Taking the lid off the Golden Bowl

(Introduction to Sena Thoradeniya’ s book- Galle Face Protest: System Change or Anarchy?)

By Gunadasa Amarasekera

Reading these dispatches by Sena Thoradeniya (ST) to the Lanka web, I was reminded of a Vedic stanza I came across many years ago -I quote from memory.

Hiranmena patrena
Sathyasapi hithang mukang
Tathvam pushanna pavunu
Sathya dharmaya dushtiye

It is an admonition given to the seeker of truth. Do not be dazzled by the glitter of the gold outside. Open the lid and there you will see the truth concealed within it.What Thoradeniya has dared to do, is to open that lid with these dispatches. He is probably the only intellectual who has dared to do so. He and Shenali Waduge were the two individuals to have initiated this truth-seeking process.

Now he has made those dispatches into a book so that they will reach a wider public.There is no doubt that these dispatches will be invaluable in understanding the true nature, the truth, contained in the Golden Bowl.

The promoters of the Golden Bowl –Aragalaya – were the so-called intellectuals, professors, professionals, media wizards and their mentors abroad. They presented the Aragalaya as a microcosm of the Utopian state that is to be. The Aragalaya protesters were made out to be some rare selfless ethereal species imbued with the highest of human values striving to bring about the fulfilment of Human Rights, Individual Rights, Democracy and Humanism. The Galle Face Green was turned into ‘an Adara Gedara’ – an abode overflowing with love, compassion and tolerance.

That was the façade that was needed to get the moral sanction – public approval and to conceal the diabolical plan within it. To see it in terms of an innocent phase, initially, and a violent phase, latterly, due to high jacking by external forces is too simplistic and naive. It cannot be phased out in that way. There was a holistic approach, right from the beginning.

I remember how a senior journalist, writing to a Weekly, labelled it as a unique instance in the history of world revolutions where a regime change – chasing away a President and a Prime Minister – was achieved without any blood shed and by mere protests!

Those protests and slogans were by no means innocuous. ‘Gota Go Home’ was no request as interpreted by that ‘know-all’ scribe. It was a threat – a life threatening – one as such to be carried out if the ‘request’ was not acceded to.

Surely that journalist cannot be so naïve as to have bestowed such adulation unless he was being brainwashed by Julie Chang at one of the garden parties.The adulators of the Aragalaya appear to have taken a step back now and are attempting to rationalize their behaviour by resorting to esoteric theories while ridiculing Wimal Weerawansa ‘for concocting conspiracy theories; and warning the general public of a possibility of a repetition of the Aragalaya. Their tone suggests that they are looking forward to such a repetition.

Julie Chang is the guiding spirit behind the Aragalaya; she is really a remarkable woman, an ambassador, the like of whom we have never witnessed before. She not only gives garden parties, but also advises both Gotabaya Rajapakse and the Aragalaya protesters. She patronizes the JVP. She gives hope and succor to the Red Sahodarayas in their pursuit of the armed struggle, knowing too well that it would provide an opportunity for Ranil Wickremasinghe to accede to the fourth request of the CIA chief to bring in his troops to the country.

She is truly a remarkable diplomat, with acumen, a vision, well aware of the shape of things to come. You can’t help having the highest admiration for her.What triggered the Aragalaya? According to our so-called intellectuals, and their foreign mentors, it was the economic hardships, non-availability of essentials, economic deprivations that brought about those massive protests at the Galle Face Green. (Strangely the most deprived class – the rural farmers – were not there).

They seem to assume that all of us have short memories. It is not the first time we faced such economic hardships. Between ’70-’77, long queues were a daily feature. We had to wait in a queue for hours to obtain anything. The bread queues started before dawn and we had to wait for hours to get a loaf of bread. There was no sugar or flour. In addition, we had to undergo much harassment at the ‘hal polu’ and ‘miris polu’.

People suffered in silence and did not rush on to the streets. There were no violent protests. To explain this difference in behaviour one may adduce many factors. Things have changed over the years. The present generation is aware of their rights and not prepared to take things lying down.

The insurrections (the JVP and the LTTE) have made violence and terrorism a part of our dally existence, morally sanctioned by us, the Marxism of the earlier period has given way to Bakunininism. There may be an element of truth in these observations.

But can they explain the creation of a mini city overnight – a city with all those attractions, such as theatres, cinema halls, eating houses, restaurants, salons replete with song and dance? Hundreds of protesters were housed day and night within them.

Who provided the funds and finances for such a massive project? It is only reasonable to assume that there would have been a great benefactor with enough funds to keep this city going.Who that great benefactor is disclosed by Thoradeniya in his article ‘US foot prints at the Galle Face protest site’.At the beginning of his article, ST refers to Wimal Weerawansa’s speech made on 27th July in the parliamentary debate on emergency regulations.

“M.P. Wimal Weerawansa, participating in the debate on Emergency Regulations on 27th July said that the CIA, through USAIAD and NED (National Endowment for Democracy), have funded various Sri Lankan Non-Governmental Organizations aiming regime change and protesters were attempting to destroy the State with the aid of external forces. He disclosed the amount spent by NED in Sri Lanka from 2016 to 2020 and named some recipient organizations and the number of projects funded by it.

He further stated that the script of the present protest was written by foreign powers, how YouTubers were paid by their foreign masters and how the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka pressurized GR, on a daily basis, not to take any action against the protesters. He tabled a document to support his arguments.’ (US Footprints at the Galle Face Protest Site -August 20th 2022)

ST, in his article, elaborates on the institutions and agencies that Wimal had referred to in his speech.ST makes use of two articles Sonali Waduge had written ‘Regime change – Role of International Republican Institute (IRI) in Sri Lanka’ and ‘Who is NED and what is its role in Sri Lanka?’

NED and IRI are two main institutions with global reach that are operating in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Eurasia. NED’s local version NDI was created by the CIA in Sri Lanka in 1983.At the end of his long article, ST gives a brief account of the activities conducted by the NED.

“The list of countries that had suffered by NED’s intervention is too long to mention. Suffice to state that it happened all over the globe. Following are some activities conducted by NED all over the world: Funding pro-US political parties, including media, training and unifying opposition parties, insurrection training and instigating riots, influencing social media for political campaigns and generating anti-government slogans, promoting hate campaigns under different themes, tasking NGOs and civil society to do these work, funding disruptive news, building networks of academics, professional groups, artists and writers, dig up corruption and abuse of power, labelling rulers as dictators and autocrats, organizing protest marches and occupy movements and providing campaign skills – in Sri Lanka, in general, and at Galle Face, in particular, we saw all of these taking part simultaneously”(US Footprints at the Galle Face Protest Site – August 20th 2022)

The article written by ST is so comprehensive that it should be compulsory reading for anyone who is out to seek the truth contained in that Golden Bowl which has misled many an innocent onlooker.

‘US foot prints at GF protest site’ deals with the international players involved in the Aragalaya. In the article ‘Who were most afraid of Galle Face protesters?’, he deals with the main group and sub groups of local players in the Aragalaya.

To be continued…