Daily News Editorial

Books on war heroes

01 November 2016

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was chief guest at the launch of former Army Commander Lt.Gen Gerry De Silva’s addition to the latest of the books on the war, titled, ‘War Heroes killed in Action” has commended all such books written about the country’s war heroes to be included in present day school syllabi. Rajapaksa may be having good reasons to make this request, as the leader who presided over the end of the three decades long war, where, a sizable portion of any book written on the war will no doubt be devoted to him as the commander-in-chief.

Be that as it may, this also leaves one with the question as to which war hero’s account is to be selected as deserving to be included in the school curriculum. Prior to the latest release there have been two accounts written on the war. There was the famous “Gota’s War” and “Road to Nandikadal” by Maj. General Kamal Gunaratne. Both books, as in the case of the latest one, featured the Rajapaksas and those close to the former regime, at their grand launches, which also gives one a clear indication as to their slant. Now we are told that Field Marshal Sararth Fonseka too is going to write his own account of the war.

Assuming that Rajapaksa’s request is carried out by the present government and schools are ordered to include the accounts of war heroes in their curriculum, which war hero’s book will be the choice? Will it be an account written about one single individual or all war heroes in general? Will the texts introduced to schools depend on which government is in office? Will a particular war hero’s book that is already made a standard text in schools, be withdrawn with the change of government and replaced by one where the accent is on the adulation of a single individual as against men on the battle field who waged the real war? Naturally there can be only one war hero’s book for the schools. Or will there be a special committee appointed by the government to decide which book is worthy of being introduced to schools?

Be that as it may, Rajapaksa, true to form, seized on the occasion to pillory the government for what he sees as the shabby treatment of the the country’s war heroes. Riding on his hobby horse, the former President accused the government of treating the war heroes like war criminals in the name of reconciliation. What was left unsaid was that the government was pandering to the whims of the west and the Tamil diaspora at the expense of the country’s war heroes. The general tone and tenor of the speech was that the the men who fought on the battlefield and liberated the country were today being hounded and made to suffer indignities like being hauled before courts or thrown behind bars.

No one will dispute the sacrifices made by the valiant men to rid the country of a malignant canker and saved it from disintegration. The book has quite rightly honoured heroes of the calibre of the late Denzil Kobbekaduwa, Wijaya Wimalaratne et al. But there have also been the odd ones out who had not only brought dishonour and shame to the men of the ilk mentioned above but also left a huge blot on the tri services by their acts of criminality, as the investigations are unraveling with each passing day.

Rtd. General Gerry De Silva, we are sure, will be the first to agree that the bad eggs should be dealt with according to the law. The newspapers these days are full of accounts of ex servicemen on the rampage involved in murders, extortion and even rape. If these elements are allowed to go unpunished, in the name of protecting the war heroes, it will only bring a bad name on the entire army and tarnish its image in the eyes of the general public as General Gerry De Silva himself will readily agree.

The former Army Commander would also not endorse the army being used by politicians to act as their storm troopers, and what is more, to bump off their political opponents or get rid of worrisome journalists or those obstructing the designs of VVIP brats. Less said about servicemen used to perform domestic chores at VIP homes or as kennel keepers in the homes VIP siblings, the better.

Gen. De Silva, no doubt, would have been appalled at the manner in which a former Army Commander - his one time comrade in arms, was dragged away like a common criminal and made to stand trial before a kangaroo court before being unceremoniously thrown behind bars, all because he dared challenge the reigning political king.

It is therefore doubtful if Gen. Gerry De Silva made the right choice for chief guest for the launch of his otherwise praiseworthy effort in chronicling yet another account of our redoubtable war heroes.