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| Saturday, 6 December 2003 |
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War, sexual violence and the degradation of women By Afreeha Jawad Sending out a note of caution recently at a meting held at the SEDEC auditorium Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy referred to how war creates models of masculinity which is why rape is on the increase. It was this role model which will make a negative impact on women and society as well.
Sounding rather indignant - understandably so, she said, "Gun toting 'Chandi' is the model men relate to. So we see how men's model of masculinity is linked with violence." Rape, she informed, has gone up ten fold due to militarisation. Trafficking of women also increases sharply during times of war. Even in times of peace brothels and peace keeping armies exist - one opposite the other. If with peace keepers this is the situation what would it be like in war? She asked. The exposure of women - particularly in the North - now saddled with 21,000 widows - to all kinds of hazzles is atrocious.
They yearn for a return to normalcy for all what they want is to bring up their children giving them the best. While male masculinity, rape, trafficking in women, significantly, are negative follow up of a war environment simultaneously is the presence of the religious impulse. Religious activities increase and anthropologists' observations reveal how in Sri Lanka during the past ten years the construction of churches and mosques has been on the rise. The constant fear struck mind activates man's religious impulse and becomes buffer state for hopelessness. This religious impulse also includes man's inner desire - of caring and sharing, of love and hope. Against this backdrop Coomaraswamy saw the need for the emergence of figures like Ghandhi and Mandela to bring out the positive qualities that unite us and hurriedly added: "I don't see such a personality in the horizon and I hope the divine powers have not forgotten us." Coomaraswamy in a fervent plea to bring criminals to book emphasized that they be dealt with and asked how we could live with them next door. In South Africa there was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and in other countries there were the courts that worked towards handling criminals. In Rwanda the criminal is brought to society and made to face the gravity of the crime while society decides over his entry. Forcing a criminal to acknowledge the gravity of his act was an extra constitutional mechanism towards justice and the fact that people want justice is in itself a strong impulse. Referring to the war's heavy toll in Sri Lankans he informed that displaced numbers were rather high and the suicide rate among them was higher than among other Sri Lankans. Listening to her this writer perceived the many instances of how humanity's divides were further fostered instead of promoting existing common bonds. It is only through such dastardly acts that the political system thrives. Though she called for the strengthening of unifying factors the perverse system would not have it. What unifies humans like the religious impulse is all what could be classified as pure while the divides itself are social constructs. While purity is human friendly, these divisive factors are system friendly. Though Coomaraswamy's suggestions are solid, they are far from practical because humanity itself is weak - willed with a system that overpowers them. The great religious leaders, saints, Arahats and Yogis that have adorned the world from the time of its existence have all been bold and strong - willed, who remained impervious to the system's demands - the very recent example being Mother Theresa. Regretfully she pointed out that all our peace-makers are men. "Unless women's needs are taken to the peace process, no peace will come," she said. "Women are affected in war by direct violence - mostly sexual violence. Rape is also part of military strategy in Bosnia and Rwanda, In Bosnia women were repeatedly raped even when pregnant. In India and Pakistan women are taken across borders and both have agreed to return abducted women" she informed. She also stressed the importance of an international mechanism to deal with rape similar to what exists to deal with war crimes. Coomaraswamy's disagreements with Mother Theresa were on the topics of divorce and abortion - both of which the latter would not condone. "She