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By Jayadeva Uyangoda

Despite the government’s claims to the contrary, Sri Lanka is back at war, in earnest. The theatre of war has shifted from the Eastern province to the Northern Province, to the town of Jaffna and its outskirts. It may now shift to the Eastern Province, again. Two weeks of heavy fighting has caused the loss of life among large numbers of combatants as well as civilians,

Sri Lanka’s war broke out in the backdrop of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. It appeared as if the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE had stage managed the launching of their war at a time when the world media was preoccupied with the war in Lebanon. Sri Lanka’s war got only occasional coverage in the world media. Sometimes, the BBC as well as NDTV had reduced it to a one-sentence story scripted on the moving band on the bottom of the TV screen.

In any case, Sri Lanka’s civil war has been, and continues to be, a war without reporters. During the intense escalation of war in 1995-2001, there were no reporters in the North to cover it. Journalists had developed the art of reporting the war in the North without stepping out of Colombo. Things have not changed much even in the year 2006. Media people continue to ‘cover’ the ‘story’ from Colombo. They rely primarily on two sources, the defence ministry handouts and the reports in Tamilnet, the pro-LTTE website. With no reporters on the ground, the first casualty of Sri Lanka’s on-going war is information. Combatants and civilians are also in the same league of first casualties of this war.

Civilians

One particularly nasty aspect of Sri Lanka’s new phase of war is the increasing number of civilian victims who are killed, injured or displaced. The fact that both the government and the LTTE have been using heavy weapons fired from a distance accounts for this high number of civilian casualties. The government has resorted to air strikes, long-range artillery and mortars while the LTTE has been firing long-range artillery and mortars. Both sides seem to have a good supply of these long-distance killer objects.

Deaths and injuries apart, civilians are being displaced in hundreds and sometimes thousands. In the one – week of intense war near Trincomallee in the Eastern province, nearly thirty thousand Muslims were displaced. They continue to live under harsh conditions, without even temporary shelter, in the small town of Kantalai. The government as well as the LTTE did not initially show much enthusiasm to ensure that these internally displaced communities receive humanitarian assistance. It is only after the personal intervention by the US Secretary General that the government has begun to remove restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian relief.

The media has already called this ‘Eelam War IV.’ If allowed to escalate, it will lead to catastrophic consequences. Both sides appear to be determined to work towards a decisive outcome of the war. The government seems to be keen on destroying the LTTE’s offensive capacities by knocking off their heavy weapons as well as the command and communication networks. Reduction of the number of LTTE combatants seems to be another short-term military objective of the government. The LTTE, on the other hand, seems to be committed to regaining the control of the Jaffna peninsula. With that objective in mind, the LTTE has begun a slow and patient process of laying siege on Jaffna where the Sri Lankan army has over twenty thousand troops. Who will win at the end of the day is not yet clear. But the war has all the energy to go on for quite some time.

Kethesh

The on-going war has devoured many in Sri Lanka, including Kethesh Loganathan, a prominent intellectual activist. Deductive political logic suggests that the LTTE assassinated Kethesh, on political grounds. The LTTE saw him as a traitor, because, being a Tamil politico-intellectual activist he has been working for the Sri Lankan government for the past several months as a key functionary of its so-called Peace Secretariat. Sinhalee nationalists linked to the government also saw him as a threat. The JVP newspaper described him a few times as an ‘LTTE agent’ who had infiltrated a key government entity. That is how extreme Sinhalese nationalists continue to see politically active Tamils, as ‘LTTE agents.’

The assassination of Kethesh once again demonstrates some tragic dimensions of the politics in Sri Lanka’s Tamil society. Its politics is dominated by extreme militarism. The LTTE practices militarism in its most extreme form. So do the anti-LTTE groups who are aligned with the Sri Lankan state. Sri Lankan state and the Tamil polity have been dealing with each other primarily by military means. If one were to be politically active in Sri Lankan Tamil society, one has to be in one of these mutually antagonistic camps. This is a tragic dilemma fir mainstream as well as dissident Tamil activists. Although it may sound cruel to say this, in the last year in his life, Kethesh became a political cadre of the Sri Lankan state when he accepted the position of the Deputy Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat.

Kethesh began his political life as a founder member of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) in the early 1980s. Led by the charismatic Padmanabha, the EPRELF was the most Left-wing of all Tamil militant groups active in the armed struggle. The EPRLF tried to combine class struggle with the Tamil national liberation struggle. Trained as an economist at the Georgetown University, Kethesh was one of the key theoretical figures in the EPRLF. He took part in Thimpu talks in 1984. I had the personal privilege of facilitating Kethesh’s book Sri Lanka, Lost Opportunities: Past Attempts at a Negotiated Settlement, which carries a participant’s account of the failed Thimpu talks.

Biographies

Kethesh’s biography, like the life stories of many of my generation in Sri Lanka, has been closely intertwined with the complex trajectories of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. When the Indo-Lanka agreement was signed in July 1987, the EPRLF was in the forefront of accepting the Accord as the basis for a political settlement to the ethnic conflict. When the provincial councils were set up in Sri Lanka in 1988, the EPRLF led a coalition of ex-Tamil militant groups elected to run the new devolution administration. Kethesh did not take up any political office in the new provincial administration. But he continued as a key intellectual figure in the EPRLF, advising the new Chief Minister. Eventually, the EPRL got into a great deal of trouble with the Sri Lankan state in 1990 when President Premadasa’s regime established a tactical alliance with the LTTE in their common agenda to get rid of the Indian peace keeping forces. Backed by the Indians, but hated by the Premadasa administration, the EPRLF was pushed into a new war with the LTTE. Politically and militarily cornered and faced with the prospect of being decimated, the EPRLF leaders declared a UDI for Tamils only to seek asylum in India.

Degeneration

But, Kethesh managed to stay back in Sri Lanka. He saw along with us how the Tamil national struggle got itself degenerated into war, war and war. Eventually, Kethesh left the EPRLF and active politics. He wanted to resume his professional life. There too, I had the privilege of organizing for him a position as research consultant at Colombo University’s Centre for Policy Research and Analysis. Kethesh wrote The Lost Opportunities while at CEPRA with immense passion and commitment. That book still remains the most valuable source of information and insights about Sri Lanka’s past attempts at a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict.

For several years, Kethesh worked for Colombo’s Centre for Policy Alternatives as its head of conflict and peace research division. In his CPA years, Kethesh remained very active in what we call Sri Lanka’s civil society politics, focussing on human rights, conflict resolution and peace building. He wrote newspaper columns under different pen names, his most favourite being ‘Sathya’ or the ‘Holder of the Truth.’

Dilemma

Actually, Kethesh began his Sathya column in 2002 in a significant political context. The newly elected United National Front government and the LTTE launched a joint peace initiative in early 2002. Brokered by the Norwegian government and supported by the global powers, the government and the LTTE signed a ceasefire agreement and began negotiations. There was an intense debate among Sri Lanka’s civil society groups on the question of how to deal with the new peace initiative. Kethesh initially welcomed it, but soon became very critical of what he called the ‘appeasement’ of ‘fascist LTTE’ by the Norwegians, the international community, the Sri Lankan government and the ‘peace lobby.’

