The lead news item in the Divaina of 22 August, 2021 said a foreign organisation has already given Rs 850 million via an NGO, to some political parties and trade unions, etc., to campaign against the current government. The news item revealed how this money had been distributed among the various recipients, including a media team and a popular monk. The money is said to have been given with the intervention of a top official in the relevant foreign organisation. Out of this amount, Rs 500 million has been distributed to the relevant media team, Rs 50 million to the popular monk, and Rs. 300 million to trade unions and political parties.

Use of foreign funding to brainwash the people, for regime change, and to destabilize the country is not something new in Sri Lanka. We have come across several articles and books providing details of how foreign funds were used to achieve such goals of foreign organisations in the past.

We can see that most of the well-known NGOs and trade union activists are getting wide publicity to their statements in the media today, similar to the period we had during the war against terrorism. Like mushrooms and many other fungi, these activists pop up whenever the environmental conditions suit them.

The easiest way to find out what they said and how some of these mushroom activists contributed to the continuation of terrorism in the past is to search their records online. Interestingly, I found a list of names of politicians, so-called civil societies and trade union activists, who were promoting LTTE as an integral part of ‘the solution’ and campaigning in support of the CFA in 2006, in a pro-LTTE website.

Although some of the activists who appeared in the list were very active, when promoting the so-called yahapalana regime during 2015-2019 too, most of them are no more, most likely with time. Those politicians, civil society and trade union activists who promoted the yahapalana regime appear nowhere to go now; as the majority of the general public are aware of their past and the damage they have done to the country. The Covid-19 pandemic appears to be a golden opportunity for these elements, after the disappearance of LTTE terrorism from the country‘s soil, for the so-called activists to raise their heads, once again, to destabilise the country.

How these foreign-funded NGOs, politicians and the so-called activists attempted to brainwash the people of the country and the entire world are well known, and we can imagine the status of our country today, if their motives were successful in the past, by looking at how terrorism grew and gained control in Afghanistan today.

Freedom to involve in political activities were very limited (or not at all) for the government employees prior to 1970. As a result of granting some political freedom to government servants under the United Front government (comprising SLFP, LSSP and CP) elected in 1970, and by allowing politicians of successive governments to interfere with the appointments of various positions within the public service, the government servants and their trade unions are politically divided to an uncontrollable extent today.

Instead of carrying out government policies, some government officials and trade union leaders are fulfilling the needs of their political parties, while criticising the government policies in public. Media statements issued, almost daily, by the two well-known trade unionists attached to the health sector, that are very critical on every action taken by the government to control the present-day pandemic serve as an example. Appearance of the names of these politically motivated trade unionists in the said list found in the TamilNet, is a clear example of their past and to whom they are serving. In addition, we can see that even the politicians rejected by the masses at the last Presidential and general elections, are getting wide publicity in the media to make frequent statements to demoralise the general public mind, against steps taken by the government to control the Covid-19 epidemic and recover the economy at this crucial stage.

We were under foreign powers for centuries due to the acts of saboteurs and traitors. We have witnessed, during our lifetime, how powerful are enemies within, when destabilising regimes. The coming months will be very decisive, as local paid agents of the enemies of our nation will work overtime, and will use the money said to have been distributed among them, to achieve their desired goals; disregarding the extent of hardships caused and loss of lives of the general public. The public must be aware of these enemies, as a priority, and should rally against such elements in order to protect our nation.

SANGADASA AKURUGODA