sanctified home and religion and was not concerned over violence and abuse of women. I am disturbed about her social conservatism. "To deny women divorce and abortion is unfair. Thus she overlooked women's status in the family. However, most certainly she did enormous good. "That even amidst globalization one could be a moral force and a self sacrificing individual is really great. Youngsters growing up will find her interesting but they will not have this notion of sacrifice. Constant pampering of self takes away the religious impulse of loving and caring. So Mother Theresa is special because she stands for these values at a time when it is lessening," said Coomaraswamy. Her references to globalization's positive features as facilitating integration and social mobility where cracks appear on parochialism and feudal structures are all arguable matter. In feudal societies one's social placement went according to caste belonging while serving a single king while in contemporary modern environs one works in a class system for an uncrowned international monarch - the world's big power king daubed with a strong undercurrent of caste as well. ###### The grand old Tamil party in disarray by Prof.S.Ratnajeevan H.Hoole
Adding to their recent troubles, the Federal Party and its successor the TULF were in bad shape last Sunday, reduced to trading filth (broadcast for all to hear on Sakthi TV) in the backdrop of an exalted heritage. To any Tamil who remembers the glory days of the FP, it was heart-wrenching pain. To many of us, the FP always will be the party of high principle. We recall fondly the men of impeccable honesty who laid its foundations - SJV, Vanniasingham, Naganathan, Kathiravetpillai, et al.. In the glory days, Ladies College girls came to Jaffna and stood in election campaign booths to give the party respectability. Men of great intellect and even clergymen worked for the party. Some of my fondest memories are of, as a boy, going as my mother's "escort" to the Satyagraha with all the ladies of our parish and singing hymns while some boisterous Satyagrahis chanted "Thookku Medai, Panju Meththai" (The gallows are a cotton mattress to us); of a cousin's delayed birthday party waiting for her father to come out of jail for his role in the Anti-Sri-campaign; of heroism as the Police unsuccessfully searched for Federal Party postage stamps hidden in a haystack. The party even had the thrills of a spy story to grip our hearts - when underground because of the Srimavo government's detention orders, how that great scholar Fr. Thaninayagam (meaning Sole-Lord) sent telegraphic messages signed as Ekanayake; and how Naganathan (really a Hensman) who sang hymns at Church like a Luciano Pavarotti, escaped by train from Jaffna wearing my father's cassock. Along with this nonviolence and bravado, subsisted defensive violence. I recall the panic at school on hearing the story during the riots in the late fifties that the Sinhalese are coming. Peter Somasundram, Jaffna MMC and Post Master for the illegal FP postal service, organized the defence of Vavuniya with his rare expertise in the use of a shot gun. As truckloads of men went in convoy down Chemmani Road to Vavuniya, senior boys playing cricket ran alongside shouting "Jey (Victory) for Tamils" and we too ran along shouting the same not quite knowing what Jey meant. During the riots, there were organized assaults on Sinhalese bakers and I remember getting some biscuits scattered in front of City Bakery down Hospital Road - my shocked parents were not convinced that my picking them up from the streets was a good excuse. In the safe Jaffna of those days I went alone to a meeting at Muthiraichchanthai to hear SJV. The next speaker drew blood from his hand with a sharp instrument, touched the blood with his thumb, made a pottu out of it and swore not to give up until victory was achieved. I ran away terrified as we were invited to do the same. Few who grew up in Jaffna then could not feel some love and awe for the party even when in disagreement. But the party was really a mixed bag - Chelvanayakam's high principles by the side of the violent poetry and deeds of the younger crowd. Although it was a time when the Tamil Congress were the "traitors", Jaffna never had a monolithic electoral group. In the prestigious Jaffna electorate in particular, it was the 3-way race between the TC, FP and Alfred Duraiappah that gave the FP the chance of capturing the seat in 1970. But