Saturday, 14 September 2002  
The widest coverage in Sri Lanka.
Features
News

Business

Features

Editorial

Security

Politics

World

Letters

Sports

Obituaries

Archives

Government - Gazette

Sunday Observer

Budusarana On-line Edition





Peace Quest

Core religious values and social harmony

by (Fr.) Siri Oscar Abayaratne



A deep spirituality - the need of the hour

What I hold as a Christian perspective may be looked down upon condescendingly as yet another ideological position. Be that as it may, I would like to maintain, that a genuinely Christian position must transcend the limitations of current ideologies and base itself on what the religions specifically in our country consider as foundational for the well-being of all people.

Let me begin with a few words from the inaugural sermon on Christianity by Peter the chief apostle of Jesus Christ as reported in the Book of 'Acts of the Apostles' (Chapter 2.23 sq).

"You crucified Jesus of Nazareth, God raised Him up........ Repent".

The people heard Peter blaming them for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Some 3000 odd Jews present did not hammer nails into the hands and feet of Jesus. All of these could not have been present to join the chorus in the court of Pilate "Crucify Him". Yet Peter shouts out the accusation: "You crucified Him".

The listeners were Jews who had, presumably, not heard the challenging good news preached by Jesus, nor had anything to do with the crime. They, however, belonged to the people who killed Jesus. They too are guilty of the murder.

In 1983 extremists murdered hundreds of Tamils (I've seen what happened. I risked my life to protect a group in a face to face confrontation. I ask the question, are only those who directly perpetrated the crimes, the guilty ones. I wouldn't hesitate to state that the people as a whole (including me) stand accused of murder arson.

I presume that there will be many on both sides of the ethnic divide, who will not agree with me. They would marshal out facts, figures, year, month and day to prove that one party is more guilty than the other or that the guilty ones are the fanatics of both sides. I would perhaps add that the elite of both camps are the real culprits very much like the priests, the sadducees the pharisees, the lawyers, who engineered the murder of Jesus. Whoever be in a penetrating and objective analysis the really - really guilty of the tragedy, that has befallen our beautiful land i.e. the Britisher, the English educated middle class, the vellalas, the goigamas, the karawas, there is the urgent cry for a resolution of our ills.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I wish that attention be paid to the radical message of Jesus Christ when He spoke of the Kingdom of God. He didn't speak of rights, He did not speak of racial aspirations - Jewish or gentile. If He did, He spoke of the rights of God, and this is interpreted to meant the rights of the poor and the oppressed. For the Christian He is the Risen Lord. He is alive. He speaks today. He said and, says today, "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me."

Would not the word 'self' imply not only the individual self but also the collective communal self? Would the Sinhalas and the Tamils, who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ turn around to the life teachings, deeds, death and resurrection of Jesus and be challenged to stop talking of "our people", "their people" our rights, our aspirations, homelands, Sinhala country, unitary state, federal state, confederation and take inspiration from Jesus' life of forgiveness to begin with?

Could we take note of the Johannine version of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of love on the very day of the resurrection of Jesus:

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" and when He had said this He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained".

Peace, desired by Jesus is not primarily the result of political solutions, but a surrender to God in a spirit of love, and mutual forgiveness. Thereafter there should be the removal of all psychological barriers "fear" for instance and then a working out of a political, social and economic structures for the benefit of all, very specially the poor and the oppressed, exploited and the underprivileged.

The kingdom of God spoken of by Christ finds resonance in the vision of the Hindu Mahatma Gandhi. "There can be no Rama Rajya in the present state of inequalities he said, because a few roll in riches and the masses do not even get enough to eat....." (Harijan June, 1947). When people asked him whether Rama Rajya in fact stands for Hindu Raj." To these he replied "By Rama Rajya I do not mean Hindu Raj...I must say that the independence of my dream, means Rama Rajya that is the kingdom of God on earth. I do not know what it will be like in heaven. I have no desire to know the distant scene. If the present is attractive enough, the future cannot be very unlike." (Harijan 5th May 1946).

