Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Shoots From The Hip As Well As The Lip
By Col. R. Hariharan
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother, is perhaps the most controversial personality in Sri Lanka. He is interviewer’s delight because of his forthright, no-holds barred comments are sure to be a hit.
At the same time, he is media man’s nightmare because Gotabhaya does not allow critical comments go unchallenged and makes no bones about it (pun not intended).
None can deny Sri Lanka benefited from the veteran’s return from the U.S. in 2005.
He took upon the most thankless job at that time – manning the Defence Ministry when war looked imminent. His hands-on operational experience enabled him to provide seamless connectivity between national leadership and military that had eluded his predecessors in earlier episodes of Eelam war.
Undoubtedly his sibling relationship with the President helped him in his task. Gotabhaya had the ear of the President and probably also persuaded his brother to act upon his suggestions. And this enabled him during the war to cruise through the maze of bureaucracy and ward off political interference in dealing with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that had been the bane of Sri Lanka.
Thus he was able to help President Rajapaksa achieve his goal of ending Prabhakaran’s infamous two-and-a-half-decade-long reign of insurgency and terrorism. In this task, he had the indispensible support of General Sarath Fonseka as army commander.
Fonseka’s masterly execution of operations turned the war victorious, although some of his methods were questionable. Despite Gotabhaya’s estrangement with the ambitious Fonseka after the war, it was Gotabhaya who recommended his fellow Gajaba Regiment-mate Fonseka to head the army. And it was he who recommended the extension of the General’s tenure by one more year. Apparently blood proved thicker than military camaraderie when Fonseka chose to contest for presidency; Gotabhaya joined in the government’s orchestrated campaign to malign the General’s contribution to the military victory.
While Gotabhaya’s role was clear and well defined during the war, it has become increasingly hazy after the war. He has his own opinions on almost all issues handled by the government and he does not mind airing them loud and clear. Quite frequently, his opinions seem to prevail though they are at times in variance with government’s views.
His abrasive comments often go against government’s carefully articulated explanations full of political and diplomatic cliché. We can attribute this to his military service; old soldiers tend to speak their mind loudly without bothering about Chatham Hall rules. So Gotabhaya’s acerbic comments leave a lot of red faces as government representatives have to assuage ruffled feelings.
What makes Gotabhaya tick? Is it his sibling relationship with the President? Is it his old army habit of shooting from the hip and getting away with it? Or is he simply relishing the exercise of power in controlling the entire decision making process of national defence machinery? Probably a combination of all these make Gotabhaya’s role in policy and decision making process in Sri Lanka an unchallenged and extraordinary one.
And his strong-willed personality helps him to have his way. This comes out clearly when he said: “I am totally committed, I know what needs to be achieved and I work towards those objectives” in an interview on the eve of the last Victory Day. Its significance lies in the absence of any reference to national goals or objectives in his statement makes, though he does refer to them elsewhere in the interview. And it does not reflect humility as his strong point.
When he assumed office as Defence Secretary Public Security, which covered all aspects of non-military security, including policing and paramilitary activities, was clubbed with Defence. As the Emergency and the Prevention of Terrorism Act were then in place, probably it suited to have both defence and public security departments function under the Defence Secretary for real time coordination.
At the same time, it enabled the Defence Secretary wield enormous power. And naturally Gotabhaya’s name was either directly or indirectly linked to a number of aberrations of law enforcement (and non enforcement) including ‘white van abductions’, random killings and police excess under the garb of PTA. This led to a lot of hue and cry from the media and opposition politicians against the Defence Secretary. Though Gotabhaya dissociated himself from such extra legal activities, he came out with hammer and tongs against his detractors in the media.
He had no illusions about what is responsible press – it is the one that does not question his intent or action.
So it is not surprising the Wikipedia entry on Gotabhaya lists a whole series of controversies linked to him. The impressive but unsavoury list includes the arrest of Karuna, former LTTE commander, in Britain for entering with a false diplomatic passport in September 2007; threatening journalists on several occasions (including telling two journalists of the state-owned Lake House publications to stop criticising armed forces “what will happen to you is beyond my control”!); alleged call to the editor of Daily Mirror and threatening her; and threatening to ‘exterminate’ another Daily Mirror journalist for writing articles about the plight of civilian war casualties. Of course, Gotabhaya has denied these allegations. Yet they seem to keep on piling up in the post war period despite routine denials.
