just as bad as us. And Mahinda was the right man for the job! So far he has not disappointed us"

"Hmm... yes." Pottu agreed " The US has stopped military assistance. They got kicked out of the UN Human Rights Council and the EU is applying more pressure as well. They are being compared to notorious 'rogue' states and some are even talking about economic sanctions."

"That's the idea Pottu. When they look that bad, those white guys won't be so enthusiastic about helping them defeat us. That's why even in some of those countries where we are banned now, we still have front groups and they don't seem to be too bothered"

"I knew Mahinda was ideal for this job because he was seen as a hard liner from the start. He was very close to people like JHU and JVP even before the elections. These guys hate the western governments. I was sure from the start that he won't get along with the international crowd very well. But if we kill him when he is our guest things would change. We become worse than terrorists but more importantly he becomes a hero! And that, Pottu, is really bad for us!
It will hit the international headlines 'The president who died for peace!' And what would they call us? The whole world would get behind Mahida's successor to help him defeat us!"


"Yes sir, And the successor will be our old friend Ranil! He is quite good at dealing with those foreigners. He doesn't have any of Mahinda's bad baggage like Human rights violations so it would be easy for him to get the western countries to back him. And he would be ready to consider some form of power sharing so it would be harder for us to stay relevant"

"Exactly, So the question is do we want to see Ranil in power now? With the whole world behind him?"

"OK sir, So what do we do now then. We can't kill Mahinda when he gets here! So are we really going to talk peace with him?" Potto asked.

"Ah! peace!" Prabha smiled sarcastically "I love peace! when there is peace everyone seems happy except me! Even our own boys and girls seem so happy. They want to have fun, They want holidays,they want to visit their families and then they never come back!"

"Yes sir, And then we learn they are in some western country! That's the pattern."

"And the people forget what we have done for them. They forget we have been fighting for their rights all this time. They start arguing with us!"

"Yes sir, during peace they quickly forget about all the killing and raping the Sinhalese have done in our country. They don't even feel angry anymore"

"Yes, peace would destroy our struggle Pottu. That was the game Ranil was playing."

"So what do we do if Mahinda starts playing the same game?"


"I don't think we need to worry about that Pottu. Because I don't think he is serious. If I know Mahinda he won't come here! He would be damned scared about risking his life! A Sinhalese can never be that brave!"

"Yes sir! That's why they don't have suicide bombers. Only a Tamil will have the guts to blow himself up for what he believes in! It is in the Tamil blood! I don't think a Sinhalese can ever have that kind of courage"

Just them they hear a faint ringing noise. Prabha puts his hand in his pocket , digs our a satellite phone and says "Yes"

His expression turns serious as he listens. After a few seconds he says "OK" and puts the phone down.

"I was wrong!" said Prabha "He is coming! The Norwegians have just contacted Nadesan about this! This is getting complicated now"

Prabha looked worried.


****************************************************************************************

It is Sri Lanka's defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse's office. The place looks neat . Gota is sitting at his desk talking on the phone. A huge potrait of Mahinda hangs on the wall behind him. He is doodling as talks.


"Another protest march?... JVP?........Right....."

The door opens and Basil rushes into the room. Gota looks up and waves his hand towards the chair in front of him as he continues " Yes some Engine oil should be fine ....... What?....You don't have any? What happened to all that engine oil?......."

Basil looks impatient. He picks up a 'post-it' note from the desks and writes 'URGENT' and holds it up for Gota to see.

Gota looked at it and nodded. 'Just a minute Basil!' he said. Then he continued on the phone "...Yes about that Engine oil... You used it up yesterday?... Why? was there any protest marches yesterday?......You idiot! It was our guys! You threw burnt engine oil at our guys? You crazy fool! Yesterdays protest was organized by us! It was a protest march organized to protest against the protest march by JVP the day before! .... Yes I did tell you to 'throw engine oil if you come across any protest marches' but I didn't say you should do it to our own people you fool! "

Basil was getting annoyed. "Gota" he interrupted. "I need to talk to you now. I have some.."