Kethesh was not alone in this critical assessment of the 2002 peace process. In the sharply fragmented Sri Lankan Tamil polity, many intellectual and political groups shared his pessimism. The human rights group University Teachers of Human Rights (JFFNA) chronicled in consummate detail in their regular reports what they saw as the ‘Tiger appeasement’ and its consequences. It was also clear that sections of Sinhalese political class and the English press in Colombo made use of these sharp divisions in Tamil political society to advance the Sinhalese supremacist agenda.

Kethesh Loganathan is not the first or last person to have been slain by an assassin for political reasons arising from Sri Lanka’s ethnic war.

When the war intensified in recent weeks, the political space is also opened up for assassins to hit those the military parlance describes as ‘soft targets.’ And there are many soft targets around, Tamil as well as Sinhalese. That also signifies the kind of barbarism that an ethnic war can repeatedly bring about to a society torn asunder by an intractable conflict. [focusLanka.org]

By: Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

‘Liberation’ (Viduthalai in Tamil and Vimukthi in Sinhalese) has come to mean many things to many Tamils of Sri Lanka. What the word means to any individual or a group of people under normal circumstances, will depend on what they need to be liberated from. At the level of an individual, liberation may be sought from ignorance, foolishness, poverty, disease, anger, bigotry, ego, arrogance, karmic cycles of birth and death, etc. The cultural background and religious beliefs, social and economic conditions, and political inclinations (e.g., communist vs. capitalist) will determine the type of liberation being sought by a group of people. The liberation sought can be of a single dimension or multiple dimensions. Within the context of a larger struggle for liberation such as ours, several sub-struggles may take place. There can be simultaneously a struggle by the so-called low castes to be liberated from the oppression of the so-called higher castes, a struggle by women to be liberated from their traditional roles in society and the struggle of the have-nots to be liberated from want. Liberation is a struggle that has to continuously take place within a free people, to overthrow a past that has become a burden (Dreary desert of dead habit- Tagore) and achieve a future that is promising. Liberation is needed to over throw oppression and oppression can be of varying intensities. Only a free people can seek liberation. Slaves will never be able to seek liberation. They have to seek freedom first. To most people living in the trouble prone areas of Sri Lanka, especially for those living in the North-East, the Tamil liberation struggle has come to signify only liberation from life- death.

Freedom (Suthanthiram in Tamil and Nidhas in Sinhala) and liberation are frequently understood to mean the same by many, and this is understandable. However, they are different. A people can have freedom, while not being liberated. But they cannot be liberated, while not having freedom. The differences are subtle but profound. We gained ‘Freedom’ from the British, but subsequently sought to be ‘Liberated’ from the Sinhalese. By extension we were not ‘Free’ during colonial rule and were not ‘Oppressed’; and have been ‘Free’ in the post-independence era, but claim to be ‘Oppressed’. This is rather contradictory. If we did not have freedom during the colonial era, we could not have been without oppression. We have equated the greater material opportunities available to us during the colonial era, with a lack of oppression. We were enticed with economic incentives to learn English, Latin and Greek, and to call the Tamil language teachers, ’Vernacular teachers’. We were ready to become ‘Little Englishmen’ and mimic their ways. We were taught to look down on our language and culture. Our elite were proud they were more fluent and conversant in English than in Tamil. Tamil became a language to be spoken with servants and those below their station in life, for our elite.

However, we prospered as a minority within the country. True, no one let loose thugs and the armed forces on us during the British colonial era and wreaked havoc in our lives. This was because we were an obedient, pliant people basking in the colonial sunlight! We were enjoying the rights of good slaves, because we were obedient, hard working and mendacious! We never challenged their right to rule and enslave us. We were made to become different and what we were not, by various tools the British expertly used. We were the fish the British expertly hooked with attractive bait. However, we were neither free nor liberated. A hooked fish can swim to the limits of the line and may think it is yet swimming. However, the truth is that it is yet hooked and can be hauled out of water any time to die. This situation can also be compared to a gold fish kept in a fish bowl. It is fed once or twice a day. The bowl is cleaned regularly and new water provided. The gold fish looks fat, sleek and healthy. But is it free? Is it not oppressed? Can it go where it wants and eat what it wants? Can it seek a mate it wants? This was our life during the ‘Golden era’ of colonialism, when we think we thrived and prospered. There were limits to what we could do and aspire to. We were not free to seek what we needed. We were set on a particular course that met the needs of the British. We accepted this without protest and mistook it for ultimate bliss.

We did not also use the freedom, independence from the British provided, to seek a new and different future. We wanted the status-quo to continue in all aspects of our lives. We wanted to continue being the fish on the hook or the gold fish in the bowl. We did not know where we wanted to go and did not have the leaders with vision to tell us where we should go. While the rest of Sri Lanka was awakening to new vistas that independence provided and sought to exploit it to their benefit, we were caught in a time warp and craved for a past that was no more. We were not a dynamic community seeking to liberate ourselves from a colonial past and seek a modern future. The colonization schemes, Sinhala only blitz, standardization of marks for admission to the universities, nationalization programs and constitutional experiments of the Sinhala polity were part of the attempts to assert their independence and identity, however mistaken, mischievous, misguided, malicious and short sighted these acts were from a national point of view. The two JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna- Peoples Liberation Movement) armed revolts were directed at the failures of the ruling establishment. The JVP had a vision different from that of the ruling establishment for Sri Lanka and the Sinhala people. The established system and the nature of politics in Sri Lanka left no room for democratic dissent, discussion and enlightened decision making, even among the Sinhala majority. The JVP revolts although largely founded on reasonable grievances, failed because they were carried out in the wrong way and over stepped acceptable norms. The tactics adopted by the JVP were wrong and not consonant with the cultural and religious ethos of the Sinhala people. Although the Sinhala people were sympathetic to the grievances articulated by the JVP, they did not accept the violent methods used. Hence, these revolts did not resonate with the vast majority of the people. This gave the opportunity for the establishment to mercilessly crush both revolts and continue in the ways it was wont to. The Sri Lankan ruling establishment, dominated by the Sinhalese, has reacted in the same way to the JVP revolts and the Tamil militancy- brutally, short-sightedly, insensitively and unwisely, without any attempt to resolve the underlying causes. The JVP has now re-invented itself as a regular political party in the conventional Sri Lankan mould and has become an important share holder in the very establishment it revolted against!

Subramanya Bharathy (Bharathiyar) in his song titled ‘Viduthalai (Liberation)’ celebrates the liberation that will be achieved by people belonging to various castes who were oppressed within Indian society, on gaining freedom from the British.

“ Viduathali, viduthalai, viduthalai, Parayarukkum, ingu theeya pulayarukkum viduthalai, Maravarodu, kuravarukkum—–etc.,” (Tamil)

He also asks a rhetorical question, “Whether those seeking a ‘Brave Freedom’ (Veera Suthanthiram) will think of anything else?” elsewhere in his poetry. The subtle distinction between freedom and liberation has been enunciated beautifully by Bharathiyar. Where as the following lines from a Saivite hymn widely known to Hindu Tamils, combines the concepts of liberation, freedom and courage, into a composite whole, and underlines a different dimension of thought that influenced the lives of Tamils.

He also asks a rhetorical question, “Whether those seeking a ‘Brave Freedom’ (Veera Suthanthiram) will think of anything else?” elsewhere in his poetry. The subtle distinction between freedom and liberation has been enunciated beautifully by Bharathiyar. Where as the following lines from a Saivite hymn widely known to Hindu Tamils, combines the concepts of liberation, freedom and courage, into a composite whole, and underlines a different dimension of thought that influenced the lives of Tamils.

