The history of the chauvinistic opposition to the demands of the
Tamil people in the North and East has been an ironic political dilemma.
It had always boomeranged, conceding the identical issues for which the
chauvinists agitated against, being granted at subsequent times, without
an iota of disapproval.
Their motivated objectives were thereby annulled which remains an
exclamation mark in our history. This is the political detritus of hate
which we have reaped in the decades at a cost to all of us.
Let us examine in retrospect what ultimately resulted in respect of
the 'Sinhala only' as the official language cry. The saw - dust pseudo
nationalists opposed the 'reasonable use' of Tamil and the scheme of
regional autonomy to conduct administrative affairs in their own mother
tongue in the North and East, as envisaged by the 'Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam'
and the 'Dudley Senanayake-Chelvanayagam' Pacts.
Perverse sentiments were aroused and there were communal riots
unprecedented in the country which took a toll of so many innocent lives
and property, where criminals and looters masqueraded as ardent
nationalists. These are the elements responsible for the present-day
chaos.
What happened in subsequent times is a historical lesson we all have
to contemplate seriously. About two decades later the Tamil language was
given Constitutional recognition as an official language on par with
Sinhala.
The Tamil people were given the option to conduct affairs in their
mother tongue in their respective areas. No body raised a finger against
these provisions of the 1978 Constitution, which I believe is a salutary
development.
However, with the inadequate attention paid to their other seething
problems by the successive Governments, the Tamil people who lived in
amity with us for centuries turned apprehensive and drifted away.
Some of their intellectuals migrated to greener pastures, causing a
brain-drain. The ill-will which prevailed with communal tension gave
birth to revolutionary movements with half-baked fanatics murdering
their leaders who followed the democratic path to the problems.
The frustrated Tamils harkened to the shibboleths of the new
dispensation. The situation alarmingly developed into a guerilla war
which lasted about two decades. The calamity caused to either side is a
black mark in the annals of our country.
There is now quotodian sporadic incidents which have developed into
alarming proportions where headon fights are in prolific frequency. The
Ceasefire Agreement is being blatantly violated, and is virtually a dead
coin.
So the time has come for us to evaluate the flagrant situation in the
light of future perspectives and workout a reasonable situation to the
issues involved, without any detriment to the Sinhalese, the Tamils or
the muslims. This is the crying need of the day.
The Government of Norway is functioning as facilitator with our
concurrence. We must be grateful for their gesture. The matter has been
hanging fire for more than a year. The ball passes to either side
blaming each other with excuses; and we are still running in the same
place.
The issues came to the fore with the Presidential elections, and the
President elect has to shoulder a heavy burden in the matter. Delay is a
killer, and procrastination will undoubtedly multiply the problems at
hand as we see.
We must not shirk the responsibility to have early discussions. If
the opportunity is shirked, we will be in the wrong side of history
What should be remembered is the sorry plight and agony of the people
who live in the conflict stricken areas and of the close by villages.
The children of these regions are deprived of their normal education.
Thousands of people are displaced with broken homes and driven into
adverse conditions. Immediate relief and rehabilitation measures are
necessary to ease the suffering and trauma of these unfortunate people.
Two decades of conflict have produced a generation of youth with a war
mentality.
The grief of the families who died in conflict and the people who
lost their habitats should not be allowed to be revisited. This is the
tragic truth of the conflict that existed.
The gravity and the grim reality of the situation do not command much
public attention or significance it deserves. This is a multiple neglect
of the media where only the details of the skirmishes are retailed to
the public.
Therefore, it is imperative that political parties of every hue
should unite as one; shedding the narrow confines of power and party
politics and buckle down to face the ethnic problem squarely and
circumspectively; and not be political fossils of an era.
The world is changing every hour and we are in this electronic age,
making the world a global village. We must cast away our moth-eaten
ideas of orthodoxy and create an undivided nation. Action should speak
louder than the words.
