|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 2 November 2002 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
'Children of Light' say 'no' to war by Ranga Jayasuriya
The anti- war activists who gathered on Thursday to bolster civil society's backing for a negotiated solution said the success of the peace bid would be for all. "Not merely for the Wickremesinghe administration, nor for the LTTE". Lighting candles to "celebrate" the 250th day of the Ceasefire Agreement, the activists said since the implementation of the agreement, there have been no suicide bombers, no ariel bombing, no war casualties both in the North and in the South.
The solution would not come along with the talks in Thailand, it must come from the East, North, Colombo and all corners of the country, Deshapriya said pointing to the recent clashes in the East and Colombo North. "Lasting peace can only be built on the foundation of reconciliation, where people undertake to build the bridges of mutual trust, confidence and positive co-existence".
They said:"Peace must provide dignity, equality, security and autonomy to all. While giving recognition to the distinctiveness of each particular nation and community, peace must be based on the fundamental premise that the country must be co-habited by all equally". *************************** The power of love by Christie Fernando, Chilaw special correspondent "Man's inhumanity to man, makes countless thousands mourn," is a truism. For, indeed, in place of the gloom and despair in almost countless numbers of lives, light, hope and contentment should come through the peace process embarked upon in earnest by the present Government - and spearheaded under the stewardship of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. We have learnt from the mistakes in the past, which lamentably prevented solving our great and thorny social problems - which we encounter today - to find lasting solutions. It was no less than Abraham Lincoln who said tersely as a rejoinder to a query that, "One does not feel the lash the least bit when it is laid upon another man's back". This indeed is true as Henry Drummond in one of his most beautiful and valuable little works, says - 'love is the greatest thing in the world.' "Have you this greatest thing?" he asks. Yes. How then, does it manifest itself? "It's in kindliness, helpfulness and service to those around you. If so, well and good, you have it. If not, then I suspect that what you have been calling love is something else; and have indeed been greatly fooled", he said. For, if love does not manifest itself in deeds, in this manner, it cannot be called true love. For, this is the one grand, never-failing test. For, love is the statics; helpfulness and service to fellowmen is the dynamics. The former is necessary to the latter; but the latter, the more powerful, as action is more eloquent than potentiality; and, were it not for the dynamics, the statics might as well not be. This is a logical conclusion. Forgiveness and reconciliation are the vital aspects in disseminating peace and love. To banish hatred - and for peace to pervade our lives, we need to cultivate a spirit of 'give and take' - 'to forgive and forget' for new vistas to envision in our lives. Those who forgive and forget are twice blessed - and peace emerges in double quick time. So peace delayed is peace denied. Ethnic cleansing had gone apace for quite a long time for two decades - and the displaced people cannot now wait any longer for peace to unfold, when peace is already gleaming and glimmering in the horizon. In the light of peace, reconciliation, justice and righteousness, it is to be understood that kindliness, helpfulness and service to others is the expression of love. It is arguably true when spoken philosophically. It is love in action which is necessary. When love is manifested in action; it means growth, development and strength. It must be vigorous and true, instead of being something sentimental, weak and indefinite. Hatred, revenge, bitterness and animosity had caused hostilities from both sides of the divide, in the past. Bloodshed, resentment and malevolence had not conclusively solved any of the acute cultural problems. There are no victors in a battle. No one wins in a war; all are losers in the end, because in its trail, brings mayhem, destruction and bloody massacres. Lord Buddha taught compassion. Jesus Christ in his Sermon on the Mount said: "Blessed are the peace-makers; for, they shall be called the children of God. "Peace is needed for healing of wounds. When Christians give the "Kiss of Peace" as a religious act during Holy Mass, they are really dedicating themselves to build up a community of peace and love. The spirit of Hinduism is tolerance. Tolerance recognizes the rights and freedom of those people who are unlike us. Such an attitude keeps life on earth peaceful and rewarding. Ancient Hindu scriptures as the Upanishads, define violence as a disturbance to nature. When you kill a living being denying its right to life, it become violence. Through teachings of non-attachment. Hinduism promotes non-violence. Reconciliation brings peace. Mahatma Gandhi in his struggle for freedom of India said, 'Violence begets violence. He clearly advocated the path of "Ahimsa". God proclaimed through the Angels: "Glory to God in the Highest and Peace on earth to men of goodwill. Jesus Christ advocated forgiveness. "Forgive, and pray for these who hurt and persecute you." Islam believes that the essence of various religious traditions is complimentary and not contradictory. Muslims in their greetings wish peace to each other. "Shalom" is peace, and is commonly used by the Semitic religions like Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Violence distorts a person, breaks his or her relationship with God, with his fellow beings and with nature. Struggle for justice is a new form of peace. Peace is built on justice. Prophet Issiah says: "And the effect of righteousness will be peace. And the result of righteousness is quietness, and rest forever. "My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings and in quiet resting places." (Isaiah: 32:17-18). Peace and reconciliation are paramount today. Peace comes from God, and humans have a role in making it a reality and experience. All religions advocate peace; and peace has a social dimension. Development goes hand in hand with the struggle for justice. "Shalom" is