“Naam Yaarkum Kudiyallaum- Namanai Anjaum, Narahathil Idapadaum, —-“(Tamil)

—-“We are not anyone’s slaves,Will not fear even Yama (The God of death) and,Will not be condemned to Hell—- (Translation).

Not being anyone’s slave is freedom and not having to fear even Yama, is liberation! Refusing to be condemned to hell is courage indeed! Where do we Tamils now stand in the context of these thoughts that have permeated our lives, from childhood? We have a cultural and religious heritage that behooves us to do what is ‘Right’ (Aram- Tamil), while standing up courageously for freedom and liberation. We have lost our way some how. We are overwhelmed by fear of every kind imaginable, have lost our freedom to do what is ‘Right ‘ and have pliantly accepted ‘Hell’ as a lifestyle.

Yes, we have been misgoverned by the Sinhala majority in Sri Lanka. They were definitely not ‘Right’. We had the right to resist and revolt against mis-government. We had the right to demand liberation from the oppression of mis-governance. We had the right to fight back when thugs and the armed forces were let loose on us. We had the right to demand that we be permitted to manage our own affairs. We had also the right to demand a separate state, if a majority of us thought that was a solution to our problems. The freedom to do all these things was our birth right, in independent Sri Lanka. However, these rights should have been exercised within the context of what is ‘RIGHT (ARAM)’. We have miserably failed to do so and are presently paying a rather heavy price for this folly. We made a Faustian bargain with the devil and have become the victims of this deal. We forsook what was ‘Right’ and permitted our lives to be directed by what is ‘Wrong’. This is where we have failed. Mahatma Gandhi and a majority of the Indians did not make a Faustian bargain with the devil when they sought freedom for India, nor did Nelson Mandela and his people in South Africa, when they wanted freedom from white rule and liberation from apartheid. They were great leaders and a great people. What are we?

We are at present keeping score of the dead like in a sporting event, in a macabre fashion, with no end in sight for the match. We itch to start a war and do everything possible to instigate one. Thereafter, if we kill more than the armed forces in any one day, we cheer. If the armed forces kill more of us, we cry foul. We have ceased to value human life and are not appalled at the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children in what is increasingly becoming a futile war. Deaths have become the measure of success and failure in our liberation struggle. In success, which means that ‘Others’ have died more, we claim a trophy and seek monetary rewards, from those who support us. In failure, which would obviously involve more Tamil deaths, these deaths become our ‘Beggar’s wound’, to attract more support and money. Our liberation struggle has become a successful money spinning operation in both success and failure, involving principally death! What have we achieved other than death, misery and destruction for all people in Sri Lanka, including us Tamils, through our liberation struggle of twenty five years ? We kill fellow-Tamils and our natural allies- the Tamil speaking Muslims, without any compunction, in the name of liberation. We kill and are ready to kill any Sinhalese, as a perceived enemy. It is to be noted that more Tamils have died and have become destitute since the advent of this liberation struggle, than our perceived enemies! We have become degenerate and cruel to an extent that it is becoming shameful to be identified as a Sri Lankan Tamil. What is ‘Right’ is ‘Might’ and this is a lesson we never learned, and probably will never learn, considering what we have become and the type of leaders we have accepted.

From a religious angle, as Hindus we want to be liberated from the karmic cycle of birth and death to attain union with the ‘Supreme or Universal Spirit’, we call God. This would require that we follow a path of ‘Aram’. The first thing taught to Tamil child with the first alphabet ‘Aana’ in Tamil is,

‘Aram Seiya Virumbu’-Auvaiyar

(Desire to do what is ‘Right’-Translation).

The word ‘Aram’ has been beautifully defined by Thiruvalluvar in the following couplets:

“Allukkaru, Avaa, Vehuli, Innaachol- Ivai Naankum,Illukkaa Iyandrathu Aram”

A life lived free of evil thoughts, excessive desire, anger & unpleasant words is Aram-(Translation).

“Aran Enapaduwathu Yaathenil- Yaathondrum,Theemai Illathu Seyal”

Aram is when your actions are absolutely harmless (Translation).

“Maranthum Piran Khedhu Seiyatka-Seiyin, Aram Soolum Soolthavan Khedu”

Aram will punish those who even unconsciously contemplate harming others (Translation).

“ Aravinai Yaathenil Khollaamai-Koeril, Pira Vinnai Ellaam Tharum”

Not killing is an act of Aram. Killing brings in its wake a multitude of bad results (Translation).

“Aravaali Anthanan Thaal Serntharku Allaal-Pirravaali, Neenthal Arithu”Unless one surrenders at the feet of the ‘One who is the epitome of Aram (God)’,

It will be very difficult to cross the sea of life (Translation).

The God we worship is one who is ‘Absolutely Right’ and to seek union with Him-Her, and escape the cycles of birth and death, we have to do what is ‘Right’. This is the essence of our religious beliefs as Saivite Hindus.

Thiruvalluvar once again says:

“Piravi Perum Kadal Neenthuvar- Neenthar, Iraivan Adi Serrathaar”

Those who will be able to cross the ocean of birth and death are those who have surrendered at the feet of God. Those who fail will not be able to swim (Translation).

Thiruvallur, with the brevity, clarity and wisdom he is admired for, has defined for us unequivocally what ‘Right’ is and who the God, the majority of us believe in and worship, is. What is the point in visiting temples, breaking coconuts, pouring gallons of milk, offering flowers and performing other rituals, in our despair, if we fail to understand these basic precepts? If we define our God as being ‘Right’, we have to seek a path that is ‘Right’ in all our endeavours, including our liberation struggle. Rituals, poojas, archanas or yagas will not absolve us of our sins, if we continue on the path we are. This is the reason even God has failed us in our hours of need, despite our anguished cries to high heaven. We have the right cause and absolutely reasonable grievances. However, we have taken the wrong path, absolutely alien to our cultural and religious ethos, in search of remedies. We have been force marched on the wrong path by leaders who have imposed themselves on us, at gun point. Accepting such men and women as our leaders was our fault. However, I doubt whether we have the guts and courage to tell them to get lost!

Killing innocent people is wrong. Killing unarmed opponents is wrong. Killing people, only because they disagree is wrong. Killing people because they are different from us is wrong. Suicide bombing is wrong. Sending innocent children into war is wrong. Mass murder is wrong. Exposing innocent civilians- men, women and children, to death is wrong. Cycle bombs are wrong. Trishaw bombs are wrong. Claymore mines are wrong. Encouraging other people and other people’s children to die, while resorting to all sorts of devices to keep ourselves, our children and our kin safe, is wrong. Brainwashing children is wrong. Raising orphaned children as suicide bombers and cannon fodder is wrong. Falsehood to seek favourable publicity is wrong. Intimidating the press with the threat of death is wrong. Kidnapping is wrong. Extortion is wrong. Bribery is wrong. Coveting other people’s property is wrong. Forcing a people to tow a line they do not accept, at gun point, is wrong. Pedaling narcotics is wrong. Cheating in any form is wrong. Lying is wrong. Character assassination of those who dissent is wrong. Blackmail is wrong. Thuggery is wrong. The inclusion of crooks, thugs, rowdies, cads, cheats and bullies, hooligans, criminals, murderers and ignoramuses at various levels of the liberation movements is wrong. All these and more have come to characterize our liberation struggle. There are good, dedicated and idealistic men in the liberation struggle, but they are the minority at the levels that matter, and seldom heard. The noticeable fact is that our liberation struggle has become the last refuge of many rascals! There is no doubt that a large numbers of our sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters have been brave in battle and have sacrificed their lives for us. This was right and this was great. They have to be remembered and honoured by every Tamil. However, their idealism, bravery and sacrifice have been tarnished beyond redeem by the wrongs that have overtaken our liberation struggle. In the final count they may have fought and died in vain. We have killed everything that was ‘Right’ in our struggle and enthroned everything that is ‘Wrong’!