Gota took the phone away and stared at Basil angrily. "Can't you see I am on the phone? I am dealing with issues of national security! Can't you wait for a few minutes? " Then he continued on the phone. "Oh where was I? Oh that engine oil stuff. OK you stupid don't do this again! Check whose protest march it is before you throw anything on them OK! If you do that again I will throw something much worse than burnt engine oil on you. By the way have you got that journalist I told you about the other day?... OK... Make sure there are some fractures... No.. don't kill him this time... "

Basil stands up "Our Aiya's(Brother's) life is in danger! Can you put that damned phone down Gota?" He shouts.

Gota looked startled. He slams the phone down immediately. "His life is in danger? Have they exploded a bomb near him? Is he hurt?"

"No No Nothing like that!. But he wants to go to Kilinochi and meet those murderers there!"

"What?.... Has he gone mad?"

"I don't know. I couldn't even get him on the phone for a long time after I heard this news. But when I did he didn't say much. He sounded very strange. He refused to even listen to me"

"What exactly did he say?"

"He said something like 'I have always listened to your advice Basil, but right now I need to do what I believe to be right. So don't bother me know' and he slammed the phone.

"It must be the stress Basil. I know Aiya is under a lot of stress these days. He really needs some rest. Then he will be fine. What what do we do now"

"He seemed to be hell bent on going there. And I have a feeling that he won't come back alive if he goes there'

"Of course he won't. You think those murderers would let him come back in one piece?"

"I really don't know what is in his mind now. He never starts anything without talking to me. I am really worried about his safety more than anything"

"Me too" said Gota. There was silence for a few seconds. Then Gota broke it.

"He is not going there" Gota uttered each syllable slowly and clearly. "He will not leave the Temple Trees for the next few weeks."

"How are you going to stop him?"

"I am the defense secretary remember? The armed forces of the state fall under my command. And that includes the presidential security devision"

"Are you crazy Gota? Are you going to place Aiya under house arrest at temple trees?"

"I hate to do this Basil. But if that is the only way to save Aiya from those blood thirsty killers, I will have to do it." With those words, Gota reached for the phone.

"Listen Gota, I don't think this is the best thing to do..."

"Hold it Basil!" Gota interrupted. " You may be aiya's advisor, but I don't need your advice now. No body is going to know about this except you,me,aiya and a handful of security personal. Everyone else will be informed that the president is busy and he has canceled all appointments for the next few weeks to focus on matters related to national security."

"You are crazy!" Shouted Basil

"Aiya has gone crazy!" Gota shouted back "I am just trying to save him" He picked up the phone


(continued)

Simoundou Chronicles - Part 2

(continued from Simoundou Chronicles - Part 1)

"I know they may want to kill me" said the President. "I have taken certain steps to minimize the risk, I can't tell you about them now. But in the unlikely even that I don't come back alive, there is this dependable leader who will look after the country until the next election. And here he comes!"

With that he turned to to right. Just then Ranil wickremasinghe walked in from the right hand side of the stage smiling and waving to the dumbstruck journalists.

"But Ranil is not even part of the government! He is your sworn enemy! And more importantly he is a born loser!"

"I have made an agreement with the Ranil. He is perfect for this job. Besides, how can we expect to make peace with Prabha if we can't even make peace with the leader of the opposition? But most importantly, as you all know, Ranil is the real leader of this country my dear friends! I am only a fake! So he is not a loser. He actually won the last presidential election."

With that the president paused, smiling. There was not a word from the journalists. The president continued.

"You all know how I "won" the last election. The LTTE cheated. They helped me by preventing millions of Tamils from voting. The results of the election did not really reflect the will of the people. It only reflected the will of the LTTE. Ranil would be the president now had the election been free and fair. So he IS the real leader of the country. The one chosen by the people."

"But will the parliament support this?"

"Of course it will! . Ranil's men will agree to this. And my men, who are a bunch of corrupt fools, will agree to anything as long as they continue to be minsters."

"But if you want to do something unconstitutional, you will need a 2/3 majority in parliament. Can you get that many mps to back you Mr president?"

