HOW TO BRING PEACE AND UNITY TO SRILANKA!!!

Merely re-capturing LTTE controlled territory will not bring peace and unity
by Shanie

The war drags on and on. On the eve of the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council elections in August, Government spokespersons announced that Government troops were poised to enter the Kilinochchi town. The Prime Minister himself at an election rally stated that it could possibly take place before polling day.

Four months have passed and at the beginning of this month, we were told that the troops are now within "kissing distance" of Kilinochchi. Four months ago, they could even see the town from the positions they held on the outskirts of the town. Now, there are reports that the focus has shifted to first taking Mullaitivu, quite some distance away on the eastern coast.

We do not doubt that these statements, conflicting though they are, were made in good faith. But we question the maturity and wisdom of he spokespersons who make these extravagant statements.

War reporting in Sri Lanka is a hazardous risk. Defence columnists, even with their own sources within the security forces, dare not report what they have learnt. Responsible journalists will normally exercise reasonable self-censorship so as not to undermine the war effort. But they are not allowed even that independence.

So the public have access only to political and military spokespersons. That is why it is so very important that these spokespersons exercise prudence and care on the claims and statements they make. If they continue to make extravagant statements which are later found to be incorrect, they will inevitably lose credibility with a discerning public. And that will undermine the war effort to a much greater extent than any unfavourable report from independent journalists.

In the conventional war operations that are now going on in the Vanni, there can be no doubt that the ragtag LTTE cadres will be no match for the vastly superior Sri Lankan forces with superior arms and superior air/sea/ground coordination. They may put up stiff resistance here or even launch an occasional assault there, but eventually the security forces will gain the territory that the LTTE now control. The LTTE may remain but only as a guerrilla force, as they do now in the East.

This columnist has no doubt that the vast majority of the people of this country – Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim – will be happy if the LTTE is deprived of the control of any part of the country. Sri Lanka is one united country and the people of the country of all ethnic communities should be able to travel freely without fear and live in security in any part of the country.

Unfortunately, this has not been possible after 1956 when Sinhala nationalist forces unleashed violence against the Tamils. But this columnist has also no doubt that the vast majority of our people – Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim – will not want the LTTE replaced by another armed or extremist group. Or even by the security forces taking on the role of an occupying force. This has been the tragedy of the East and it is not too late for the Government to learn the lessons of past mistakes.

The Government must not only be ready now to present a political package that is just and fair by all communities but it must also be ready to implement it. Extremists on both sides of the ethnic divide will be unwilling to compromise, to give and take in the best traditions of democracy. But the vast majority of the people of this country are represented by the two major national parties. In dialogue with the non-extremist elements among all three communities, it is possible for the two major parties to arrive at a consensus package that ensures justice to all communities.

This must be worked out and implemented despite extremist opposition. Had they the wisdom and maturity to do so many years ago, the country would have been spared the loss of thousands of young innocent lives. All these years, the people of this country have remained hostages to extremist forces on both sides of the ethnic divide and our political leaders must have the courage to break free from this.

In today’s context, it is not necessary to declare a ceasefire for the war to end. All that is required is for a consensus political package to be offered to the minorities and the war will end by itself and with it the loss of innocent lives. To do that, President Rajapaksa must have the will to find a solution to the National Question by political means and with fairness to all communities. Unless there is that political will, we will keep blundering our way around with no hope of an end to the ethnic conflict. And that political will must also include taking the people into confidence and not remaining hostage to chauvinists.

This goes for political parties representing the minorities as well. They must have the courage to break free from being hostages to extremists. We realise this is easier said than done. Extremists have in the past resorted to assassinations in eliminate courageous leaders who posed a threat to their extremist agenda – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Vijaya Kumaratunga, Neelan Tiruchelvam, Joseph Pararajasingham et al. But politicians have no right to claim leadership if they lack the courage of their convictions and meekly succumb to threats from extremists.

Sri Lankans have remained hostages to chauvinists for far too long. It is now time to say enough is enough. Let us be clear on what we want for the future of our country. Conflicts will continue to be part of our lives if we continue to remain hostages to extremist forces. The time to eliminate extremism is now.

We need a Sri Lanka where people of any ethnic group can live and work without fear in any part of the country. For that to happen, every community must be made to feel that they are part of this country (not visitors!) and they enjoy the same rights as every other citizen. Only a political package that ensures justice to all can provide that.

In 1993, R M A B Dassanayake, a resident of the Trincomalee District, wrote an article in the newspapers which has been reproduced in Rajan Hoole’s Sri Lanka – The Arrogance of Power. Dassanayke’s father had been the Korale Mahatmaya of the Sinhala villages in the area and his grandfather had been a Rate Mahatmaya. His village was situated in the former revenue division of Kattukulampattu which was a mix of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim villages. In these times, it is worth re-reading the entire article. But we quote some relevant sections:

"The simple unhampered free flow of life of these villagers caused no rift, division or commotion in any way amongst themselves or with the visiting traders…. The trust, confidence and the sincerity those simple Sinhala and Tamil people had for one another were incomparable and almost unbelievable at a time like this. Such was the spirit and camaraderie. They shared their meals and even lodgings among themselves as near and dear kinsmen… In short, the Sinhala and Tamil people in that area during those halcyon days interacted very much like members of a closely knit family. Those who lived in that region then would endorse this statement which is no exaggeration but the simple truth.

"Pondering the present war situation between our two communities, it is somewhat inconceivable how some of our people rose up in bloody revolt against one another culminating in this ongoing seemingly implacable ethnic violence. It may be due to the hegemonic and monopolist views preached and propagated by a few designing politicians and some ultra-nationalists and also due to the non-appeasable demands for aggrandisement launched by an equally implacable extremist group on the other side of the ethnic divide.