The horrifying majority attitude of some of the Sinhala Buddhists
should be forsaken to end the imminent death factories. The old wounds
should be healed engendering trust and confidence; addressing our minds
to the genesis of the problem.
The way out should not be a palliative, but a permanent cure reading
into the future political and social dimensions of the country, and
based on the principle of justice and equality, without leaving legacy
to the future generation.
Let our endeavour be to live peacefully as one nation with equity to
one another.
War is sweet to those who do not fight. (Adagla Erasmus)
P. U. LIYANAGE,
Baddegama
The daily newspapers recently carried reports of a lecture delivered
by Wimal Weerawansa - the JVP Propaganda Secretary at a vast gathering
of Senior Officers of Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Army at
Diyatalawa with pictures of the officers assembled - the occasion being
the presentation of 'Manel Mal' to the Senior Officers of the Armed
Forces.
The presentation had been made by Wimal Weerawansa as Secretary of
Desha Hitheyshee Viyaparaya.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces issues orders and instructions to Service Commanders of the
Forces who in turn instruct their middle level officers to transform
them into action.
If the officers and the troops need further clarifications on orders
and instructions issued by the President, they can always get the
required clarifications from their Sectional Commanders.
Other than the Service Commanders, Secretary to the Defence Ministry,
the Minister of Defence, the Prime Minister and the President himself,
no other politician should be allowed to address the officers of the
Armed Forces and the troops - either on Ceasefire Agreement or any other
topic concerning the security of the country.
To defeat terrorism in the country, there should be discipline in the
Forces and the President should take immediate steps to stop
rabble-rousers from brainwashing the members of the Forces to further
their own political ends.
May be the JVP Propaganda Secretary wants the people of this country
to forget and put behind the dark memories of 1988-1989 era.
When the JVP cadres went from house to house threatening death to
innocent parents if they do not recall their sons from the Forces.
Now Wimal Weerawansa is offering 'Manel Mal' to Officers of the Armed
Forces! Sheep's clothing would never hide the sinister motive of a wolf.
SRILAL JAYASURIYA,
Ratmalana.
Global terrorism has become a cancerous problem and today people in
all walks of life have been caught in the iron grip of it.
Lest! people forget, this curse was first nurtured and flourished
during the hay-days of communism. During this time millions of people
were murdered. Some had to leave their countries and some had to escape
to the free world.
Some people who suffer from some sort of phobia, attributes terrorism
to 'racialism' and 'religion' which are easy scapegoats to their way of
thinking.
One could safely state that the biggest culprits who are behind the
world terrorism are the 'blooming politicians' of today who have taken a
cue from the past Communist war lords. They would do any dirty work to
be in power.
This is the very reason why these dirty politicians, arm and finance
criminals who creep into religious and ethnic groups and create havoc in
those groups who, in turn are unaware of the 'horrendous designs'
hatched by the war merchants until its too late to do anything about it.
The Middle East problem that erupts from time to time and the LTTE
problem have been the result of crooked politicians.
T. L. FERNANDO,
Kandana.
Reference to the letter by Nina Harrim on Aug. 28. I quite agree with
Ms Harrim. Women must dress decently. I remember many years ago, when
mini skirts were just getting popular, a girl in a mini skirt was
getting into the train.
The man who was behind her put his hand under her dress. She asked
for it! There are dirty men in any community. But we cannot blame them,
if the women tempt them.
Why should girls wear short skirts, wide-neck dresses which expose
their breasts and only cover their nipples, low waists which expose
their belly buttons? Do these women think they look prettier? They are
only tempting men who wait to be tempted. All parents/mothers please
make your girls dress decently.
It is not the exposure of the body that makes them attractive. it is
their behaviour and decency that appeals to 'good' men. Sri Lankan women
don't just copy the west where some people think exposing their bodies
is glamorous. Look at the Tamil ladies, they still wear their jackets
with high necks.
OLGA MENDIS,
via email. |