thus the experience of the integrated person and an integrated community. Buddhism has demonstrated in many ways a remarkable degree of tolerance. Peace and tolerance complement each other. Peace is established through tolerance. And tolerance is practised by a peace-loving community. It is incumbent on us therefore to live in peace and harmony with each other. On the other hand, if peace is not disseminated - and if peace is not restored in our island nation - it will, in other words, end up in a selfish, and futile venture. It is said: 'Selfishness is the root cause of every evil. If one is not other-minded, selfless and generous, one cannot get beyond self - and it robs one's chief ambitions in life, and defeats the very ends he has in view. So it's important and obligatory to make concessions in the peace overtures to a potential enemy in any warfare. Peace also has other connotations: "Whatever has no use, it serves no purpose and it shrivels up. And so, if one is of no service to mankind, he then thinks only of self - becoming smaller and smaller. The finer, better and grander qualities of his nature that give charm and happiness to life shrivels up. But, those who are large-hearted, magnanimous, kind, loving, sympathetic and compassionate are joyous and happy in life - and in the end, life becomes rich and beautiful. So instead of his diminutive self, he has entered into and become part in hundred, a thousand - nay, and countless numbers of other lives! And imagine every success, joy, and happiness that may come in its wake to each one - to be part in each and all. These aren't mere lofty attitudes and platitudes though they sound very philosophical. But this fundamental principle is true whereby so much love, power, growth and happiness - and life - strong, healthy, rich, exulting and abounding in a struggle - to achieve peace and normalcy in the island. And this should not be lopsided. It's our aim and ambition 'to live and let live' in peaceful pro-existence - and not co-existence (as the hackneyed word suggests). At this juncture for meaningful peace to be a reality through a negotiated settlement, it is of paramount importance that all political parties should eschew petty differences and rally round, without disruption of the peace process and render all possible support and assistance to the Prime Minister to create opportune conditions for materialization of the peace process. *************************** Idea Forum : Ensuring stakeholder participation by Dr. H. M. Mauroof, President, National Muslim Movement The chances of success of the peace process will upgrade itself many fold if two flaws, that are still eminently correctable, are disposed with. These flaws emanate from the fact that all the major stakeholders in the process have not been included in the discussions. Although the situations are not parallel in every circumstance when compared to Sri Lanka, it is obvious that the Norwegians have not learnt, the lessons from a major miss they made in the Israeli-Palestinian Process; if they included the Likud of Israel, the then Opposition now in government, and the Hamas in Palestine originally, the chances of success of the process they helped initiate, which is now in tatters, would have been much greater. In the Sri Lankan context I refer to the omissions of the Opposition ("Government in waiting") and that of the Muslims in the Thailand talks. Stronger One has to recognize the utter worth of the currently reactivated Peace Process the Prime Minister has so successfully put into 'fast forward' gear. The UNF Government was elected in the Parliamentary Election of December 2001 on a Peace Platform stronger than that of the PA. But now the Prime Minister on his part should be careful not to help create conditions that can help strengthen the hands of anti-peace elements in the Opposition Camp to attempt sabotage it. If the UNF Government fails to grasp the hands of co-operation offered by the President history would blame any failure of the Talks on the UNF Government. It is absolutely basic to realize that the ethnic tangle in the country is a trilateral one involving the Sinhala, Tamil and the Muslim communities. It is opportune that the North-East Tamil community has come under one public umbrella, namely, the LTTE. It can be safely assumed that the Sinhala community will be speaking in one voice if the UNF Government and the Opposition are represented in the Talks by their respective delegations. The thirst for peace possessed by the general public in the country has been confirmed and re-confirmed since 1994. A UNP-SLFP combined effort would ensure that no party would attempt, overtly or covertly, to sabotage the process. It is time that the once high profile business community in the country re-invigorate itself and help achieve the combination. A more obvious flaw on the part of the Government and the Norwegians was the glaring failure to include the Muslims as a partner to the talks in Sattahip in September. Conducting bilateral talks for a trilateral problem is an open invitation to failure; it will lay the foundation for another conflict with the East as the epicentre complementing the wasteful destruction in the North. An equally obvious but an immediately relevant mistake is the failure of the Government and the Norwegians to include Muslim representation in the proposed Joint Task Force. The setting up of the JTF is claimed to be one of two major achievements of the Sattahip conference. Bradman Weerakoon, Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Commissioner General of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation - 'the Triple R' who will be "working under the personal guidance of the Prime Minister" addressing a UN conference recently said that the two major decisions at Sattahip were: i) the establishment of a Joint Committee to deal with issues relating to High Security Zone. ii) "the second major decision at the Thailand Talks was for the establishment of a Joint Task Force for humanitarian and reconstruction activities. The JTF will constitute a partnership between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE and will have responsibility for the identification, financing and monitoring of urgent humanitarian and reconstruction activities in the North and East". It is not by coincidence that during the last week the LTTE has been stridently demanding immediate action on rehabilitation and