When I read through his speeches and interviews, Gotabhaya comes out as an articulate, street-smart and politically savvy personality. Though he has repeatedly claimed his lack of intent to join politics, probably a change of mind would come into play in aid of his brother when a political contingency arises. That makes him an important personality of Sri Lanka in the future as well.
Disturbing dimensions
Having seen his ideas and operational style succeed during the war, Gotabhaya has apparently decided to play a role he thinks fit in the post war period as well. His strong influence (it is more than clout) was brought to bear upon making structural changes in the government. Usually, this is a privilege zealously guarded by political leaders. But Gotabhaya has shown even bureaucrats can poach into political pastures. And that is not going to set a precedent, because Gotabhaya is more than a bureaucrat and above a politician. And he enjoys this unique privilege with his brother’s blessings from the top.
Given this environment, Gotabhaya’s unchecked freedom to operate has two disturbing dimensions. One is his attitude to Tamil minorities’ woes that does not give credence to President Rajapaksa’s repeated assurance that he would do justice to Tamils. The other is his penchant to involve troops increasingly in civilian tasks.
On Gotabhaya’s attitude to Tamils, suffice to quote The Hindu – a newspaper which is generally supportive of the Sri Lanka government – editorial comment on August 16, 2011: “Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s comments, made in the course of an interview to Headlines Today television, reveal a troubling contempt for the Tamil minority. He has trashed ‘the political solution talk,’ asserting, among other things, that it was ‘simply irrelevant’ because ‘we have ended this terrorism in Sri Lanka,’ making the egregious assertion that when the 13th Amendment was being drafted, ‘the government of Sri Lanka was not involved,’ and proposing that with the LTTE ‘gone,’ there was no further need to amend the Constitution.
President Rajapaksa would be well advised to distance himself swiftly from his brother’s stream-of-consciousness on sensitive issues that are not his business. This includes an outrageous comment that because a Tamil woman, an ‘LTTE cadre’ who was a British national, interviewed in the Channel 4 documentary was ‘so attractive’ but had been neither raped nor killed by Sri Lankan soldiers, the allegation of sexual assault by soldiers could not be true. For this statement alone, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa must be taken to task for ill conceived comments.” Of course nobody seems to have taken him to task; so it is not surprising that Sri Lanka government is dragging its feet over the ethnic reconciliation process.
Gotabhaya’s concept on employment of troops in peace time appears questionable. During the last three years after the Eelam War, armed forces excelled themselves in military tasks like mine clearance, handling of prisoners of war and handling assistance in reconstruction activities to help war affected civilians, establishment of military cantonments, etc. However, things changed after urban development became the passion of Gotabhaya. So Urban Development, an activity not connected with Defence – except perhaps in military governments – was added to the Defence Ministry.
There is no doubt this was done because Gotabhaya wanted to clean up the mess Colombo had become after the Colombo Municipal Council spent more time on backroom politics than civic affairs. And he did clean up – not hesitating to use troops to clear the garbage. But he did not stop there.
With a determination largely absent in the bureaucracy in the post war period, Gotabhaya now appears to be working to involve the military in as many civilian tasks as possible. Under his stewardship they are now into activities like selling vegetables, running a dairy farm which plans to import a few thousand cows to supply milk to the people, clearing of drains and operating air services to Jaffna.
They are also involved in some other questionable activities like the use of troops in breaking up protest demonstrations, military intelligence personnel snooping into civilian lives, and unsavoury association of senior officers with some of the political bigwigs. Military officers’ names have been dragged into a few other activities bordering on the illegal acts like kidnapping.
History is full of examples of political repercussions of prolonged use of troops outside the military domain in democracies. In South Asia itself two such examples are Pakistan and Bangladesh; in Bangladesh political consciousness asserted to push the military from the seat of power while in Pakistan democracy is still compelled to dance to the military tune.
The real danger of employing troops in civilian tasks in peace time is the militarisation of mind both among the troops and the public. Militarisation of mind is a slow and insidious process when armed forces are increasingly involved, wittingly or otherwise, in civilian tasks. This is what happened in Pakistan when its large professional army believed it could perform better than what civilians did including running the government. Burma is yet another example where the army, invited to bring in stability, stayed on because it thought civilians were no good to govern themselves. In both the countries people are paying the price with the army controlling the vehicles of governance and democracy.
Perhaps Gotabhaya’s grooming as an infantry officer, and two decades of meritorious performance in frontline operations against the Tamil Tigers, has made him shoot from the hip as well as the lip. Whatever be the reason, he is playing a role larger than his modest one as Secretary for Defence in peacetime.