The task at hand now is to regain the freedom we have unwittingly lost to forces of evil. This freedom has to be regained, if we are to liberate ourselves from mis-rule in Sri Lanka. We are not a free people anymore. We are living in fear of our lives. We have become the slaves of cruel masters. We are told what to do and how to comply. We are told what to think. We are told when our children can learn and when not. We are killed, if we disagree. We are being killed and are killing others in a war that a majority of us do not want. We have become a nation of refugees and are trying to make others also suffer the same fate. The list is endless and even the slaves of yore would pity us.

How can we think of liberation, when we have lost our freedom? Our struggle has to return to the right path and be consonant with our culture and religious ethos, if it is to bear fruit. We have to overthrow the oppression that has overwhelmed us and demand the rights to life and livelihood, before we start talking about and fighting for the other niceties of human life, such as our political and citizenship rights. The Sinhalese did not take away our freedom. We never demanded freedom from the Sinhalese. Our struggle was to liberate ourselves from the mis-rule of the Sinhala ruling establishment. We have lost our freedom through our own idiocy. Once we regain our freedom, let us fight for our liberation from Sinhala mis-rule, in the right way. The right way need not be always passive. We have the right to fight with guns, if we have no other alternatives. However, let us do so the right way, adhering to civilized and acceptable norms. Let us not sacrifice our lives, our humanity and our money, at the ‘Alter’ of a liberation struggle that has lost its soul long ago and has become a personification of evil. The wrongs the Sinhalese, the Sinhala polity and the Sri Lankan government are accused of are not a reason or rationale for us to do wrong. I hope what I have been saying for a long time and have said here will make sense to the Tamils of Sri Lanka, where ever they may live, who yet believe in an Almighty God and whose mercy they desperately seek in various ways.

Assassination of Ketheshwaran Loganathan: Continuation of the unwise intent to keep the Tamil question unresolved

By Dr. S. Narapalasingam

The Indian daily ‘The Hindu’ on August 17 in its editorial titled ‘The LTTE’s war trap’ said: “The LTTE has used one provocation after another to draw a military response from the Government. It has no interest in a just, federal settlement for Sri Lankan Tamils in a united Sri Lanka. The killing of Kethesh Loganathan, deputy secretary-general of the Sri Lankan government peace secretariat and a dissident Tamil – a year after the assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar – has reinforced this reading. Over the past two decades, Loganathan dedicated his life to finding a solution to the conflict that would allow Tamils to live as equal citizens with Sinhalese in one country. For this, the LTTE killed him ….” The editorial has also drawn attention to “Kumaratunga government’s plan to woo Tamils with constitutional reforms along federal lines (that) did not work, as an opportunistic opposition joined hands with the LTTE to sink the project. So it is not the LTTE alone there are other forces too hindering the resolution of the conflict despite the continuing killings and turmoil that are making life miserable for the surviving millions. This dilemma that is denying peace and prosperity to Sri Lanka is discussed in some detail later in this article.

The assassination of Ketheshwaran Loganathan, son of the illustrious C. Loganathan, former General Manager of Bank of Ceylon on August 12 has been widely condemned and his commitment to national unity and peace highly praised. At the time of the killing, Kethesh Loganathan was the Deputy Chief of the Government Peace Secretariat (SCOPP) and Secretary of the All Party Representative Committee (APRC). Kethesh joined SCOPP as its Deputy Secretary General in March this year, having resigned from his post as Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and Head of its Conflict and Peace Analysis Unit. He wanted to make a direct contribution to the formation of a Constitutional framework that will be the realistic basis for settling the national question, which has its roots in the unfair centralized governing system that made the minority ethnic communities politically powerless.

The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) on August 13 also condemned the murder of Peace Secretariat’s Deputy Head Kethish Loganathan. In a statement issued to the media, the SLMM said: “After having worked with Kethish Loganathan and for the last time met him on Friday, August 11, 2006, the message of his death came as a shock, not only to the SLMM but also, for all people longing for peace. Taking part in his experiences, his well founded arguments and his professionalism, has been a pleasure for all people who got to work with him. There are no words strong enough to condemn this new and cold blooded murder of yet another statesman living for peace”.

Bob Rae and David Cameron, who as members of the Forum of Federations participated in the Sri Lankan peace talks in their tribute (The Globe and Mail, Canada) to Kethesh said: “We learned last week that a distinguished colleague and friend of ours, Kethesh Loganathan, had been murdered in Colombo, in one of the countless acts of violence that have plagued Sri Lanka for decades. To the world, this is just a tiny footnote in an endless tragedy unfolding on a small island in an ocean far away. To us, and to Kethesh’s family and friends, it is an immense personal loss. He was a brave and honourable man who sought the good of his country, and cared greatly for his fellow citizens. For four years, we worked with him on the peace process during many trips to Sri Lanka. Kethesh represented the future so many fine Sri Lankans are struggling to build — pluralistic, respectful of human life and human rights, deeply democratic. His life stands as a symbol of what is good and right in the country. But his death is profoundly discouraging.”

Kethesh’s involvement in the struggle for a just political settlement to the Tamil question began after the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom. The Muslim factor emerged after the ethnic cleansing in the North and the killings and harassments of Muslims in the East by the Tigers as part of their struggle for Tamil Eelam. He got engaged in Tamil politics as a member of the Eelam People’s Liberation Front (EPRLF). He was also a member of the Tamil delegation at the Thimpu peace talks in 1985. Along with Varatharajaperumal (who is now residing in India) he represented the EPRLF. Kethesh withdrew from Tamil politics and the EPRLF in 1994.

I will not forget the day Kethesh visited me and presented his book – Lost Opportunities – published in 1996 by the Centre for Policy Research and Analysis (CEPRA), University of Colombo, This book contains basic and analytical information which has been very useful to me in preparing many articles on the ongoing conflict. ‘Lost Opportunities’ has revealed the special analytical intellect of Kethesh. I was hoping he would publish the second volume as some more opportunities for settling the conflict had been lost since 1995. The entire country is now paying the price for the failures.

A key factor that must have led to the view that Kethesh is a ‘traitor’ to the separatists’ armed struggle is his visionary outlook of the future of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. He believed strongly lasting peace can be secured only by meaningful power-sharing arrangement at the centre and ‘maximum’ devolution of governing powers to the regions. A system that bestows a reasonable degree of self-rule with shared rule was Kethesh’s well-considered view for regaining the lost peace. As enlightened Tamils know, durable peace without unity is just a delusion. Kethesh was a committed nationalist, who knew the limits of Tamil Nationalism in a multi-ethnic society. He was committed to freedom of _expression, democracy and human rights.

Three principal actors

There are three actors at the centre, whose actions and counter actions are helping to sustain the violent conflict. They are the Southern polity (this includes the Government), Tamil Diaspora and the Tamil Tigers.