"If I don't get enough backing then I will buy a few more mps from the opposition. All I need to do is to make them ministers!"

"But there aren't any vacancies for ministers Mr President! We already have too many ministers don't we? In fact we have the world record for the highest number of ministries! much higher than even India and China who have huge populations! "

"Well I will create a few by moving some existing ministers to some new ministries, the ministry of Hair Dressing and Cosmetic Affairs for Wimal, The ministry of Waste ,Corruption and inefficiency for a number of others. I will move Mervin to The Ministry of Thugs and Violent Affairs and Rohitha to the "Ministry of Oral disaster creation and mismanagement". Then there is "the ministry of Spineless LTTE Lap Dogs" for the TNA mps and "the ministry of double crossing" for GL peiris. That will free up a lot of existing ministries for new comers. you see?" Then there is also this "Ministry of Imagination and Fairy Tales" for Kehaliya.

"But Mr President, The whole idea seems ridiculous, I mean we are in the middle of a war, And we are making progress, and all of a sudden you want to go to Kilinochi to talk to the leader of the LTTE! They are exploding bombs in Colombo and killing civilians but you are willing to negotiate with terrorists! You said we should wipe out terrorism and..."

"Sorry to interrupt! The press conference is over! I wish I could spend more time with you but I just don't have enough time. So good bye!"

"But Mr President, Just one more question...."

But the president just walked away.

Meanwhile far away from all this, in Prabha's air conditioned bunker in an unknown location in the North, Prabha is eating 'Thosai' while watching "Iron Man" in a 42 inch plasma screen as Pottu walks in.

"Come Pottu! This looks damned good! If we could get one of those high tech suits, we can knock the hell out of those stupid Sinhalese Suckers!"

"Yes sir, But we'd need a smaller size as now we have mostly kids"

"Is that true Pottu? Do you think he is serious about coming here? I mean that fool Rajapakse?"

"I don't know yet, But I am quite surprised by this move sir!"

"Me too Pottu! I think this is another gimmick by that dog Rajapakse! May be just to appease those stupid foreign idiots!"

"May be sir, But if he is serious, he won't go back alive. will he?" Pottu asked with an evil smile.

(to be continued)

Simoundou Chronicles - Part 1

It was a dimly lit bedroom. The only sound was the sound of a clock ticking. Suddenly there was a loud ringing noise.
An arm stretched out from under the expensive blanket and stopped the alarm clock. The man on the bed slowly gets up,walks into the toilet and switches on the light. Suddenly he could see everything clearly. Including his face in the mirror. The face of president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The president looked tired. He couldn't sleep very well on the night before. He had so many things to worry about. War,poverty, debt , increasing prices of food and oil. The war was supposed to finish this year but now it looks like it is going to take longer. How much longer can the struggling economy cope with a costly war?

"There has to be a better way" he thought. As he stood there staring at his face in the mirror, something struck him. "Yes! There IS a better way"

The press conference was arranged in a hurry. "I am going to Killinochi. I am going to talk to Prabha directly. I am going to ask him if he thinks there is another way to end this conflict. Without fighting, without dividing the country into two."

"Mr President. Why did you take this decision all of a sudden?"

"I took this decision a long time ago. Remember my manifesto? I promised this years ago?"

"But why do we need to do this now? Aren't we winning the war?"

"Yes we are winning the war. And we will continue to win the ware. But as we continue to win this war for many many years,people all over our country are losing sons,daughters,fathers,brothers. Winning the war won't repair this damage."

"So are you going to surrender to the terrorists?"

"I am not going there to surrender. I am going to there to negotiate"

"But we have tried negotiating with them before! It never worked out!"

"It never worked out because we never trusted each other. We are always scared they will use the peace to trick us. And they are scared we would do the same"

"So how is it going to change this time?"

"Someone has to start trusting. And someone has to take the risks. I am going to travel to their place. It will send them a message about trust."

"How do you know they won't just kill you as soon as you get there?"

"Good point!" said the president. "I thought about that too." he continued.

(to be continued)