President Rajapaksa who is the commander in chief of all forces, also has the defence portfolio under him. This makes Gotabhaya the most powerful man in Sri Lanka next only to the President. So it is not surprising that many in the opposition see him as a loose cannon firing at will, beyond the reach of parliament.
While there is no indication of armed forces usurping civilian power, there is an urgent need for a system of checks and balances in their employment in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a mature democracy, despite its ‘democratic’ aberration in resolving the longstanding ethnic dissonance. So we can expect the country not allow unchecked application of military power for prolonged periods. If timely action is not taken, then it will be a sad day for the people.
Gota two decades at front lines?
Gota ran away for fifteen years to America.
Quite right. He never spent twenty years in the Army. He would then have been a Lt/ Gen not a Lt/ Col.
Did he resign or “desert” I mean did he ask his brother the MP to ask his party leader Chandrika to help him retire earlier , which is type of desertion. If you knew that your Station Elephant Pass was going to be disstroyed. So I am also a Patriot, having fought at Pallai and won the fight as a simple Lt..
sure thing…which is why he came back and took up the thankless task of organizing the war effort when no one even dare speak against the ltte…just stop being too foolish…
Like your name you got a singithi mole. Like your Hero Gota, you shoot from the lip.
Everybody in Sri Lanka Contributed to win the war. No single individual or family can claim they did it not even GSF.
LTTE was weak by the time this ass came toe Sri Lanka. If not for is Brother’s LTTE sponsord win Gota will be still working in 7/11 in now Bankrupt San Bernadino City California.
Do not be myopic, Idiot
The myopic idiot is not singithi, it’s you . You all are just numbers worthless, Gota definelly is a hero, who did what others couldn’t do. True everybody contributed, but not your kind even when the war was going on , this is exactly what your kind did. Now want credit for it without giving it to the heroes who did it. Without Gota and the President , the war was and the plight of the country would have been history. Idiot.
take one notice one…Sigithi though with he simple and small mind speaks the truth…past does not matter..HE WON THE WAR!!
period IDIOT!
Gota literally ran away to the US and got released from the Army thru’ MR’s influence.
Guess what..Released on grounds of Mental Unsuitability…Whatever said and done, that is very correct and continues to be very corrrect .
Still mentally unsuitable, be it the army or for any publis position..Leave alone the important Defence Secretary..Wonder what the leader and Boss has to say about this..This Govt is one big CURSE and the rogues and parasites of such callibre need to be kicked out and tried, by any form of means.
Today, the country faces dire consequences brought about about by such immoral and disgraceful rulers.
Is it today that the country is facing dire consequences, what about before this government came in to power. If there was a delay of just a few months we would be taking orders from Piribakaran, please think of the consequences then. This man saved Srilanka from total anhilation from tigers.
Gotabaya is a nut case he is in power because the sinhales are illiterates
You mean Kavun Kanna Yodhayaas???
There are many capable personalities in the country who are not in line with political framework. As long as public can see the end results of any kind of activity or operation within acceptable limits, it will be another tick for that personality. Time consumed by so called democratic process in developing or under developed countries could be much shortened by honest personalities backed by sibling relationship. It is up to the citizens to measure such achievements before empowering such people in the future.
that is why we saw the war dragging out for thirty years with those capable people. Talk sense. Capable people need the political will and the backing to achieve great things. He being presidents brother helped in most times where war related decisions were made, though there is criticism of a sahodara sangamaya. What Srilanka needed was an end to the brutal terrorism and end the war with self respet. Even with a sahodari sangamaya if the opposition could have supplied one with Chandrika at helm.
No one can deny Sri Lanka benefited from the veterans return from US in 2005? Many people, tens of thousands will deny this SUNDAY LEADER, if Sri Lanka was to be two races of people under one country. Here the Sinhala Government lied to the other countries before hand that they were getting rid of the terrorists and killed the innocent Tamils under the pretext of TERRORISTS. He returned in 2005 to execute the planned genocide of Tamils. Still, today the genocide is continuing. The Countries who supported this Genocide is keeping quite so as escaping from getting the blame. As the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu said “the Indian Government instead of acting like a tiger, the Centre is bending like a mouse before the Sri Lankan government”. Doesn’t it prove India was “one of those countries which helped Sri Lanka”? The ONLY PEOPLE who won’t deny is the People who think, in their dream, that Sri Lanka belong to Sinhalese.