The very forces responsible for the unilateral abrogation of the 1957 Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact and subsequent failed attempts to settle the Tamil issue, by their supremacist stance are opposing moves to settle it through substantial devolution of power to the regions. They are in effect providing vital support to the Tamil separatists in their determined efforts to continue fighting for separate Tamil Eelam, an aim rejected bluntly by India and the rest of the international community.

Bob Rae and David Cameron have said in their tribute to Kethesh: “The LTTE is unwilling to make the transition — as did the African National Congress and the IRA — from guerrilla army to political party. The government is unable to present a coherent plan for a constitution that would give important powers and guarantees to the parts of Sri Lanka that have historically been the homeland of the Tamils”. It is foolhardy for any rebel movement to ignore the ground realities when the people suffer endlessly incurring unbearable losses and the prospects of achieving the original aim are dim to end the fighting and join the democratic system as a distinct political party on some agreed terms. What many have failed to recognize here is the unique makeup of the LTTE that makes it very different from the ANC and the IRA.

From another angle too the LTTE is unique. It eliminates intellectuals in their own community, who have different views on the resolution of the dispute. Ketheshwaran Loganathan is the latest victim. Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council in his tributes to Kethesh said the assassination was “unbefitting of a national liberation struggle.” The same applies to the immoral killings of other Tamils committed to peaceful resolution of the conflict. Kethesh was critical of the peace process because of its main aim to sustain the ceasefire rather than seek a speedy resolution of the conflict. Jehan Perera has now vindicated Kethesh’s honest stand.

Although the damage to Tamil culture due to the sole dependence of violence to settle differences within members of the community is visible, there is hardly any collective concern about this ghastly trend. The recent tragic events affecting the Muslims in Muthur and Tamils in the North as a result of offensive operations by the LTTE aimed at capturing more land should open the eyes of the supporters of violence which is destroying the community. The attacks by the government forces against LTTE targets are now more offensive than defensive contrary to President’s claim. And the casualties include innocent civilians. The main aim of the liberators is to ensure that the land after liberation is solely under their control. The danger to the future of the Tamil community lies in this egoistic goal.

The Diaspora provides considerable financial support to the separatists’ war effort and the vital non-financial support is being provided by the Southern polity. The financial support of the Diaspora is sustained by the political stance of this polity and the military actions. Any hostile action that hurts the Tamils in Sri Lanka (as the recent aerial bombings in the North) helps to sustain the funding to the Tigers. Thus, the destruction and mayhem happen in a vicious circle. The shouts and pleas of third parties, including the powerful U.S.A. EU and Japan have not broken the cycle. India’s reluctance to get directly involved in the peace effort is also helping the principal actors to continue with their hostile activities. Specifically, the absence of concerted effort to change Sri Lanka’s present structure towards a federal model as agreed at the Oslo Peace Talks (November 2002) and recommended by the donor community in Tokyo in 2003 is also supporting the continuation of the war for independent Eelam.

Obstacles

JVP and JHU think the way to seek peace is to defeat the Tigers militarily. They want the war to be intensified so as to annihilate the Tigers. The JHU tried to disrupt the August 17 anti- war rally organized by the National Anti-War Front (NAF) in Colombo for the same reason. The violent disturbances, the Saffron clad men caused must have embarrassed the enlightened Buddhists. Military victory has not been possible for the past two decades not only because of the fighting strength and shrewd tactics of the Tigers but also due to the fact in major air attacks the casualties will be many innocent civilians. The Tigers have used this constraint to their advantage. Leaders of main political parties know that the international community will not permit this kind of assault. India’s opposition to air attacks was evident from the recent tragic events in which several non-combatants (including children) were killed. It also showed the relevance of the Tamil Nadu factor when there is a real danger to the safety of the civilians.

The fundamental problem that is preventing the country from advancing like many countries in Asia-Pacific region is the politicization of almost everything that should really be outside party politics. The ethnic issue was no exception. It emerged from the power struggle within the Sinhalese polity and hindered the settlement of the ethnic problem for the past fifty years. From the belligerent stand of the JVP and JHU the extremists too are an obstacle to peace and prosperity. Any government that is influenced by the views of these extreme parties cannot succeed in freeing Sri Lanka from the predicament she had been driven by the divisive forces.

Dayan Jayatilleka in his comments on the killing of Kethesh Loganathan (Daily News 14 August) has quoted the article his slain friend wrote a year ago highlighting the obstacles in the South to consensual political solution to the ethnic problem and by extension to peace. To quote: “This absence of ‘enlightened self-interest’ in my opinion, although now largely rectified in relation to Indo-Lanka relations but not necessarily irreversible, continues to dog the Colombo political establishment on other matters relating to the peace process, and has provided the LTTE its very mode of existence. The confusion between engagement and appeasement of the LTTE is a case in point. Another is the failure to forge a southern consensus on the Ethnic Question based on self-rule and shared-rule…” (Kethesh Loganathan: “Mervyn’s Insights were Foresights”, Sunday Observer, June 19th 2005)

Pluralism and democracy are unimportant to the separatists because their focus is solely on gaining control over the land in the North and East. Dayan also agrees that “the LTTE’s conditions of existence are not supplied by the LTTE itself but by others, including those who claim to oppose separatism and terrorism. There are two types of people and policies which furnish the Tigers with their mode of existence”. Amongst the policies the critical ones are those which obstruct power sharing, self rule as well as the very recognition of the existence of an Ethnic Question by the international community. A sea change with regard to the Ethnic Question is needed from the Sinhalese polity, if the existing conditions supporting the armed conflict are to disappear.

The current approach to reach a consensual political solution to the conflict has not given the momentum needed for completing the task early. The need to expedite the work is now greater than ever before. The mechanism that has been set up is more appropriate during peace time but not when the country is in a desperate situation. Over 1000 civilians, militants and security personnel have been killed this year. Moreover, tens of thousands of Muslim and Tamil families have been displaced from their habitats. Around 10,000 Tamils have fled to Tamil Nadu since the Eelam war restarted and are living in refugee camps with minimum basic facilities. SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem visited this week New Delhi and discussed with Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan the issue of the vast number of people internally displaced due to the latest bout of violence in Sri Lanka’s North and East. He sought India’s assistance to the government of Sri Lanka to resettle the IDPs belonging to both the Muslim and Tamil communities. There are nearly 100,000 IDPs who need to be resettled.

Kethesh with his knowledge of the Indo-Lanka Agreement and recommendations of previous committees, particularly the Mangala Moonesinghe Parliamentary Select Committee process tasked at formulating a constitutional solution to the national question would have helped the APRC in speeding the work on matters decided earlier with regard to the proposed constitutional change. The earlier works on devolution have useful proposals for consideration. The right path to peace is through a new balanced governing system that gives administrative powers to the regions as in a federal configuration. The suggestion to dispel the misgivings on this issue is given below.