reconstruction. Humanitarian and reconstruction activities involve the resettlement of over 700,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), providing them relief for the consequences of their displacement. The over 700,000 IDPs in Sri Lanka belonging to the three communities have been identified to have suffered in respect of the quality and the quantity of the food available to them, quality of education available to their children, level of health services, housing and the types of housing available to them, and the types of employment available. Some of the violations they suffer include harassment, arrests, abductions, rapes, torture, execution, exploitation and imprisonment. Demands Relief, reconstruction and reconciliation efforts are due to take effect on an immediate basis as a result of the first Thailand conference, the fever pitch demands of the LTTE, the Norwegians and the Government of Sri Lanka during the last two weeks and the agenda set for the second Thailand talks. Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to come into the country for the purpose of reconstruction and resettlement. The Prime Minister is due to travel to Oslo for the 'mini-donor conference on 25.11.02. The full and large-scale conference for the purpose is due to meet within the next five months. It was only last week that the World Bank offered US $ 43 million immediately (Rs. 4000 million) for the rehabilitation of the North-East. The LTTE, displaying its mature wisdom, is pressing hard for the immediate implementation of this aspect of the deal even putting the interim administration matter on the back burner. Voluntarily What are the details of the IDPs in the country? There are, according to PM's Secretary Bradman Weerakoon, 733,000 IDPs in the country belonging to all three ethnic groups. Between the Ceasefire Agreement in February and now 180,000 IDPs had voluntarily returned to the North-East for resettlement; it can be safely assumed that almost all of them must be Tamils resulting from their new found and well deserved confidence. That would leave 553,000 people still displaced. It is estimated that that together with about 100,000 Muslim IDPs from the North, including the 70,000 "ethnically cleansed" from Jaffna, and the numbers from the East, the total of the Muslim IDPs will be around 200,000. This number is a very large proportion of the total number of IDPs in the country that will come under the purview of the JTF. The JTF will ensure resettling people in their original locations by getting their lawfully owned places restored to them, assisting in the reconstruction of their places of residence, business and farming, providing roads, water supply, electricity, schools and other basic amenities. Going by past experiences, what justice could the Muslim IDPs expect in practice when their representatives are absent in the powerful and only committee tasked to implement decisions that are going to determine the paths of their future lives? Anxieties of the North-East Muslims, who remained latent until then, witnessed an explosive exacerbation the moment the following were became unequivocally clear: i. The talks in Sattahip will be bilateral - between the Government and the JTF only: ii. The LTTE will give representation only to the LTTE and the Government. It did not help when the Government took a Muslim delegate to Sattahip as part of its delegation; he remained symbolic and stoically silent. However, Muslim disappointment remained subdued after the leader of the Government delegation referred in his inaugural speech to a separate Muslim delegation in the forthcoming talks despite the fact that many remained unimpressed by the sophistry of the Professor's words; the Muslim delegation to the second Thailand talks has failed to materialize, and these talks are to finalize matters concerning the JTF. There is no doubt that the greatest stake holders in the establishment of a just peace in the country are the Tamils of the North-East; every aspect of their lives have been damaged, dislocated or diminished. It would therefore be statesmanlike, and indeed eminently wise, particularly in view of the circumstances currently unfolding in the country, for the LTTE to propose that the two sidelined stakeholders - the Muslims and the SLFP - be brought into the negotiations. This is the way the LTTE can ensure the success of the peace process, and, more importantly, make it permanent. On the other hand it needs no repetition that the Prime Minister owes it to the Muslims not to place them in any jeopardy. The Muslims in December 2001 voted 80 to 90% for the UNP and their partner the SLMC to help enthrone the UNF Government; it behaves the leader, the Prime Minister, not to sacrifice the interests of the Muslims in the North-East who harbour a collective feeling of being let down and cornered. Cornered beings can react in most unexpected ways. This is the experience within the country and internationally. Ethnic peace in the country is the common desire of all the communities in the country; peace with justice is the dream. The dream seems within a realizable distance. What is required is maturity, wisdom farsightedness and breadth of vision from all, particularly from the leaders. *************************** 'May there be Light' Darkness is all over even though the sun shines. Down the road not far off there's a man who uses young Does the sun really shine? Does it really lighten - Ranjula Mendis, |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
Seven-year-old Tharaki was among a few hundred people who gathered on
Thursday on the dimly-lit platform opposite the Fort Railway Station to
"bless" the country's peace effort which saw a halt to the
bloody war. Tharaki may be too young, but her mother, Champa, feels
without peace Tharaki's generation would be doomed. The twenty year ethnic
conflict has devastated Champa's generation.
"It is the relief of the men and women in all corners of the
country that we celebrate today," a spokesman for the Anti-War Front,
Sunanda Deshapriya said. The activists said the solution to the protracted
conflict would not come overnight. "Road to peace is long and with
barriers".
The activists called on the Government to provide effective security to
the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities in the East and to set up
mechanisms, both official and civilian, to prevent, manage and mitigate
conflicts.
