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The Storm's Eye by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha

1983 was in many ways a watershed. The year began with the government of the day in a state of dizzy triumph. It had just won the referendum that extended the life of parliament for six further years. It had also achieved what Indira Gandhi had never managed in her attempt at authoritarianism, namely the acquiescence of the higher levels of civil society. That I think finally made clear to me what I had begun to realize over the three preceding years, that the education of the elite in Sri Lanka had been only skin deep.

This was not universally true. The Civil Rights Movement tried to make its voice heard, and I should note that its continuing devotion to principle remains a bright spot in a continuingly bleak world. The grass roots continued active, and the attack by government goons on the Pavidi Handa meeting reverberated as the year went on. But those one had thought of as men of principle, folded up cringingly, and allowed the government to act as it pleased.

Immediately after the referendum Vijaya was released, making it clear to everyone that he had only been jailed because he had proved such an effective campaigner during the Presidential election. Yet the government did receive a report on the alleged conspiracy, prepared by Tyrrell Gunatilleke, who was later so embarrassingly accused of shoplifting.

Tyrrell claimed that there had indeed been a conspiracy, but it had been impossible to collect evidence because it is the nature of conspiracies to remain secretive unless they are activated. Since Kobbekaduwa lost the election, the conspiracy had remained a plan, and of that there had been no evidence. The strongest was a claim that at a dinner party some retired police officer had claimed someone else had claimed someone else had claimed that, when Kobbekaduwa won, someone or other would be killed.

We had the attack on the houses of Supreme Court judges. The buses were provided by the CTB. The man who took responsibility for the attack, claiming to be an ordinary citizen exercising his right to demonstrate, turned out to be a UNP devotee.

The judges were in disgrace because they had found a policeman guilty of violating fundamental rights in stopping a peaceful demonstration. I can't remember if that was the Pavidi Handa demonstration or the one in which Vivienne Goonewardene was taken to a police station and abused. Both the policemen who were found guilty were promoted and had their fines paid. One of them was Ronnie Goonesinghe, later identified by Richard de Zoysa's mother of involvement in his death.

It was with regard to one of the cases, I believe, that a Justice Rodrigo delivered a minority opinion claiming the demonstration was not justified, and deserved to be stopped. His argument was that the government had shown itself, by its victory at the referendum, to be the true representatives of the people. So demonstrating against it was against the will of the people.

Why do I recall all this? I do not believe there is any serious danger of such events recurring. The media is no longer as crushed as it once was. But we are a nation that forgets easily, and therefore fails to learn. 20 years on I believe we should take stock of what happened, and see whether we can ensure, not merely that evil does not repeat itself, but that we build up civil society and the public service to work for the public, not a particular government.

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