The future

SCOPP Peace Secretariat Chief Dr. Palitha Kohona declared at the press conference held the day after Ketheshwaran Loganathan was gunned down at his home in Dehiwala that Kethesh has “joined the long list of Tamil dissidents who have sacrificed their lives because they chose to defer from the LTTE.” Dr. Kohona also stressed “the freedom to dissent must be protected and they all must ensure his death will not be a waste”. This is a pious statement and its realization requires as a matter of urgency a political solution to the national problem that respects democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Here comes the contradiction in government’s approach to political settlement. The fact that any political settlement within united Sri Lanka is anathema to the LTTE is well known. The UNF government made the grave mistake of using the peace talks to buy time, hoping the LTTE will eventually abandon separation. The so called ‘international safety net’ on which the then government relied heavily also failed to prevent the collapse of its peace plan.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said in Parliament on August 23: “It is now time for the LTTE to focus on the substantial core issues of devolution of power rather than chase an unattainable chimera of a mono-ethnic separate state which does not belong in today’s civilized world”. He also said: “The only way to resolve the conflict is through negotiations and the Government remains fully committed to a political process to address the genuine grievances of the Tamil speaking people of this country”. If the government is going to wait for the LTTE to shun violence and join the democratic mainstream even to deal with the Tamil grievances let alone a political settlement, it will be a very long costly wait. Even one life lost in the conflict in Sri Lanka is too many to ignore. Government leaders continue to reiterate the commitment to a negotiated political settlement and this seemed to have misled many including the foreign governments to believe this is feasible. The reason for being skeptical should be clear from the foregoing analysis and no further elucidation is necessary.

According to August 20 PTI report, India has offered a devolution formula based on the Sarkaria Commission’s recommendations, which could take care of the interests and aspirations of all sections of the society of the island nation.” Given the past failures in drafting well-balanced constitutions, Sri Lanka should accept India’s offer to provide expertise in devolution of powers within a structure that guarantees the unity and territorial integrity of the island nation.

Even when drafting the 1972 and 1978 constitutions, it is the political interest of the ruling party and that of the majority Sinhalese that mattered most. Speaker of the House W.J.M. Lokubandara, a UNP senior politician said recently: “The 1978 Constitution was drafted and adopted by the UNP with the sole intention of ensuring a UNP rule forever in the country and making Prime Minister J.R. Jayewardene the Executive President of the country,” Although JR succeeded in ensuring that the UNP retains power even in the opposition, he did not think of the problems the country would face with weak governments and an obstructive opposition as has been the case during the past two decades. The immediate challenge is to shun narrow interests and for all parties to give importance to national interest in the efforts to settle the conflict and restore peace throughout the country.

In a compassionate and moving article, “Love and protect thy neighbour especially if he is a Tamil”, published (Daily News 14 August) in memory of Lakshman Kadirgamar who was also assassinated a year ago, the author has said: “The name of Neelan Tiruchelvam comes to my mind. A man who resolutely fought for a solution to the ethnic question. The memory of Neelan and the contribution he made to stall the ethnic strife is kept aloft by his dear wife and the institution which he funded. But, is that sufficient? As Sinhalese are we grateful to these men who sacrificed their lives to bring peace and harmony to this country”. The article must have been written before the assassination of Kethesh Loganathan. The sentiments expressed have been underpinned by the loss of another contributor to the same objective on August 12.

The author has said two principles are important for a political solution to the ethnic problem. These are: “(1) to allow autonomy as much as it is necessary; (2) to ensure safeguards against any type of disintegration, break away or secession. We also believe that given current international developments and the challenges that our country is facing we need to have a rather strong system at the centre as well. Therefore, we propose considerable power sharing at the centre in addition to devolution of power to the regions or the periphery.” All seeking a just settlement to the conflict should take note of these sound principles. Kethesh in his own way was also striving for a constitutional change along the same line. Present fighters were not born when there was tranquility and peace in the entire country. They would not know the sense of pride we had then as Ceylonese. The author has also reminded in the pre-56 era, “Even the lower middle classes had enough money and time to spend in pursuit of happiness. The Tamils, the Sinhalese and the Muslims lived in peace, harmony and tranquility”. Ceylon was poised to become a growing high income country but then our leaders had other priorities in their minds.

“Who will do what is right?” is the question posed by Kathleen Rutledge, Country Manager, World Concern Sri Lanka after seeing the suffering children, mothers and fathers in the conflict stricken Eastern province. The moderate Tamils like Kethesh though they want to do what is right cannot by themselves do much to liberate the people caught in the war trap. Hopefully, the assassination of Ketheshwaran Loganathan will move our Sinhalese brethren to take the same view of the national problem as the compassionate author of the abovementioned article. The political initiative needed to break the vicious loop and restore peace is entirely in the hands of the Sinhalese polity. Those who disrupt doing what is right are lending support to the project to divide the island along ethnic line.

by Kumar Rupesinghe

In spite of bombings and heavy rain, over 5000 people from Colombo took part in a demonstration and rally calling upon the two parties to stop the war. The rally also demonstrated the largest coalition of forces to join the National Anti-War Front (NAWF) — mass mobilization campaign for peace. There were representatives of the UNP, the SLFP, the Communist Party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the New Left, the CWC, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the Tamil National Alliance, the Western Peoples Front, the Up Country Peoples Front , trade unions, a significant group of religious leaders, including Bishops and many civil society representatives.

After the demonstration, the meeting began with the traditional blessings of the religious leaders, who invoked blessings for peace and the no war campaign. Then a group of monks walked in, and, as is our culture, some of us got up to worship the monks and to make sure that they were provided proper seating. They did not seem to be in a mood to listen to us and I saw them unfolding a poster from inside the saffron robes and one of them seizing the microphone and shouting at the audience. It was then that I realized that these monks had come to disrupt the meeting. I know that my colleagues pleaded with them to leave the premises in peace. But the monks were in no mood to do this and shouted at the organizers and started to push the organizers aside. It was then that the pandemonium started. Many in the crowd were outraged by the blatant provocations of the monks and I witnessed with horror, monks hitting people with their umbrellas and people in the meeting shoving and pushing the monks. This was and is a regrettable incident. I understand that the monks had turned up with 25 goons from the underworld, who also made it their business to assault the supporters of the NAWF. The police remained passive without doing anything to stop the pandemonium. This, in spite of warning to the police that such a thing could happen.

When I was interviewed by T.V, in my statement I said that witnessing these events was one of the saddest incidents of my life. I then stated that I valued and cherished the teachings of Lord Buddha and have tried to emulate his teachings of non violence. I said that I did not think that these monks represented the teachings of Lord Buddha.

It was clear to everyone that the monks had come with the explicit purpose of disrupting the meeting. Outside the grounds where the meeting took place, the monks gave a press conference which was very revealing. They said that they will not allow peace marches to take place in any part of the country. They stated that there will only be war preaching and no peace preaching in the country. They even said that they would resort to violence to stop the rallies in the future. They also challenged us to have meetings in the North and the East and in particular in Kilinochchi. A few days later, at a hastily convened press conference the monks tried to say that they came to the meeting only to have a dialogue with the peace activists. Television replays showed another story. It is interesting to note that even the JVP and the JHU have also denounced the actions of the monks from the Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya.

Resurgence of militant political Buddhism

In Sri Lanka, Buddhist monks have taken to violence and intolerance. One of its first manifestations was in 1959, when Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike was worshiping a monk, the monk took a pistol and shot the Prime Minister. The environment and political atmosphere was similar to the one now when Sinhalese extremists forced the Prime Minister to abrogate the Bandaranaike – Chelvanayagam Pact and then eventually assassinated him. This was in every imaginable way an outrageous crime. Over the years, sections of monks began to take collective violent action. The best example was when the Sinhala Urumaya attacked over 150 churches and destroyed and set fire to several of them two years ago. A fact finding mission that was undertaken at that time demonstrated without any doubt, that the Sinhala Urumaya members and, in particular, some monks who are today in Parliament were responsible for these acts. A scrutiny of their pamphlets at that time incited the people to attack churches saying that these churches were engaged in unethical conversions. As a result of this blatant act of terrorism, the US State Department banned the organization.

