A new 1,000-rupee note

For some members of Sri Lankas Sinhalese majority,the defeat of the countrys Tamil Tiger rebels last year belongs to a glorious martial tradition. As the architect of this triumph,President Mahinda Rajapaksa,they said,was a second Dutugemunu,a Sinhalese king of the second century BC who slew an Indian Tamil invader from his war-elephant,Kandula. The Sinhalese Buddhist clergy proclaimed Mr Rajapaksa the Universally Glorious Ruler of the Sinhalese. So it was natural that Mr Rajapaksa would have a banknote Sri Lankas colourful new 1,000-rupee note,worth about 9 printed with his image,arms raised in triumph. The reverse of the note,however,reveals a surprise. It depicts five soldiers hoisting the Sri Lankan flag,looking remarkably like the iconic photograph of five marines and a seaman raising Old Glory over Iwo Jima in 1945. In a country seething with resentment against the American and European governments that dared criticise Mr Rajapaksas brutal war tactics,this seems a mite rich. But not to Ajith Cabraal,governor of Sri Lankas Central Bank,who considers the similarity a coincidence: Take ten people,wont you find some who are similar to each other? I have lookalikes. Im sure even you have lookalikes. Perhaps the president should also have some stamps printed. It would be the sincerest form of philately.