That is a question we must ask because the former Defence Secretary and sibling of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is generating headlines without doing much, really. To put things in a nutshell, the current hullabaloo is as follows: The Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) is attempting to take action against Rajapaksa for alleged misappropriation of funds in constructing the D.A. Rajapaksa Memorial Museum, built in honour of the patriarch of the Rajapaksa clan.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is fighting this in the Court of Appeal, where he has filed a petition seeking an order to prevent action being taken against him under the Public Property Act.
Thus far, the Court of Appeal has acceded to Rajapaksa’s request, granting an interim order which was extended this week until December 15.
If this was a simple case of alleged misappropriation of public funds, we can surely let justice take its course and let those who adorn the benches of the highest courts in the land do their job. But, this is Sri Lanka and matters are seldom what they seem to be at first glance.
So, let us get some perspective, shall we? Among those who took to public life in the current generation of the Rajapaksa clan, Gotabaya was the exception: he was not- and technically, is still not- a politician.
He was primarily a soldier who joined the Sri Lanka Army at the age of twenty two and went on to serve for twenty one years, before migrating to the United States at the height of the Eelam war. There he applied for and obtained citizenship of the United States.
Of course, when the war raged in the ‘80s, Gotabaya did his stints in operational areas while serving in the Gajaba Regiment. We next heard of him when he returned to Sri Lanka.
In 2005
That was in 2005, when brother Mahinda was elected President. He was appointed as Secretary of Defence. Mahinda Rajapaksa was asked about that, implying that it was nepotism, giving the country’s top defence job to his brother.
The elder Rajapaksa countered that in style, asking why you wouldn’t do that when you had a war going on and you needed someone trusted to spearhead efforts against it. It turned out to be a masterstroke.
Gotabaya handpicked Sarath Fonseka, over and above others and one year senior to him in the Army, as the Army Commander. Fonseka and Rajapaksa both survived suicide bomb attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
In prosecuting the war, Fonseka had the military acumen and the ruthlessness that was called for. As an army man but also being the brother of the President, Rajapaksa was the perfect conduit between the political and military establishments.
The rest, as they say, is history: in four years, a war that many thought was unwinnable, was won. Ironically, that is where Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears to have lost his marbles.
Bolstered by the war victory- and a rousing endorsement for brother Mahinda at the 2010 Presidential Election where ironically, Mahinda defeated Fonseka, Gotabaya became omnipresent and omnipotent.
Fonseka was stripped of his rank, his pension and his dignity and sent to Welikada dressed in a prison jumper. Gotabaya went from strength to strength and, as Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development, had embarked on a plan to beautify Colombo.
There were, however, controversies. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been accused of threatening and intimidating journalists. His name has been linked to the assassination of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickremetunga and the abduction of The Nation deputy editor Keith Noyahr but no conclusive evidence has been found.
There have been allegations of financial impropriety related to the floating Armoury, Avant Garde Maritime Services, and the purchase of MIG aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force, but nothing has been proved in a court of law, yet.
All this would make Gotabaya Rajapaksa yet another individual of the former regime who is under scrutiny for alleged misdeeds, albeit being the former President’s brother.
That though is not why all this is important. It is important because the 19th Amendment to the Constitution- to which three Rajapaksas in the current Parliament: Mahinda, Chamal and Namal signified their assent- bars Mahinda Rajapaksa from running for President again.
Advertising agency
So, the so-called ‘Joint Opposition’ which is the advertising agency marketing the Rajapaksa brand has to come up with an alternative. And the signs are slowly but surely emerging that the new mascot is none other than Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Consider the evidence: Gotabaya has launched two movements within a short space of time: Eliya, a movement for the purpose of ‘enlightening’ the public about the new Constitution and Viyath maga, a network of “academics, professionals, and entrepreneurs” ostensibly “wishing to contribute towards the betterment of the country”.
The strongest evidence of Gotabaya’s political ambitions came a few weeks ago. Full page advertisements appeared in national newspapers saying ‘Gota, together for all’ or, in Sinhalese, Gota, api venuven api, the latter a reference to a catchy tune that called for support for the armed forces during the final years of the war. So, make no mistake.
If Gotabaya was a closet politician all these years, he has now ‘come out’. One can almost predict the slogans: rata jaathiya beraagath Gota” would be the underlying theme, portraying him as the war hero who saved the nation from the scourge of terrorism. Gotabaya’s rivals, be they in the UNP or perhaps even in the SLFP should not underestimate him. After all, he won an unwinnable war.
But, if the Joint Opposition thinks that with Gota as a candidate, the next presidential election will be a walk in the park for them, they need to think again.
Sri Lankans have already decided that just because someone won the war, they-or their family- can’t be given a blank cheque to do as they please, forever: just ask Mahinda Rajapaksa. And if they think being a war hero guarantees them an election win, that doesn’t work either: just ask Sarath Fonseka!