Wimal Weerawansa, the ardent defender of the regime, staunch
nationalist, anti-imperialist and in fact the jaathiye panchaayudaya (self-proclaimed) had come. He had seen, he had chit-chatted, he had
posed for photographs and he had left.
Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera blessed them all with the customary ‘suwapath wethva’ and went into his
bedroom. It had been an animated
conversation. They had talked of the
Executive Presidency and other constitutional matters. They had discussed the
state of the country. They had exchanged
pleasantries. The venerable thero was
exhausted. He reclined in an easy chair
and reflected. He thought.
‘What was that all about?
Why on earth did I agree to meet Wimal?
What was I trying to achieve?
What was his objective?
‘I met him in my capacity as the Convener of the Movement
for a Just Society, this is true, but to what end? Wimal is Wimal. A good orator. An excellent communicator. He knows all about brands, brand building
and brand positioning. I was in the
photographs that made it to the newspapers.
So what? I am not the one getting
the political mileage. I am not the one
who is getting brand exposure.
‘I should have known
better. After all I know Wimal. I know his history. I know of his
hunger-strike. I know the threats and
withdrawal of threats. After each
feigned disagreement with the President, Wimal comes out strong defending the
regime. The last line of every episode
has been the same. He says that he will
not allow the regime to be defeated. Aanduwa wattanna denne nehe.
‘Maybe I am getting old. If I had any doubts, all the hue and cry
about Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit should have laid them to rest. One would have thought that Wimal would have
suffered a coronary if Ramaphosa ever came.
Well, he has come now. Wimal has
not announced a hunger strike. He has not even done a Palitha Thevarapperuma,
threatening to resign knowing well that Mahinda would bail him out at the last
moment. Someone said that Ramaphosa was
but a tourist and that seems to have been enough for Wimal.
‘Wimal has words. Had he been in the opposition he would have
creamed whoever said that Ramaphosa was a tourist. Actually I wish there was someone like Wimal
in the opposition. They just have
voice-cut politicians. Sloth is their
middle name. Now Wimal, had he been in
the opposition, would have asked the Government if the TNA was a bunch of wild
elephants roaming around in Wilpattu. He would have asked the Government if the
TNA’s offices was some culturally and historically significant archaeological
site. He would have asked why Ramaphosa
has not included Sigiriya, Dambulla and Kandy in his itinerary. He didn’t do that. He remained silent.
‘So what was this visit all
about? Wimal doesn’t want regime-change.
He does not want Mahinda ousted. He is
not interested in a just society because he doesn’t have the eyes to see all
the injustice happening around him and even if he did his biting wit does not
bend this way and that to twist a phrase and deliver scathing criticism.
‘This was not a visit to pay
respects. It was not to obtain blessings.
Maybe I should just treat it all with equanimity. I was tricked, this is true. But I cannot, as a bikkhu, turn away anyone, even Wimal. And in any case, I have spent hours and hours
with people as dodgy as Wimal or worse.
Yes, that’s it. I will take that
line. It’s all I can salvage after being
turned into a pawn in one of Wimal’s many publicity chess games.’
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