By Sulakshi Thelikorala –

Dr. Sulakshi Thelikorala

Awwwww… It is sweet how he is handling it. I feel kind of sorry for him. A young boy cuffed and taken to remand.

I think before you read any further, best is to take a quick look at your FB home page. It is an official Sri Lankan mourning day on FB.

Yositha: my mind runs back to the very first time I saw this young lad with two of his friends. He was in a pair of shorts and rubber slippers, one November evening in 2011 at Spices Restaurant at Hilton Colombo. He didn’t have to be the President’s son but he was attractive enough to catch everyone’s attention. He seemed nice, down to earth that day and shared a smile. He was anyhow my favourite of the three brothers. He was a charming young lad and I actually feel sorry for this sight.

Today, he has captured everyone’s attention like never before. 
Some are crying on FB for him and some are happy. Facebook is having more or less of a mourning day today. What follows these posts are those of Deshapalana Paligeneem posts.

The moment I saw this picture, what came to my mind spontaneously was how Sarath Fonseka was taken to prison. (It was not remand but prison). For some odd reason I felt really sad that day as if it was my father who was taken to prison. It was a day to remember. I was an ordinary citizen. I was an unbiased medical student. As a family we all gathered around the TV and watched SF being taken away on NEWS. Until that he was just the General but the imprisonment made him something special to many of us. He was in the bottle neck of Sri Lankan politics. As days went by the media went on to reveal pictures of SF in the Prison Jumper & Anoma Fonseka in a white saree walking out of maha ulu gedara wiping tears. It was saddening. Today, if I was to post patriotic posts or deshapalana paligeneem posts, I would regret my self for not doing it years ago for SF because as the word implies, that was a pure and simple heartfelt Deshapalana Paligeneema. Afterall in my opinion the biggest mistake SF committed was contesting for an election and challenging a President, full of pride as a lion.

Many have committed crimes in the previous regime. Yoshitha is in the spot light today but many need to be there. He might have become a victim before many others because he is the ex-President’s son which is unfair as a youth. He might not deserve this or he may deserve this. What the public know is what the public know. What the public doesn’t know might be deep seated. He might not be innocent as he looks. But there are rumours.

Then again everyone on FB is talking about injustice, tears, pain and white washing without knowing the truth. What is actually injustice? Is it injustice? If I start imagining what Injustice in Sri Lanka is, so many people/moments start running through my mind. So many iconic news items haunt me as another citizen of Sri Lanka. They are still visual, hurtful and heartfelt. First and foremost SF needless to elaborated. Then Shirani Bandaranayake, walking out of the impeachment hearing; Lasantha’s family bidding him farewell; Prageeth Ekneligoda’s wife in tears and last but not least the picture of Wasim Thajudeen, the never ended case which need justice.

Wasim Thajudeen is the ideal example to elaborate here but I do not wish to because he was killed twice. First from the car crash and then the election propaganda. Yet, was there Justice? Rumours have it, the public know what they have to know, yet nothing is being done. Now that is Injustice.

Although there might be an element of injustice or Deshpalana Paligeneema here, there have been moments in recent Sri Lankan history where some renowned people faced the bitterness of both to the extreme of death.

Last but not least I pray that our super emotional fellows on Facebook don’t start posting Nanda Malini’s song “yadamin benda wilangu la” because it wouldn’t simply apply here… It talks about a son who fought for freedom being taken to prison. It would apply to that University Student who gets beaten whatever the government it is, because his father is not the president of the country but because he is the one fighting for all of us whom we don’t care a bit about. That is when we should shed a tear, and that is when FB should be flooding with posts standing up for what’s called a struggle.

Anyhow I hope no one gets harsh on Yoshitha in remand.