Victory of Sri Lankan army tarnished
AFTER a protracted conflict against the Tamil Tigers that shed a lot of blood and pulled down a vibrant economy, Sri Lanka is jubilant again. However, the war-winning hero General Sarat Fonseka, the former army chief is in military custody on sedition charge. He is the defeated candidate of the combined opposition in the recently conducted presidential election. Obviously, questions arise about his safety and the fairness of military justice. The general apprehension is since the president has ordered the court marshal of his top general he is not letting General Fonseka go scot-free with his military rank and popular image untouched. The military courts on many occasions raised more controversy than confidence on carriage of justice. The military courts are not permanent institutions; they are a contingency plan for military discipline and are best left to the barracks only. The popular president appears to be on a political vendetta skirted under military discipline of smudging the uniform of the general days before joining politics. The temptation of executing a political maneuver with stringent military law or, dealing military discipline with civil law is equally counterproductive and on many occasions harmful for a society. As a smart politician, President Rajapakse has his finger on the pulse of his electorate, harvesting repeatedly on his popularity following the destruction of Tamil Tigers. Followed by overwhelming mandate for the president, his United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFP) has secured resounding victory in the recent parliamentary election. The complete destruction of high intensity insurgency is rare in military history. The elimination of Tamil rebels in the northern districts of Sri Lanka will henceforth be a part of military study for many armed forces. In spite of years of war, the Sri Lankans today exude confidence about their future as I could read from the face and words of the newly appointed Sri Lankan envoy. Bangladesh is happy to participate in the training effort of the Sri Lankan armed forces in their difficult time. A commander in chief, the political boss of the forces, must always be demanding in battle and should also be generous in recognizing achievements. The apparent disappointment with the general must not blindfold the wisdom of Sri Lankan political foresight. Frustration and humiliation within the barracks is more dangerous than in the enemy camps. This generation of Tamils might have been defeated. However, if the cause is left unattended, the next generation may raise their ugly head. History has witnessed many times that a total military victory is difficult to manage, especially in a third world environment. To build the future of Sri Lanka majority Sinhalese will have to be magnanimous towards the northern Tamils. Sri Lanka should treat the demoralized Tamils carefully with political accommodation short of sovereign right, to draw them into the main stream of the national activity. Victory has many fathers and eventually a deliberate quarrel broke out as to who is the architect of this outstanding victory - the military or the political bosses of the country. Before dissecting further, one must also observe that such conflicting claims on accomplishments surface in the third world countries where integrity of political supremacy is vaguely understood and frequently distorted. There is a general tendency to look for scapegoat down the ladder to hide personal failures. Many officers of the Pakistan army privately confess today that late Z A Bhutto, while trying to absolve himself from the debacle of '71, put all the blame on the military; that hastened his downfall and eventual hanging. General Fonseka moved too fast to make political mileage from the knockout victory. He did not get the maneuver of the opposition politicians to slice the war winning cake of popularity between President Rajapakse and himself to stop the landslide of the incumbent president in the elections. Fonseka's hope for presidential candidacy was premature and made the thankful president hostile who feared that military popularity would be converted into a vote catching tool. The result was disastrous for the victorious military establishment. General Fonseka badly lost in the presidential bid and well over fifty senior officers of the Sri Lankan army lost their jobs and landed in trouble. Many generals in third world countries do not care that their restive ambition for political gain destroys the finest professionals who serve under them. In the melee for political ambition of the kind, we have lost many fine career officers that eventually led to appointment of questionable qualities to higher echelons of leadership. General Fonseka, without a political platform and entirely dependent on halfhearted support of the opposition parties, as expected, was soundly defeated in the presidential bid. The precipitated move by the general made the proud army a doubtful political platform. Hopefully, this feeling would not persist to make a lasting scar on the honorable profession or, still worse, destabilize Sri Lanka. People are always godly in their wisdom. The sympathetic electorates have given the general a slot in the recently conducted parliamentary election. He should have taken the lesson from General Fidel Ramos of Philippines who loyally served President Corazon Aquino for six years after retirement through the turbulent days of 1986-92 before being propelled to the presidency by the people. The people have given General Fonseka an opportunity to lick his wounds and mature in the parliament, if only the grateful-President-turned-sworn-political-enemy allows him to do so. Meanwhile, who will take the responsibility for the dishonour of the war winning army and disgrace of so many battle-hardened heroes now in trouble? This question deserves an answer from General Fonseka. Like the army of Julius Caesar, the Sri Lankan army, in spite of the fall of the general from grace, deserves hero's pageantry for the victory at a colossal cost of lives and limbs. The wrong move by the commander must not be allowed to make this outstanding victory into morning mist, ready to go with the rising sun. President Bush never faced or fired a bullet and yet remained responsible for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his father, Bush Senior, is still an American hero for the first round of Iraq war. War or peace, it is always a political decision. The highest political leadership carries the weight of it. Soldiers are the heroes of a successful campaign. They must be given due honor for sacrificing their lives for the cause of a nation. The author is the founder DG of the SSF.
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