Sri Lanka: Jiggery-pokery Drama in Army

Expose` : Good governance commander in chief completes two years but MR ‘s control still within army !

by Our Defence Correspondent- Jun 29, 2017

Jun 29, 2017

( June 29, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) When you can’t win a person on merits or performances in duties then you must play the game of monkey politics while spoiling the principles and the managing rules in the institution you are responsible for. Often, those who live with inferiority complex tend to play with rhetoric with rhythms of egos. They are afraid of the merit-based system. They are afraid of systems based on transparency and accountability. But they talk loud, about justice and other noble ideas to con the external parties who feed them. What a world we live in!

The cheap propaganda to achieve the dream of appointing the next Sri Lankan Army Commander is somewhat showing a jiggery-pokery drama in higher circles at the present.

As the Commander in Chief, President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed the Lt. Gen. Crisanthe De Silva to head the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) while promoting him as a four Star General. The CDS seat has been vacant since 16 June, after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal (Retired) K A Gunatilleke.

We wish our new CDS all the best for his service during the next two years. Despite some difficulties and less-appropriate action as the Army Commander, General Crisanthe De Silva played a significant role in course correction in the Sri Lanka Army as an institution.

Subsequently, the appointment of new CDS, the Commander of Army will be vacant unless President gave orders to the CDS to overlook the Sri Lanka army till his retirement scheduled to be in third week of August this year.

However, many Media and social webs are on rampage attacking senior army officers who are on the line of expectation to be next commander. This, unfortunately, is not a new trend or an exception in the Army as the largest state organ in the country, but in fact, well spread among other institutions as well. Therefore, one against another came into this kind of common habitual attitude in many institutions.

a well-informed source within the President’s Secretariat told the Sri Lanka Guardian, that the President himself expressed displeasures and agony over the internal “greedy struggle” for grabbing the chair of next Army Commander. That is indeed highly disturbing to the President.

On the one hand some senior officers are engaging in mudslinging attacks on their competitors while using their mouthpieces websites and other tools; On the other hand, some senior officers are using their proxies to convince the President, so then they assume they can bend the President’s decision. The bottom line is that this kind of behaviour is confirming the depth of deterioration of state apparatus in the country.

Meanwhile, there was a very interesting text message received by the President Maithripala Sirisena two days ago when the Mockingbirds declared war among themselves. The extract of the message says;

Regarding appointing the Army commander;

Best advice is to allow present Army commander General Crisanthe De Silva to continue till 21 August 2017.

What would be the consequences the President has to face if Major Gen. XXXX (name withheld) is appointed, these are the consequences for President.

1. President will lose his credibility
2. All religious leaders will go against him.
3. Majority of the members of the army will be unhappy for a wrong decision
4. President will create a very bad presidency in the Army for violating army procedures (detail of this item withheld by Sri Lanka Guardian as we find contents are highly sensitive)
5. Breaking and violating good governance policy.
6. President will be blamed (by educated people) that merit and seniority have no place in this government.

After seeing the message on his device President Maithripala Sirisena had given the usual light smile with deep thought, Sri Lanka Guardian learns.

The battle is on its edge. The most important factor is how the winner is going to implement his task for the benefits of the institution and the public of this nation in general.

Nothing could be better than recalling the sage words of the song by Johnny Cash when we are experiencing moments like this ;

There’s a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won’t be treated all the same
There’ll be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around
…

Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around
….

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

Enjoy the song here;