Why the Army should vote for Sarath Fonseka

Before you ask, I am still spoiling my vote.

But there is something that needs to be said. Something worth thinking about.

There is lots of talk about the Army not voting for SF. There is talk that the people in the forces have become disillusioned with him.

This may or may not be true.

But if the Army wants to maintain its status - and let's face it, who doesn't - they should vote for SF.

The Beast is very scared of the Army. He fears an Army coup, which is why he had SF removed from power as soon as the war was over. And that kind of fear doesn't go away just because he gets rid of SF. It's going to go much further than this.

When The Beast wins (and I have laid bets he will, by hook or by crook) he will take on the Army. There will be downsizing, there will be mud-slinging campaigns, there will be a lot done to lessen the place of the Army in the people's esteem. And all through this The Beast will be on TV, on the stage, on the media wringing his hands and screaming about how the foreign conspirators who don't like seeing Sri Lanka rise up are trying to tarnish our image. He will claim this is done because he, the great and victorious and glorious leader, won the war against terrorism - something the other countries could not do.

He will come out with a line of bullshit via his PR flacks that would make the most histrionic posturings of a TV evangelist preacher look wooden and dead. He will cry his crocodile tears in public, while orchestrating all this in private.

The Beast fears the Army - not so much the other forces, but definitely the Army. And he will do his best to destroy the threat to him. And since we have all seen how wonderful a manipulator of the public psyche he is, he will do it by destroying the public's opinion of the Army, and by extension, the rest of the forces.

The SF coalition hasn't mentioned this. Maybe they don't see it. I had to have it pointed out to me as well. But it seems extremely probable when you look at it.

So tell the Army people you meet, if they want to maintain their status in the mentality of the people, vote for SF.

But I'm still spoiling my vote.