Another instance was when Sarvodaya was engaged in a demonstration in Kandy near the Temple of the Tooth, throughmeditation sessions. Other religious leaders were also present at this meditation session. A group of monks came and disrupted the meeting. When the participants continued to practice meditation and Ahimsa, the monks began to physically attack the participants.

Recently, Rev. Athureliye Ratana of the JHU took a group of hoodlums to Seruvila and threatened to march into Mavil Aru and open the anicut by force. Fortunately, the Chief Incumbents of the two main temples in Seruvila, who had been attempting to resolve the water dispute through peaceful means, prevented him from carrying out this act. This action of the monk is in marked contrast to the actions of Lord Buddha in the settlement of the water dispute between the Koliyans and Sakyans. The position of the Lord Buddha is graphically represented in the Dhammapada Commentary. The Commentary describes how Lord Buddha averted a war by his presence and his teaching and mediation. These commentaries are essential reading to our own militant monks who preach war.

I have taken some time to give a description of the activities of these monks and as to what should be the reactions of those who participate in peaceful demonstrations.

The newspapers in their reporting of the event based on their political leanings, set out to give different interpretations of the event. The Minister of Information fortunately put the record straight with a strong condemnation of the actions of the monks for blatantly disrupting the meeting and violating a fundamental right, i.e. the freedom of assembly and the freedom of expression. Sadly, the international news coverage showed monks in yellow robes going on the rampage and shouting for war at a peace rally. This spectacle of monks engaged in these actions only brings disgrace to Buddhism, which is known as the religion that is based on a value frame of non-violence and tolerance.

The events which led to the disruption of the meeting bring into sharp relief, several matters which are of critical importance to all of us who cherish a free and democratic society in the country. The event hopefully will open up a serious debate on a number of issues.

One of them is what does one do when monks who are supposed to profess the ideals of Ahimsa and non-violence come to a peace meeting to wreck the meeting? According to our culture and traditions, we have been taught to worship monks and pay respect. What then do we do when they preach the very opposite of what Lord Buddha taught? I seek edification from the Buddhist scriptures to seek guidance on this important matter. There is no question that if the monks are so determined to disrupt peace rallies, then we have to be prepared to meet this challenge with non-violence. Whilst the police should ensure the maintenance of law and order, the organizers and those coming to the rallies should be trained in advanced techniques of non-violence. This means taking the example of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The movement must and should wrest the process from those who would wish to turn these rallies into violence. Gandhi in his Satyagraha campaigns taught the art of positive non-violence and these techniques must be emulated by the peace movement. This is the need of the hour.

Another question that comes up is the nature of violence and non-violence within the anti-war movements in Sri Lanka. How does an anti-war movement dedicated to peace and co-existence deal with the question of violence and intolerance? The question which I wish to pose is, what do we do in a situation where monks under the cloak of the saffron robe engage in violent acts. Mahatma Gandhi, of course, never faced an assault by Hindu priests or other kinds of religious fanatics. The brunt of the attacks on his movement came from the British army and the police. But in conditions of an ethnic conflict when feelings amongst the population are polarized unlike in the broad front against British imperialism, Gandhi had great difficulty in restraining the people, particularly during the Hindu – Muslims clashes. Nevertheless, the peace movement must emulate and learn the lessons from the great teachers of positive non violence.

The NAWF and non violence

Another matter which I wish to take up here is the role of the National Anti- War Front. It has been stated that NAWF never issued statements or demonstrated against the violence of the LTTE. The NAWF has over the years repeatedly condemned the brutal killings and acts of violence of the LTTE. These press statements have been issued consistently, including when a busload of passengers were subjected to a claymore attack in Kebitigollewa. It may be opportune at this moment to provide the readers with a quotation with regard to our position on violence and war.

“It is our view that violence begets violence. Violence is like a cancer which has spread to all parts of our island. We condemn all forms of violence. We also state that violence will not resolve the problems that are with us here in Sri Lanka. Proxy wars or selective wars will eventually lead to a total war and will devastate the entire country. The consequences of such a war are unthinkable. Let us all take a leaf from India and learn from the great teacher of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi with his philosophy of Ahimsa threatened the very basis of the British Empire. Another example that we much cherish is that of Nelson Mandela, who after 27 years in prison, was able to extend the hand of friendship and reconciliation towards De Klerk, his arch enemy. The greatest example of all is the teachings of Lord Buddha. The Buddha was, both in his teachings and actions, the quintessential symbol and teacher of non-violence.

By Oscar E V Fernando

Democracy has been defined as a form of government in which the people govern themselves or elect representatives to govern them.

Today in Sri Lanka one wonders as to who governs. Is it the president, president and parliament, the parliament, president and part of the government or the president and courtiers of close associates? Who decided on Mavil Aru war—it was certainly not the parliament in emergency session. How could it be parliament when the government is fishing for a clear majority? Can the country be run with a silent legislature?

Which way would the president turn to—is it to pull the government and the cart of the economy tied to a donkey and a bull, or will it be a carriage tied to two sturdy horses? Until this decision is made the country is drifting with an additional load of a war in a stagnant cart that is likely to be pulled in different directions by the donkey/bull duo.

A just government has disillusioned many political thinkers from Aristotle downwards, and this is why Winston Churchill said;

“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one portends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

What has a half century of universal franchise and its implied democracy done to our country? Among all that was good has it not bequeathed to us;

A Constitution with it a plethora of confusions—a juxtaposed executive/ legislative power—an electoral system of proportional representation, seemed hastily enacted to the constitution–disgruntled communities—an economy in tatters (boasting only of exports of garments, now happening with former steam, and construction of buildings with excess money in banks, to talk of for the GDP)—bungling bureaucrats consequent upon its politicization—ludicrous ethnic religious and caste issues—a pampered vote bank.

All these in tight knots, have made a mockery of democracy, and an eye opener to all and sundry how we face naked beggary whilst several other similarly placed countries are far ahead. The pathos of it is that still we are very complaisant about what we do and intend to do. Some of us are hell bent on war with an over-borrowed kitty—and that very complaisantly too. What has democracy done?

Democracy for most of us is a matter of crossing against a noted number, come elections, and thereafter witnessing a numbers game in parliament—with crisscrossing members, in a strong vote bank markedly divided into two. Is democracy to be treated so callously?

It is democracy that enables us to elect a set of persons that we ‘consent’ to put forward to govern us, and then dispose of them if proved unworthy—a fact forgotten by those who lord it over in parliament. Democracy could be very meaningful to the extent that it has ingredients such as;

A Constitution that limits the powers and controls the people who govern—election of public officials conducted in a free and just manner—the right to vote and to stand for elections—freedom to express one’s thoughts—freedom of the print and electronic media and access to all information sources—freedom of association–equality before the law—education of citizens of their rights and civic responsibilities.

Do we genuinely have these? What is the position if;
A majority vote bank steam rolls a minority’s aspirations, identified internationally as tyranny of a majority, a matter taken up by the United Nations to have declared an article on humanitarian intervention. This is where a constitution guaranteeing rights of minorities, well discussed by civil society, not only by politicians in parliament, and should be implemented; it is lack of this that had led to the present ethnic war.