Now, I, as a Christian should proceed to gaze in wonder at the Enlightened One. I would see much of the aspirations of my Christian faith being given verbal expression. In the discourses of the Buddha, should not the desire of the followers of Christ be to see His Teachings come alive in this country over which He has had centuries of sheer heart warming influence? Further, I should hasten to ask forgiveness from the Buddhists for the damage done to that which they held as sacred for long, by the colonialists, who despite the Christian garb they wore have been false to almost everything that Jesus Christ stood for.

"Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."

Should evoke a positive response from all his followers in this blood-soaked land - Sri Lanka. Let the spirit of forgiveness be the beginning of a movement towards genuine peace or reconciliation.

The movement must gather momentum to reach out to remove one of the most intractable of barriers FEAR. Fear stalks the land in the hearts of the Sinhala and Tamil communities. It finds expression in a stance of self-defence that get translated to a way of life that bespeaks avenging brutality or criminality. We have seen this happening at our door-step.

"Love casts out fear" (I John 4/18)

The Hindu Gandhi would present a vision that removes fear. The Christian and the Hindu should join hands to meet with the Buddhist to root out not only 'fear' but all sufferings we are subject to.

I see that mouthing religious platitudes would not suffice, not even the spirit of forgiveness and the dispelling of fear, in the present day context of political solutions that seem to be drawing out the worst in power-politics, treachery, betrayals, cunning, opportunism and venom. There is need for concrete steps to draw in the best of the religious sentiments of the majority of our people to touch on political action.

No change of an enduring nature, that assure not only permanence but also the elimination of communal hatred for all time will take place, unless there is appropriate action in the political field. Pope Paul VIth would say:

"Politics is the vastest field of charity".

Gandhi would say:

"for me, politics bereft of religion is absolute dirt, even to be shunned. Politics concerns nations and that which concerns nations must be one of the concerns of man who is religiously inclined, in other words a seeker of God and Truth....Therefore also in politics, we have to establish the kingdom of heaven". (The Mind of Gandhi p. 102) Politics became for Gandhi the domain of spirituality or Dharma.

If this country is to be salvaged, religious people (spiritual men and women) must enter the field of politics (not necessarily into the legislature). Is this country bereft of men/women of a deep spiritually, drawn from the treasure houses of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity who could band themselves together to give lead to a new way of legislating, governing and administrating the land we are blessed with? Just an example - Take the sphere of education in our schools. Such a group of people would be able to provide a corrective to counter the high-powered individualism it promotes and the tearing apart of time-honoured value-system of communal living.

They could spearhead the practice of mindfulness, pranayama and yoga. These practices should take precedence over the mere cramping of minds with truths of religion or ethical codes. Such a body of people would draw attention to the serious lack of the experiential dimension of religion and insist on "Practice" that's promotive of religious living alongside studies on social analysis for social renewal. Would the Hindus, the Muslims and the Christians take objection if it be suggested that the foundational principles for a new political constitution be drawn from Buddhism of universal validity as the primary source, while Hinduism, Islam and Christianity can make their own contribution.

There is of course the other valid option of making the liberative core of all our religions be the foundation for a new political constitution and a new way of life. Such a stance will make the minorities comfortable - May Truth and Love prevail. May I venture to suggest that the aforesaid body be preferably drawn not from the official representatives of religion, but from those among lay people as Gandhi was a lay person. Once such a basic structure is established there could be initiated a mass movement that will bring all communities together under the banner of Truth, Love, Communion, Maitriya, Karuna. Let the other structures follow. It is my firm belief and conviction that those who have not made gods of their ideological positions or defied their political parties or leaders will opt for a country that can be called in its best sense "The Dharma Dveepa". It could be said that the good people are in the overwhelming majority. Once we are grounded on solid religious Truth, let us expect ideological battles to cease as also the hegemony of one race over the other.

Cannot one be a prophet of hope? Cannot religions go back to their roots, their sources and their founders. Could we not give God, Transcendent Truth, unadulterated Love primacy of place. I would go that far as to say, close our churches, temples, kovils and mosques if they remain mere symbols serving ends other than provide for ultimate freedom and meaning. From a Christian perspective I would say that the liberative core of our religions - The Dharma - is the Really Real that can spell the good of and for all, very specially the good of the poor, the oppressed and marginalised, in all departments of human life.