This paper is nothing but a forum for anti srilankan campaigning for the diaspora Tamils. Shame Fredrika Janz, whickn NGO is feeding you. Retribution will come your way not by any body but naturally.
Are you Raja perera or Raja Periyanayagam.
Bla bla Genocide…how can people like you sleep at night after having funded your PIG to slaughter nearly 100,000 inncocent civilions over 20 years!! Genocide my ass…come back from your slave job in your western hell hole and see how many tamils live in Colombo…genocide!!
Finally, what is this talk about two countries?? What two countries! Three is only one Sri Lanka, all can live happily if they respect the Sri Lankan identity..but then how would you know, you probably had decided washing toiltes in “western” countries was much better!!
Being a tamil, I am shocked to see about perfect comments made by Singalese. Finshhing the war was not an issue any time .Always India stopped it and this time India took a revengue agaist Prba but what cost?? ,Who died tamils and singalse.No need to have Gotta to fish the illegal war. He killed people and should not give a credit.All credit should go to Indan because they planned for peace tall, seperate Karuna from LTTE.Ranil did all the ground work via India on a long term plan,.Stupid LTTE achieved nothing wihtout looking what there are doing. Siting in Jungles with innocent Tamil Cadres. Again all LTTE leaders are with GOVERNMENT ,Karuna, KP., Jaya Master, Thamalin, Pottu Amman(who killed Prba) from back, living overseas secretly with lot of money, Pilliyan so who else is missing. LTTE AND GONVERNMENT ARE SAME DOING THE SAME .
i heard gota went to usa to avoid the war and only came back when chance to be defense secretary was available.
Gotabhaya is not a war hero as some of his cronies try to make out. He virtually ran away from the army and went to US. Worse he became a US citizen. That speaks volume regarding his claim for patriotism. The profanities he heaps on those who interview him are beyondbelief. It only shows his low breed and upbringing. If a man is to be judged on what he speaks rather than what he does, then Gotabhaya is uncivilized and unlettered to the extreme.
Well said Mr. Raja Perera. Many Sri Lankans in Sri Lanka and abroad know this. Those who are living here in Sri Lanka are scared to talk and keeping their tongue in control for fear of their life. There will be a time in the near future, every thing will bundle up and burst like a thunder. At that time things will be different.
Gota cannot fire from his head (brain). Reason: only hot air will be flying out.
India is bending like a mouse because it was India which trained and funded the Terrorists. And made it a safe haven. So India feels guilty about this. Gota being a patriot was able to get rid of the terrorists. And withstood the pressure b rought by the Western powers. Today it was because of Gota and the President that people could walk freely in the country form one end to the other.
P.A. Samaraweera, Melbourne
This fellow is like a bull in a china shop. He should be in the jungle and not living among people.
Wonder whether he even passed his GCE ( O.L )
please recall the past .before 2009 what was the situation of this county ? ..war victory was achieved and the country was released from the LTTE terrorism mainly because of Trio -President , Gotabhaya and Sarath Fonseka .. Learn atleast to appreciate one’s great achievements .. Gota is a well disciplined personality , but he is a rival for any traitor for this motherland iam sure.
How dare you all talk against our royal family member….rajapaksa family is our answer to british royal family. soon we will take your voting rights from you all. whether you like it or not rajapaksa family and friends are the rulers of srilanka. Just put up with it….go with the flow you all will be allright.
The system rather than individuals has failed in Sri Lanka. It is not Gota or Mahinda ,it is the dangerous system which give them unprecedented powers to destroy this country. If not Gota or Mahinda ,someone else who come to these positions will do the same . Enormous amount of power always corrupt individuals. This started when JR Jayawardene became the president in 1977 after getting 5/6 th of majority in the parliment. He created executive presidency enabling him to enjoy overwhelming power during his tenure and he did not bother about the consequences country could face as a democracy because of this unwise move. Gradually the politicians became immune to law enforcement authorities and the country has slipped down to a state of impunity from a strong democracy. Gota is a result rather than a cause in this sense and what we need is restoring parliament democracy again abolishing this dictatorial presidency. Sad thing is everyone promising to do so immediately forget that at the moment they step into to the shoes of this extremely powerful positions. Even more worryingly people also forget after a while and are even bold enough to re-elect the same personal again and again. To change this trend our media need to start a strong campaign educating public so after the next election whoever wins cannot palm off from their responsibility of bringing back parliament democracy back again to our country giving room to establish law and order again. .