We Sri Lankans have the privilege of removing those found unworthy to govern, but at every turn we are stymied with the results, due to the PR system and that accompanying executive/legislative bungle. Elections have eventually turned out to be a gamble and a consequent numbers game in parliament: a fact that the president may well take into consideration for his own sake and for the sake of the country. The president must further take into consideration that;

In a democracy citizens are free to vote for candidates they ‘put forward’ (much can be rectified with civic consciousness), whereas in a communist regime that usually turns out to be a dictatorship, citizens are ‘free’ to vote for one of several candidates the politburo puts forward: would the president desire this for our country?

It will be interesting to see to what extent such a ‘twisted steamroller majority democracy’ prevails in our country and to what extent it has met with success to. Such a situation perhaps is extenuated due to tyranny of a minority in a past era-but two wrongs do not make a right. In today’s context where battles are not fought with tar and mortar, but are internationalized, unlike in the days of yore, this situation could well be and has proved to be an explosive danger to the extent;

That such a threat of coercive power has bred terrorism and is bound to spread further if a tyrannical majority persists in clawing their way to aspirations of other so-called minorities too.

There is nothing to prevent the rank and file of any tyrannized minority joining any terror group, or inviting other international terror groups into the country. It is also for this very reason that when a government intends to solve a majority minority issue, especially emotional and contentious, a little bit of that totalitarianism in a democracy is called for!

That we are facing problems of minority issues and that the problems are being extenuated further are not in doubt. The constitution must have safeguards such as introducing proportional representative electoral systems combined with other majoritarian systems. How could all this be corrected in the situation we are placed in?

We need a mandate from the people, but getting this mandate at the polls with the existing constitution is a gamble and borders on wishful thinking without amending the constitution-getting a mandate in parliament to do this can be described as one so close but yet so far, due purely to a personal conflict perhaps minimized to a handful or even less, and is in no way related to economic or political philosophies!

This is the dilemma for both the ethnic and economic issues and a fine poser as to which comes first-the chicken or the egg.

The best way out seems to be making something out of the omelets that is our parliament, without wishfully dreaming of that golden egg at a poll with the present constitution. And for this:

The parliamentarians will have to resort to humane thinking brought out in that concept called natural justice, the basis of which is to respect and recognize the dignity of all individuals.

Will an immediate general election solve our perpetuating problems? This is a point to be pondered by the voters and the members of the-present parliament considering that ‘undesirable but presently inevitable’ numbers game for the last time. Power sure could be shared by the two major parties that are close in more ways than one; a start with the peace process seems under way and this may commence from where it was stopped.

At any rate let democracy prevail in this world of sin and woe. With a change of this system, neither can be cast away.

The only way to minimize injustice is to lean heavily on natural justice and law. Any other system would only conceal both sin and woe and perpetuate it by coercive military force for a while!
[DailyMirror]

My dear Mahinda Aiya,

Ayubowan, vanakkam and assalamu alaikkum but again this week the peace greeting would be inappropriate if not irrelevant with a full scale war raging especially in and around Jaffna and Trinco, though you keep insisting the government has not declared war and the military operations are only defensive or retaliatory attacks.

Words are cheap or meaningless and the reality is that the casualty toll on both sides is fearfully high with the Gampaha and Ragama hospitals reportedly being cleared to accommodate wounded soldiers . According to most analysts, you appear to be cornered largely due to weak, immature or inexperienced leadership at a time of grave crisis and the lack of think tanks or intellectuals who have a deep insight into local and international realities. Instead, you appear to be depending heavily on your rather inexperienced brothers – presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa and defence seceretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa – while ‘General’ Wimal Weerawansa, the JVP and the JHU appear to be provoking you into a virtually suicidal point of no return. According to military analysts, the LTTE appears to be trying to corner the troops in Jaffna and Trinco, though the troops are putting up stiff resistance.

Part of the LTTE strategy in the siege of Jaffna and Trinco seems to be the cutting off of air, sea and road supply lines. Apparently the LTTE might try to keep the troops trapped in Jaffna and Trinco till the northeast monsoon starts in October and then the going will be really tough. Amid reports that some censorship of news on military operations might be imposed through a Bush-like Patriot Bill, you called a meeting last Wednesday of newspaper, TV and radio editors.

You were apparently annoyed that a Sunday newspaper which is highly critical of your administration was represented only at a virtual free lance level. You told the editors you believed there needed to be a greater sense of responsibility and sensitivity to national interest in the reporting of military news. A Sunday newspaper said the proposed Patriot Bill would impose censorship on news relating to military operations, strategies and even weapons purchases.

The need for more responsible, balanced, fair and accurate reporting is stressed even among the committed and dedicated journalists who have expressed grave concern over the growing trend towards unbalanced, unsourced, inaccurate and unfair reporting which sometimes goes to the dangerous or destructive levels of provocative or inflammatory reporting and feature writing.

This is a problem that has to be identified and addressed by the media professionals themselves. But whatever your Basils and Gotabayas might be telling you about censorship, such exercises in the past have turned out to be terribly and horribly counterproductive if not destructive.

One of the big stories last week was the peace march organized by the National Anti-war Front and its disruption by some members of the Jathika Sangha Sammelanaya. Amid the typical confusion within confusion, conflict within conflict and contradictions within contradiction of today’s achcharu politics, some reports say you gave your blessings for this peace march. One of you close advisors Vasudeva Nanayakkara was among the leaders of the peace march along with Deputy Ministers Dilan Perera and Mervyn J. Silva. The UNP, the TNA, the SLMC and several other parties were also represented at a high level.

In the peace march the main message was that war is not the answer and that conflict resolution should take place through dialogue, accommodation and a win-win solution. While Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva was speaking some monks of the JSS got on to the stage and said the peace march should be held not in Colombo but in Kilinochchi.

While accusing the LTTE of fascism, groups like the JSS, the JVP and the JHU also often show an attitude or behaviour of fascism. They need to be aware and the monks especially, should be enlightened enough to realise that while they have their points of view or perceptions of issues and events, there are only relative and not absolute.

Any person or group which believes that its mental picture of an issue is the total and absolute is apparently suffering from a mental imbalance known as bigotry. While we have our own perception of a particular issue and have right to have that perception, we need to be aware that other people have the right to see the issue in a different way. Mahatma Gandhi one of the most enlightened world leaders of modern times has warned that bigotry often leads to massacres and extermination of people.

He points to Hitler – ‘General’ Weerawansa is often portrayed as a Hitler today – as the most dangerous and bloodiest example of bigotry. The mad Hitler had a mental perception that the Germans were the pure Aryan race. Those who did not fit into that picture – it happened to be the Jews – were first marginalized and then exterminated. At least six million Jews were killed because of Hitler’s bigotry and the advocates of bigotry need to realise that their attitudes and actions could cause suffering, if not death, to thousands of people.

With the war raging in the north east and with other parts of the country thrown into fear and tension, the economy is facing a situation similiar to the one that existed before the 2002 ceasefire – a disastrous plunge to growth below zero level.

Tourism and investment are the first casualities, with most economists warning that unless there is a turn around to the peace process an economic catastrophe will take place. But your propaganda organs seem to be going off balance with one of your flagships giving page one lead story that the economy is booming – perhaps some one made a mistake and the reference was really to bombs.

So you are cornered and desperately looking for an exit strategy. Most analysts believe that to pull the country and yourself out of the bloody mess, one of the essential steps is to get rid of extremists like the JVP and the JHU.

If you don’t have the courage to reject Sinhala extremism and take this country to the moderation of a middle path then Doom or Destruction is written with a capital D.

Yours sincerely,
Koththamalli

[DailyMirror.lk]