{"id":222530,"date":"2021-09-15T00:35:45","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T19:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=222530"},"modified":"2021-09-20T23:31:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T18:01:15","slug":"to-rome-or-to-roam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/","title":{"rendered":"To Rome Or To Roam"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kumar David<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Prof. Kumar David<\/p><\/div>\n

The game of musical chairs between Cardinal and PM is comic. Musical chairs is a party game played by children at birthdays. To watch two fat, hardly mobile aging frogs circling the Pope\u2019s throne would delight any bunch of six and seven year olds. To go to Rome or not to go? To obfuscate the strange episodes peeping through the events and bogus \u201cinvestigations\u201d pertaining to the Easter Sunday Bombing<\/a><\/span> (ESB) or to go sleep, the choice brings adults to tears. The PM finally decided not to go to the Vatican, instead he roams around the ESB topic; and seems to have no choice but to hide as much as he can. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me lay out as simply, transparently and as logically as possible what we know about ESB. The much commented media conference by the Cardinal has been described as dynamite. <\/span>He does not accuse the government but alleges it is covering-up and he implies that there is a Mastermind (MM). The crucial question his raises is not who is MM (that\u2019s the next question) but that if the government is covering-up, then it KNOWS who it is covering-up.<\/span> That the government is covering-up but does not even know who it is covering-up is ludicrous. If it covering-up as the Cardinal alleges, then indisputably it knows MM\u2019s identity – how can it cover-up someone it does not even know? I\u2019d rather believe in virgin birth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next question. Everybody talks of but nobody names even after 30 months who MM is. Not a whiff of a name in circulation from Committees of Inquiry, AG\u2019s Department, dumb cops, sleepy presidents and roaming PMs. Is it Gooni-Billa<\/i>, the Man on the Moon, the Holy Ghost, CIA, FBI, NKVD? This fairy story has gone on for long enough; this is all bullshit talk. There is no MM other than the following six concrete players (a) to (f). It has to be one or a combination thereof. No one else; end of story; full stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

a)\u00a0 <\/span>A bunch of relatively isolated Jihadist nuts in the EP (trained abroad maybe, but that\u2019s another matter)<\/span><\/p>\n

b)\u00a0 <\/span>ISIS or some such outfit inciting and assisting (a); but this theory is now dismissed.<\/span><\/p>\n

c)\u00a0 <\/span>The presidential candidate who reaped the greatest benefit from ESB<\/span><\/p>\n

d) A clandestine military or security service ring. [But (d) is implausible without (c)]<\/span><\/p>\n

e)\u00a0 <\/span>Pissu Sira<\/i> \u2013 a nut case<\/span><\/p>\n

f) \u00a0<\/span>An extremist S-B outfit such as the BBS; incompetent amateurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have asked many friends what they think. Everyone agreed that the suspects in the ESB event had to be confined to this set and that this approach was logical and reasonable. No one even mentioned (f). I guess they have seen Gnanasara on videos and know that he was too fat, incompetent and ignorant to do anything except incite the faithful against Tamils, Muslims and now Cathos. No one takes (b) seriously anymore but one person said \u201cIf there was a shred of evidence to support (b) the government would be bawling it out from the rooftops.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously every theory has to include (a) because (a) provided the boots on the ground, the cannon fodder, but the (a)-alone thesis had no takers; the universal view now is that there was and is something more going on. The (a)+(d) thesis had a few takers but they added that the conspirators (d) did not anticipate things would get so bad. But these respondents left open the question why a bunch of officers would do such a thing. Was it only because they hated Yahapalana?<\/i> This led to the most popular two theses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second most popular combination was (a)+(c)+(d). This makes sense because (a) without doubt provided the foot-soldiers, (d) the logistics and skill and (c) gave deeper political motivation. Supporters of this thesis also said neither (c) nor (d) foresaw how bad the carnage would be; only (a) wanted to maximise the kill. The (a)+(c)+(d) also thesis fits the former AG\u2019s assertion before retirement that this was a deep and far ranging conspiracy. There is also talk of military officers visiting the Eastern Province and another story of someone asking ISIS to take the blame, but neither the government nor any inquiry wants to follow up any of this \u2013 not even for the purpose of refuting these allegations.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most popular combination among respondents was (a)+(c)+(d)+(e). This has some advantages and one big disadvantage. First, bringing in (e) will make the Cardinal rejoice. It is known that Ranjit is a Mahinda toady but most people also conjecture that he is convinced that Pissu-Sira<\/i> had a hand in ESB, maybe before the event or at least he acted improperly afterwards. And this widening of the coverage also fits the former AG\u2019s assertion of a wide conspiracy. The disadvantage of widening the range of suspects to such an extent is that it covers a whole gamut of alleged culprits and thus blunts the sharpness of the thesis.<\/span><\/p>\n

I trust that laying out the ground systematically will help readers to think through the options efficiently. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":222533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,46,8,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nTo Rome Or To Roam - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"To Rome Or To Roam - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-14T19:05:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-20T18:01:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"422\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kumar David\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kumar David\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/\",\"name\":\"To Rome Or To Roam - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-14T19:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-20T18:01:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7a2df4a6a7d5175ea6aaec0979ac92\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":422},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"To Rome Or To Roam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7a2df4a6a7d5175ea6aaec0979ac92\",\"name\":\"Kumar David\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd926fc59526eaa911c5c160b8c7540f42087fc664225d36ea2abfc11cf76770?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd926fc59526eaa911c5c160b8c7540f42087fc664225d36ea2abfc11cf76770?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kumar David\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/kdav\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"To Rome Or To Roam - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"To Rome Or To Roam - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2021-09-14T19:05:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-20T18:01:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":422,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kumar David","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kumar David","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/","name":"To Rome Or To Roam - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-09-14T19:05:45+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-20T18:01:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7a2df4a6a7d5175ea6aaec0979ac92"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg","width":650,"height":422},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/to-rome-or-to-roam\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"To Rome Or To Roam"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d7a2df4a6a7d5175ea6aaec0979ac92","name":"Kumar David","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd926fc59526eaa911c5c160b8c7540f42087fc664225d36ea2abfc11cf76770?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dd926fc59526eaa911c5c160b8c7540f42087fc664225d36ea2abfc11cf76770?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Kumar David"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/kdav\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mahinda-rajapaksa-Rome-12-09-2021-Pic-PMD.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222530"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222537,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222530\/revisions\/222537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}