"Going by the saying ‘every cloud has a silver lining’, can we not work out a way of reconstructing and restoring the past and thus effect the much needed reconciliation we are all yearning for, even at this stage? It is left to the good office of the enlightened and broadminded intelligentsia of both communities to take the lead in a spirit of goodwill to strive and create a ‘live and let live’, ‘give and take’ policy of human affairs in relation to our dealings with our own countrymen."

Dassanayake’s plea fifteen years ago remains unfulfilled but the plea still remains very valid. As he says, let us hope that the enlightened from all communities will have the discernment and courage to tell our political leaders that there is no future for our country unless there is peace and unity among our people.

Merely recapturing territory controlled by the LTTE will not bring that about. Nor will appeasement of chauvinistic forces on the other side of the ethnic divide bring that about. We need the political will of the major parties to provide a consensus solution that will draw together the people of our country – people belonging to all ethnic, religious and social groups.

COURTESY: THE ISLAND (Notebook of a nobody column)

Posted by transCurrents on December 13, 2008 12:07 AM | Permalink
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4 Comments

The ball is now going to be in the Sinhalse court.We will not be able to forgive ourselves if we mess up this time.We have to deliver justice to our minorities this time.Whilst our foolish ,self centered,power hungry politicians other than men of goodwill such as Messrs D S and Dudley Senanayake,failed to show any leadership in times of crises and bring about unity and build trust amongst the major and minoriy communities,we idly stood by doing nothing.We have now seen the distruction that a few disgruntled people can cause to an entire country in so short a time and how much harder it is to bring an end to disunity born of such tragedies.

The result on the battleground must only be treated as an eye opener as to the urgent need to create a just and fair society for everyone.Peace is born not in the abstract world of ideology but in the hearts of the people of good will, both of the minority and the majority communities.Under the guise of fighting the war the rights and freedoms of the Sinhalese have been consistently eroded over the years by our political leaders.It is now time for the people to demand of politicians on all sides Sinhala,Tamil and Muslim that their actions be taken with the transparency and scrutiny that a democratic society demands.It is time to kick out the corrupt,dishonest rogues amongst our politicians.We cannot afford to mess things up again,

The president and his team must be congratulated for the job they have done under such trying conditions.We can see the wild machinations of the politicians of diffrent persuasions even at a time like this to destabilise the progress and unpardonably attempt to justify their actions.It would well be worthwhile examining the models and mechanisms of governments in the western world and places like Australia where legal frame-works have been set up for people of multifarious races,faiths and political persuations to live in harmony and more importantly to deal with promptly and effectively any breach in such harmony and prevention of any recurrence. My generation has lost its' opportunity to live in harmony with our Tamil, Muslim ,Burgher,Malay brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka.Ours was a case of "spilt milk".We were told we had got independence in 1948 to build our own nation as it suited us but we lost it to terrorism born of our failure to stand up for justice for our Tamil brothers and sisters.We looked the other way shamelessly as the theives ,crooks and filthy rabble off the streets ( the so called Sinhalese patriots) plundered ,looted and burnt and took innocent lives and we did nothing.Time has come for us Sinhalese to atone for our unpardonable failures.Let us resolve firmly not to let hapless politicians on all sides of the communal and religios devide to ruin our country again.Let us only support those who stand for harmony and unity.The clergy of all denominations and in particular the Buddhist has an enormous responsibility to carry peace through to fruition.

One is reminded of the great poet of Bharath the incomparable Rabindranath Tagore and his poem written at the dawn of freedom from British rule in India and I quote:

"Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;Where knowledge is free;Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;Where words come out from the depth of truth;Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action,-Into that heaven of freedom,my Father,let my country awake."

Posted by: Sunil.Gunasekera | December 13, 2008 02:55 AM

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Dear Shanie!

I have been reading your wonderful articles and delighted to see such an intelligent,talented,clear-minded,visionary,impartial social activist like you!

I have a great and humble request to you to start a 3.political front/or GUPP(Gandhi Unity-Progress Party) which reflect your articles and includes the following conditions and you shd be the next Presidential candidate to lead Srilanka out of these miseries!

Conditions:

1.Shd be 100% respect for HR,non-violence,freedom,equality,safety,justice, peace/harmony, unity,progress and prosperity.

2.Shd reject corruption,bribery,discrimination,favoritsm,brutality from
anyforces or gps,oppression or suppression of people.

3.Shd think and act to uplift all poor/refugees/IDPs(by war/floods/tsunami) through selfhelp/coop projects/rural banks.

4.Compulsory education upto 13 years including 1 year prof.skill training to all.

5.VPs of ST/PT/Muslims at President's office with Federal Solution to NESL.

6.To compete in this new world order english oriented couses for global jobseekers.But own languages shd remain as a subject until 12th class.

7.No more arms-race and weapon purchase! Forces/Gps shd freeze their weapons in safe places under supervision of UN.

8.4 National Ombudsmen as well as referendum units(under election comm.) and emergency econ.taskforce in each district to find out problems and right solutions quickly.

Please organise this and Lankan(S/T/M) diaspora will definitely support you!We knew 90% of Lankans are peace-loving people!But we need true organisers/implementers!Time is running out!

YES WE CAN! IF OBAMA CAN!!!

Posted by: shan nalliah gandhiyist norway | December 13, 2008 03:41 AM

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Posted by: Sam Muthukumaran | December 13, 2008 03:53 AM

The contributions are remarkable and the facts are very well described.

Well done.

Best regards

Sam.

Posted by: Sam Muthukumaran | December 13, 2008 04:26 AM
courtesy:transcurrent.com