A Dharma based political, social and economic life will draw the best be it from the liberal, socialist or marxist philosophies and even from the way of life that a global village can offer. It may be said that what might be called secular spirituality will emerge, that would make us see the spiritual inherent in the gross material or fleeting events, and humanization becomes the gateway to divinization.

As a follower of Christ, I should say that the crucifixion of Jesus on a cross would lose its power if superficial considerations of mere success or failure or pragmatism over-ride the Truth it conveys. It is my firm conviction that a Christian perspective cannot be otherwise.

====================

Stark realities in black and white

This is an interpretation in pen and ink of war-torn Sri Lanka, by veteran local artist S. H. Sarath. It proved to be one of Sarath's most poignant and imaginatively conceptualized works at an exhibition he conducted of his creations at the Alliance Francaise, Colombo, a couple of months back.

As could be seen, the artist has managed to capture on paper not only the anguish, torment and horrors of the North-East war but also the multi-ethnic character of the country which is a permanent feature of the island. The "pottu" and turban on the tear-filled face which takes the form of Sri Lanka, for instance, represent the country's minorities. The image, therefore, could have been intended to represent the collective suffering of Sri Lankans, whose destiny could very well be decided by the Government-LTTE peace negotiations which are imminent. It is our hope that the mute torment seen on this face would soon be a thing of the past.

Sarath's pen and ink creations, in the main, carry a simple but disturbing message - the harm that Sri Lanka is doing to itself. This injury doesn't only take the form of ethnic discord and political turbulence, but also selfish self-interest, environmental degradation, social oppression and inhumanity towards one's fellow humans. If "Art is a criticism of life", Sarath's works are, indeed, the embodiment of this principle.

- Lynn Ockersz

====================

Truth and reconciliation in times of conflict: the South African model - Part 5 : Neelan Tiruchelvam third memorial lecture July 29, 2002

by Alexander L. Boraine

While the Commission, through its Investigative Unit, its database, and its Research Department, attempted to do all of the above with the highest degree of efficiency possible, there were always limits in the search for truth and even in truth-telling. While I think Michael Ignatieff underestimates the influence and impact of some truth commissions, nevertheless his comments are salutary:

All that a truth commission can achieve is to reduce the number of lies that can be circulated unchallenged in public discourse.

In Argentina, its work has made it impossible to claim, for example, that the military did not throw half-dead victims in the sea from helicopters. In Chile, it is no longer permissible to assert in public that the Pinochet regime did not dispatch thousands of entirely innocent people.

It follows that in the South African context it is no longer possible for so many people to claim that 'they did not know'. It has become impossible to deny that the practice of torture by the state security forces was not systematic and widespread, to claim that only a few 'rotten eggs' or 'bad apples' committed gross violations of human rights. It is also impossible to claim any longer that the accounts of gross human rights violations in ANC camps are merely the consequence of state disinformation.

perpetrators

The second kind of truth is personal or narrative truth. Through the telling of their own stories, both victims and perpetrators have given meaning to their multi-layered experiences of the South African story. Through the media these personal truths have been communicated to the broader public. Oral tradition has been a central feature of the Commission's process.

Explicit in the Act is an affirmation of the healing potential of truth-telling. One of the objectives of the TRC was to 'restore the human and civil dignity of victims by granting them an opportunity to relate their own accounts of the violations of which they were the victims.'

Horror

It is important to underline that the stories we listened to didn't come to us as 'arguments' or claims as if in a court of law. They were often heart-wrenching, conveying unique insights into the pain of our past. To listen to one man relate how his wife and baby were cruelly murdered is much more powerful and moving than statistics which describe a massacre involving many victims. The conflict of the past is no longer a question of numbers and incidents; the human face has shown itself, and the horror of murder and torture is painfully real.