the FP was, relatively, the party of principle. The many TC MPs would easily crossover - Thiagarajah, Arulampalam, et al. who voted with the SLFP as it imposed a new Constitution and Standardisation. Thus the monolithic TUF (later TULF) was built by incorporating the TC in G.G. Ponnambalam's absence using some local TC-ers in Jaffna. When GG arrived at the Jaffna Railway Station to disrupt the move, he was met by a huge delegation that garlanded him as Co-leader with SJV of the TULF and he, checkmated thus, grouchily returned to Colombo the same evening. But by the eighties, as the party collapsed, even FP stalwarts began to cross-over - Rajathurai, Kanagratnam, et al.. Some Tamils kept deriding Muslims saying they are unreliable turn-coats (or turn-hats in Tamil phraseology), not seeing that we too had the same human failings. With this Tamil racism Muslim membership in the FP soon vanished and with it the party's liberal ethos. GG's son kept up the turn-coatism by writing vituperative tirades in the Sunday Times against the LTTE in the 1990s and then suddenly did a flip attacking anyone who had doubts about the LTTE. Thus while the TULF was a weak amalgam of many, cornered into this monolith, the FP component was the real core that could command the respect of the people and lived among the people. It was natural that the TULF should fall victim to its own politics when in an even greater amalgam, all parties were forced into the TNA. The likeable Sambandan, it was reported in the press, shed tears when queried at the Indian High Commission as to why he had suddenly changed policy. It was to save his life, he is quoted as saying. How could the TULF complain when in an earlier era they had done the same to the smaller parties in forming the TULF? Many original Federalists never liked the TNA whose MPs had lived in many parties and even contested against the TULF and lacked the standards of the old guard. TULF-ers felt they were ordered to take up policy positions by outsiders that they had to defend, in addition to taxation and child conscription. This was the backdrop to Sangari's leadership. He had come to the TULF first contesting for the Colombo Municipality on behalf of the LSSP in 1959, then the Killinochchi parliamentary seat for the TC in 1970 and finally for the TULF, earning the prestige of getting the highest preference vote in 2001, with the least help from unethical practices freely used by others in the TNA. His candid view that the LTTE cannot claim to be the sole representatives, many agreed with. Grass roots workers facing the complaint from the public that the TULF would bring the LTTE back to Jaffna saw a leader in Anandasangari. His voice held out the hope of multiparty democracy; of the right to speak out. He seemed to have enough backing six months ago to defeat a move to oust him. In the interim, forces against him had gathered momentum. Alfonse Mary who had moved a motion of confidence in him at the last meeting, was queried in Batticaloa on his return and had to offer to resign and this time, given the reality, voted against Anadasangari. Those struggling to balance pressure on them against principled position, found it hard to function when Sangari openly offended the LTTE. It was thus inevitable that he lost the vote on Sunday: 25 against, 10 for and 2 abstentions. It was sadly the end of a great man; a brave man. The cousin of a man from the East who had been murdered, but now voted against Sangari, was angrily asked by Sangari how he could turn-coat like this. The meeting ended up in party top-rungers physically fighting each other over the recording of minutes. The day also presumably marked the end of a grand old party that meant much to the Tamils. If Sangari goes to court as he has threatened to do, the party symbol may not be available for some time. It is now for Sambandan to cobble the party together again. He must not allow the animosity of recent days to cloud the principle that Sangari stood for - the independence of the TULF. To do that takes courage. Without that courage, silence in retirement would be more dignified. I certainly wish Sambandan success. ###### Book review : A glimpse into 'the Other' Ulaikkalam - by Putuvai Ratnathurai (Viyasan) The manner the minds of the guerrillas work is certainly beyond the grasp of average citizens. As this occurs in the realm of secrecy and mystery, speculation plays a crucial role in trying to fathom the guerrilla-mindset.
