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GUNADASA AMERASEKERA SAYS SRI LANKA HAS TURNED IN TO A CAMP OF NEO-COLONIALISTS AFTER RANIL WICKREMESINGHE CAME TO POWER
Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara
(Photo courtesy: The Library of Congress)
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
October 13, 07.30 AM:Dr. Gunadasa Amerasekera, Sri Lanka’s leading novelist, author and critic said the island nation had been turned into a camp of slavery by the neo-colonialists led by the United States of America after the government of Ranil Wickremesinghe came to power.
Fifty years ago, the Indian Ocean country was at least an independent, free and sovereign nation by name and its government had the right of acting on its own. But it was obvious the country had been enslaved after the present government came to power, said Amerasekera, contributing a special article to the Sunday Divaina, to commemorate the leading Sunday newspaper’s 22nd Anniversary.
“Today this nation,” lamented Gunadasa Amerasekera, “has lost its independence and has turned in to an enslaved colony.”
He said undoubtedly the country had reverted back in to the status of the past as a colony and signs of it could be clearly identified in all fields.
Dr. Gunadasa Amerasekera alleged that the present rulers of the country were some of us only by the color of their skins. By all other means they were agents of the imperialists. They were only yes men who would carry out the orders of their masters. As it was well argued by Professor Nalin de Silva, Amerasekera said the present government was not a government in its fullest sense but close to a NGO run by countries like USA, UK and Norway. The agents were discharging their duties quite enthusiastically. Due to the great enthusiasm, the present rulers went to foreign countries and served their masters performing menial jobs by becoming shoeshine boys, Amerasekera charged.
Citing examples, the author pointed out the conduct of the country’s Trade Minister Ravi Karunanayaka who went to Cancun, Mexico and endorsed enthusiastically the agriculture policy dictated to us by the United States, which made our farmers commit suicide by drinking poison. While all other countries in Asia condemned the US policy as detrimental to their nations only the enslaved colony of Sri Lanka endorsed it in a loud voice. Amerasekera said, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to show that whole-heartedly, endorsed the US policy and told farmers to abandon their paddy fields. What did he tell the United Nations regarding the Iraqi invasion? He endorsed the status of a world policeman for the United States. We showed the whole world that we were indeed an enslaved colony by endorsing the Iraqi invasion, an act even the closest allies of the US, in Western Europe did not approve. No doubt, the whole world would treat us a “pariah” nation, Amerasekera charged.
Asked Amerasekera, “What could we see if we looked at the sphere of economy?”
He said all assets of the nation were being sold to foreigners. Our corporations, even forests, rivers, and other national resources were being sold to the foreigners. Even the historical Galle Fort had been given over. We would be living at the behest of the white man once again he charged.
In this new colony of Sri Lanka our ancient culture was being dissolved. In short Sri Lanka had become the first colony of the neo-colonialists, Amerasekera charged.
He said, it was imperative for us as a nation to look at the problem in a new angle. He said many tried to recognize the problem like the legendary blind men who described the elephant by touching different parts of the elephant’s body. They failed to recognize the problem as a whole and understand it as a direct result of neo-colonialism. The progress towards enslavement had now reached its climax, he complained.
Prabhakaran, who tirelessly and doggedly tried to divide the country, was seen by many as a result of Tamil racism. The NGO peace crows that were waiting to feed on the carcass would like to show us that our injustices to the Tamils gave birth to a Prabhakaran. The author said Prabhakaran was not born neither due to Tamil racism nor the alleged injustices. He said he was created by the neo-colonialists. As a whole he was a creation by imperialism, the author alleged.
Gunadasa Amerasekera said Prabhakaran was created neither for the love of him nor for the love of the Tamil race. He was only created as a means to install neo-colonialism in the country. If he ever tried to rise against neo-colonialism he would be crushed and destroyed mercilessly, the author pointed out.
He said he first pointed this out in his book, “Ganadura Mediyama” written two decades ago. The terrorism was not created by a language problem or an ethnic conflict. It was born due to an international conspiracy, the author alleged. The author said it was now as clear as day after the country had become an enslaved nation and warned that we should not try to describe the problem as the blind men who tried to analyze the elephant.
First of all, the author said, the country should decide whether after 50 years of freedom we were ready to continue as an enslaved nation. If we preferred freedom and independence once again, we had only one sole path to follow. It was only the path of a struggle of a national liberation. There was no other way.
A struggle of national liberation meant opening the eyes of the people, educating them about the true depths in to which they had fallen, and arming them with this new knowledge to build up a new leadership of the country. In this we could not afford to act like the blind men the author warned. He said some had preached that the UNF and the PA should get together to defeat Prabhakaran. Some newspapers tended to write their editorials in that direction
Amerasekera said this was a proposal to make the people forget that we had been enslaved by the neo-colonialists. Both fronts contributed to the modern mess of making this nation’s enslavement Gunadasa Ameresekera charged. If the two fronts were to unite, since they also contributed to create the problem, how could they save the country? If they contributed to the neo-colonialism that created Prabhakaran how could the unity defeat Prabhakaran and save the country, he questioned.
Gunadasa Amerasekera categorically stated that the only way to save the country and defeat Prabhakaran was through a national liberation struggle
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