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| Sunday, 02 April 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The echoes of Helping Hambantota Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake Friday evening at the Green Elephant; the usual three-piece musical group brought for more enjoyment on Friday nights, had begun their repertoire with the Rogue Elephant Blues and not usual oldie, Baby Elephant Walk.
It's the place where most rogue elephants go to when they find the going here too hard. Just like Sirisena Cureyaliya who was jerked out of retirement and his pajamas in the land of the kangaroos, to be the rogue elephant candidate for mayor of Colombo, changing his pajamas for a sarong and shirt to mix with his old catchers in Colombo Central. It's a reverse of the motto of determination which says: "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going". With the rogue elephants it's a case of: "When the going gets hard, the hard go Down Under". The refrain of discussion at the watering hole of the Green Elephant was Helping Hambantota. As they swished down their premium liquor, the jumbo captains of commerce and trade and dyed-in-the wool green elephants politicos, were all nodding their heads and slowly swaying their trunks, punctuated by comments about Helping Hambantota. Many an elephant had scars of political wounds on its body. A few had crutches for support. It was a combination of injury of defeat in the Presidential Election and the internecine fighting within the Green Elephant stable, with more wounded in the latter. The jumbo murmur was broken by Milinda Alivalige who said, "I told you guys not to go along with the Helping Hambantota jazz. No one bothered to listen to me. Not even the leader. See what's happened now. We've got to hide both our trunks and tails after the verdict from Hulftsdorp." "We've have had enough of your damn punditry. Who cares what you said about Helping Hambantota. See what you did with our nomination list for the Colombo Municipal elections? What have you to say about all that tippex on the nomination list, and keeping that stalwart Sanghadasa out?" That was the reaction of Ali Mohammediya of impeachment reversal fame. It was clear the fighting at the green elephant stable was spilling over to the more refined premises of the Green Elephant, too. "Let's not evade the issue. What's bothering us all are not Colombo and its big stink caused by all of you for the past 50 years. We'll have to face that problem soon. But the real issue is who decided to make Helping Hambantota among the key campaign issues last November. All it achieved has been to make our Chintana target at Hambantota an even bigger hero," said Navin Alipetiya, from the hills. "There's no single person to blame. It was part of campaign strategy. We planted the story with our leading Sunday trumpeter, who gave it all the jumbo dung spread sought. I then took it to the Police. It's as simple as that," said Kabir Hashimaliya, gathering a little courage, after the humiliation he suffered from the Huftsdorp verdict. "We know you took it to the police. But didn't you bother about the veracity of the story. Our leader blindly picked it up from the leading Sunday trumpeter, and went all along the campaign trail telling the people we will take Chintana Mahinda to the cleaners when we win. What happened was Chintana getting many more votes from Hambantota and all over the South, giving him the image of a great helper," said Gamini Athaagala, a senior jumbo from Wayamba, sidelined by the leader in his desire to promote the young and ambitious Akila Alibetta in the Wayamba jumbo turf. That was when Malik Alihenduva, who controls every move of the leader and the jumbo cabal of the old-school tie, decided to speak. "Many of you are ignorant of facts. We did not act about Helping Hambantota on our own. We were encouraged from big people on the other side. Why do you think we said the green elephants were ready to clasp the hand of Attanagalle once we won? There was much give and take, in the bid to defeat the Southern Hero, and prevent a new Southern dynasty come to the fore. That's how we got to know about Helping Hambantota in the first place," he said with authority. "Don't blame Kabir Hashimaliya for the small role he played in a much bigger drama," he added. The secrets were spilling out. "Do you mean that is why the Police cooperated so readily with Kabir Hashimaliya in taking his complaint to court so fast, without even a shred of evidence?" asked Navin Alipetiya. "Well you can ask that from the IGP. Of course he has already said he did
not know what was going on all the while. He's trying hard to show that his
khaki is clean," said Milinda Alivalige. "All I can say is that Helping
Hambantota has helped Chintana Mahinda a great deal more than it ever helped
us, and is continuing to do so" he added. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
There was not much laughter around after Sakala Banda who made an open
pledge to wake up and raise the injured and sleeping elephant, and bring it
to action again, had made a quick exit Down Under, without even telling his
mat about it, as the Sinhalese say. 