By facilitating the telling of 'stories', the TRC not only helped uncover the existing facts about past abuses but assisted in the creation of 'narrative truth' - the personal story told by a witness. This enabled the Commission to contribute to the process of reconciliation by ensuring that the silence shrouding individual subjective experiences had at last been broken, by 'restoring memory and humanity'.

A great deal of this material has been recorded in the Commission's report, but together with the report must be seen the transcripts of the hearings, individual statements, a mountain of press clippings and video material.

This material will be an indispensable resource for historians and other academics and researchers for years to come.

The third kind of truth is social or 'dialogical' truth. Albie Sachs, even before the Commission began its work, talked about 'microscopic truth' and 'dialogical truth': 'The first is factual and verifiable and can be documented and proved. Dialogical truth, on the other hand, is social truth, truth of experience that is established through interaction, discussion and debate.

'People from all walks of life were involved in the TRC process, including the faith community, the former South African Defence Force, NGOs, the media, the legal and health sectors, and political parties - and obviously the wider South African population through the media and public scrutiny. What I am emphasising here is that almost as important as the process of establishing the truth was the process of acquiring it. The process of dialogue involved transparency, democracy, and participation as the basis of affirming human dignity and integrity.

Finally, the fourth kind of truth is healing and restorative truth. The Act required the TRC to look back to the past and to look to the future. The truth which the Commission was required to establish had to contribute to the reparation of the damage inflicted in the past and to the prevention of it ever happening again in the future. But for healing to be a possibility, knowledge in itself is not enough. Knowledge must be accompanied by acknowledgement, an acceptance of accountability. To acknowledge publicly that thousands of South Africans have paid a very high price for the attainment of democracy affirms the human dignity of the victims and survivors and is an integral part of the healing of the South African society.

In summary, one of the major advantages of a truth commission committed to discovering the truth is that it involves what could be termed inclusive truth-telling. The TRC had a specific and limited mandate, but its attempt to help restore the moral order must be seen in the context of social and economic transformation.

These are two sides of a single coin. Truth-telling is a critical part of this transformation, which challenges myths, half-truths, denials, and lies. It was when listening to ordinary people relating their experiences under apartheid that one was able to understand the magnitude and horror of a system that damaged and destroyed so many over so long a period. It also reminded the Commission forcibly of the maldistribution of assets and the legacy of oppression, which makes transformation so difficulty. Therefore, the work of the Commission was not a one-off event, a kind of cure-all. The process has only started and has to continue, and the public and private sectors have to accept leadership in this regard. In particular, those who benefited from the long years of discrimination and inequity have a particular responsibility.

This means that dealing creatively and honestly with the past isn't question of laying the blame only on the military, the police, the politicians, the liberation movements, but also on the beneficiaries of apartheid, who were largely white. In searching for the truth, political accountability is important, but apartheid could never have survived without being buttressed by those who benefited from it.

Reparation

A central part of the Commission's work was to establish a policy and set off recommendations for reparation, which the state wanted to implement. The Commission had no budget, so we were not in a position to pay reparations to any of the victims.

Our proposal to the state, which flowed from our careful listening to the views of the victims themselves, included an initial, fairly small grant and a subsequent payment over six years. We also recommended symbolic reparations such as renaming streets or schools, building memorials, peace parks, etc.

Regrettably, the South African government only granted the initial amount and has been stalling and virtually silent on the larger recommendations. They still maintain they will respond, but the damage has been done and victims feel very badly let down. I have outlined the South African model and, of course, it is impossible to impose this model on any other country. Nevertheless, it may be possible for comparative models, including the South African experience, to be of assistance to those countries which wish to deal with a conflictive past, to build an enduring peace and establish a human rights culture. To do this requires a comprehensive strategy, a holistic approach which will include accountability, truth, reconciliation, institutional reform and reparation. It's a difficult and challenging process, but essential, if the logic of war is to be replaced with the logic of peace.

HNB-Pathum Udanaya2002

www.eagle.com.lk

Crescat Development Ltd.

www.priu.gov.lk

www.helpheroes.lk


News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |


Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager


Hosted by Lanka Com Services