Whatever be the intention of Narayan Swami in publishing his work at this critical time for Sri Lanka, his account is arguably coloured by the "Indian perception" of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. It is also debatable whether the author succeeded in penetrating the complex personality of the world's best known guerrilla leader living today. In contrast to Narayan Swami's book, a recent Tiger publication called "Ulakkalam" (a smith's forge) presents the feelings and sentiments of the Tigers, revealing their so-called "elusive minds" from the "inside". "Ulakkalam" is a collection of poems written by Putuvai Ratnathurai under the pseudonym of Vyasan - a reference to the author of the Indian war-epic the Mahabharata - over a period of years from 1993 to 2003. These appeared regularly in the official organ of the LTTE called "Viduthalai Pulikal". Putuvai is the head of the cultural unit of the LTTE and is very close to Prabhakaran. In fact the book has the imprimatur of the LTTE. According to the author, Prabhakaran took extra interest in reading and explaining some of these poems to his confidantes as and when they appeared in the official journal. Putuvai is an accomplished poet who uses words to evoke poignant images and telling symbols. His description of events and situations is incisive and captivating. His poems exhibit a wide range of emotions and moods: pride, anger, suspicion, sarcasm, defiance, hope and unbowed militancy. Some "insiders' maintain that many of these poems had the power to assuage the tumours of questioning minds and served as balm to festered wounds. It is beyond doubt that the unquenchable passion that impregnated some passages added fuel to the flame of fiery militancy. "Ulaikkalam" is interesting on three counts: In the first place, it addresses a whole gamut of issues and events - political, social, military - considered vital by the Tigers. Second, it documents and evaluates important events in the Sri Lankan conflict from the Tiger perspective. Third, many poems are credited to have inspired a number of Tamil youths to join the rank of the militants. Putuvai invites his readers as guests at the "main gate" and leads them through the courtyard, main entrance and finally inside the house for a meal (reading of his poems). Before the meal starts, they are also welcomed with the Tamil ceremony of "aratti". All this is done by forewords and introduction by prominent leaders of the LTTE including Thamilchelvan and Pottu of the intelligence unit. The first poem, dated August 1993, is entitled. "A piece of Land to live". In the words of the author; "It is in our motherland that over hundred generations are buried. Dig just three feet, skeletons of our forefathers will crop up! It is here that the breath of our ancients mingled with the blowing of the wind.... Where else could someone take a nap after a meal of fasting - Friday on a tinnai (elevated mud-bed) covered with a coat of cow dung? We need a place of our own to sleep on a mat,... to sing and dance without fear...". The last poem, dated March/April 2003, is entitled "Every one will knock at your door". It is a warning to be on the lookout for those who, having a hidden agenda, come with a message of peace. "People who do not know any pain or suffering appear on the stage to sing the song of peace. You were living within closed doors for seven years. Who did speak for you? Who did console you? They need not have embraced you. But at least did they visit you? Today they come in large numbers. You give them a red-carpet welcome! Study the background of those who come after the ceasefire agreement". In between these two poems, there are sixty two others dealing with topics, among others, such as "How beautiful is our motherland", "Love your motherland", "Pooneryn has become a poster on the forehead of the earth-ball", "Extend your hands, black Lion (Nelson Mandela), we shall shake hands", "Black Tiger whose beginning and end cannot be known", "We were looking for water, but found only mirage", "No more sale by auction (against Dowry)", "We shall live as human beings and as Tamils or else we die", "Palmyras will never cow down" "An appeal to the conscience of the world", "Traitors are found even today", "Wings of sparrows do not break little fishes - do not gasp for breath". If one were to highlight a strand of feeling that runs through most of these poems, it could be encapsulated in the words of Euripides who stated in 431 BC, "There is no greater suffering in the world than the loss of one's place of birth! Many poems reflect this feelings of loss and the subsequent Tiger belligerence. Six out of the last seven poems of "Ulaikkalam" indicate the position of the Tigers regarding the present peace talks: "We did not fight for sugar, flour or petrol.... Freedom is not food parcel... We are not asking for the Temple Tree. Neither are we asking to lend us the big elephant that takes part in the Perehera. Our hut should be given to us. We are not demanding anything else. We are asking for our rights, not begging for alms. We did not fight because we are Tamils. We are human beings. Nobody is above us. Nobody is below us. We are not prepared to be like worms that are trodden under foot and insects that are crushed in the hands. We are not prepared to be subhumans anymore. We need (a solution) commensurate with the price we paid for it. The scale should be right and just". Ulaikkalam is recommended reading for all who are sincerely interested in knowing the "other side" of the conflict equation. Et audiatur altera pars! Ranjan |
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M.R. Narayan Swami's "Inside an elusive mind" says as much
about the difficulties an "outsider" faces in trying to
understand the inner workings of the mind of a guerrilla as about the near
impossibility of grasping it in terms of arriving at any definite
conclusion. Narayan Swami's book seems to be an attempt to portray an
"objective" picture of Prabhakaran, reverently called "Thesiyat
Thalaivar" (Leader of the Tamil Nation) by many Tamils both in Sri
Lanka and abroad.
