Rooting out terror and protecting our image

RIOTS: It was the year 1983. In the wee hours of July 25, I was woken by my wife, who, while in prayer, had seen a bonfire across the road. I realized that it was not a bonfire, but that one of the houses across the road was on fire.

I immediately ran to the telephone and dialed the emergency numbers and the Fire Brigade. The city Fire Brigade was just a hop, step and a jump away. There was only a buzz and the engaged tone. Then, I saw something unbelievable. A mob was throwing stones and attacking the house.

Bare-bodied I ran out, jumped across the canal and went close to the house. The mob, shouting racist slogans, was exhorting the crowd to kill the Tamils. I did not know what to do. Then, from out of the blue, the only thing that came to my mind was my Southern Bravado. Almost instinctively, I shouted at them to get out at once, before I called the police. One of the mob leaders was a noted murderer in the area. He was also my client.

Why are you attacking Sivasithamparam's house, I asked him. I did not know what came upon me, but the crowd listened to me and retreated. "Sir kiynahinda api yanawa", The mob leader said.

Then the crowd dispersed. I then saw Sivasithamparam's immediate neighbour, Proctor Kandiah and his family getting into a rickety old car and driving away. His young son, who was the darling of the neighbourhood, was dropped at my neighbour Raja Mudannayke's residence. Later, neither my Southern bravado nor my determination could save the houses. But, all inmates were saved. Both houses were set ablaze.

That was the week when the most barbaric, inhuman violation of human rights took place against the Tamils. My immediate neighbour Proctor Rajasingham's house was attacked.

I rushed to the police and got a policeman to guard our houses, where we were hiding and giving protection to our Tamil friends. I received telephone calls that our houses would be burnt if I failed to give over the Tamil inmates in my house to the mob. We collectively decided not yield to any pressure.

When the gang was approaching, the policeman on guard shouted and shot into the air. Thus, the inmates were saved. The worst and the best of the Sinhalese came out of this blackest period of our modern history.

Sivasithamparam and his wife had jumped over the parapet wall behind their house and escaped. It was shocking and tragic, the events that followed. I could not believe how cruel people could become.

The peace loving temple going people, who were moved with sympathy when a dog was beaten, became inhuman monsters. Their humanity, their compassion had disappeared from their souls and instead they had metamorphosed into devils in human form, due to rabid uncontrollable racialism. M. Sivasithamparam had made a lasting impression on me.

We sometimes are very fond of using clich,s such as 'He bestrode the Hulftsdorp hills like a Colossus'. This platitude has been used ad nauseam by some writers, on some lesser important people and has truly lost its significance.

M. Sivasithamparam was 6 ft 3 or 4 inches tall. He had the most effective voice in Hulftsdorp. His words virtually reverberated and echoed from the four walls of Court when he spoke. His command of the English Language was the envy of everyone.

Once, a Senior President's Counsel, from the Southern coast, said something unpleasant in Court when referring to Sivasithamparam's client. Sivasithamparam immediately rebuked the P.C. saying "I am not here to befoul the atmosphere of the Court and lower my standing in the eyes of this Court by resorting to some verbiage which generally emanates from persons of low civility".

The senior President's Counsel was so shocked by the immediate repartee; he meekly retreated and sat on his chair, never to bandy words with 'Siva' again. As juniors we had no one to look forward to for guidance. I used to cross over to 'Siva's' place and he would bring forth the most cogent and effective argument to rebut the case of my opponent.

When H. W. Jayewardene contested the post of President of the Bar Association, there was an element of racism in the campaign. There was the famous letter written by E. R. S. R. Kumaraswamy supporting the candidature of T. Sri Ramanathan.

When 'Siva' heard about this letter he told me, and his juniors that we must strive to achieve excellence in the profession by electing a person who was devoid of racial undertones. "Otherwise the profession will be divided into Sinhala and Tamil Lawyers Association.

If this letter was written on behalf of 'Rama' he must refute it as the Tamil lawyers would never endorse such a petty myopic stance. It is our duty to elect a person who has not resorted to such a low menial stand and we should all vote and ensure that H. W. Jayewardene wins the elections". We decided to vote for HWJ after this incident. This was a man who decried that Bar should consider race, caste or religion in electing its leaders.

But that fateful 'Black July' day, a few years later, his house was being reduced to ashes before my own eyes. The sparse furniture and the table, at which he sat and taught me, was now turning into embers. We argued for days about his politics, but he respected my views. He was a teacher and guided the juniors with affection without any remorse or jealousy.

JR Jayewardene was thought to be the most experienced politician and President east of the Suez. He permitted, by his total inaction, the worst communal riots ever in the history of Sri Lanka. It was only six years earlier that the UNP swept the board with Tamils in the East and the rest of the country voting en-bloc to establish a just society.

Then came the carnage of the youth in South. Every petty politician was armed. The killings went unabated. It was believed, by everyone connected to the administration, that the only way to stop the JVP and the DJV was to kill indiscriminately. Anyone, who expressed a different opinion, was considered a traitor.

This was the time I held office as the Secretary of the Bar Association. The Bar Association was considered an appendage of the JVP. The Amnesty International was considered an establishment funding the terrorists.

When Ranjan Wijeratna, the erstwhile Minister of Defence, accused the BASL of openly supporting the terrorist JVP, Premadasa was nonplussed. He was one who had the most cordial relationship with the Bar. Premadasa insisted that Ranjan Wijeratna apologise to the Bar through the electronic and print media.

The statement was given wide publicity. I now realize that Premadasa did not have control over the terror machine. There is a lesson for us to learn from these two periods and that is, not to commit the mistakes they committed.

Premadasa was accused of getting General Kobbekaduwa killed. General Kobbekaduwa's funeral was one of the most violent funerals held in Colombo. Spontaneously, white flags came to be hoisted in every little wattle and daub house.

The people reacted as if General Kobbekaduwa was not only the foremost war hero amongst the Sinhalese, they also firmly believed the propaganda unleashed by the opposition that the General was killed by Premadasa. There was universal appeal to appoint a Special Presidential Commission, comprising foreign judges, to probe the killing.

The people believed that Premadasa was capable of interfering with the judiciary. Judges from the Commonwealth to wit, Justice Amissah (Ghana), Sir James Keith (New Zealand) and Justice M. Uwais (Nigeria) were appointed to probe the killing. The judges submitted a report confirming what the government had been saying from the beginning, that the General was killed by a landmine planted by the LTTE.

Similarly, when Lalith Athulathmudali was killed, there was wide speculation and reports that he too was killed by Premadasa. There was a belief that the whole of the police investigation and the forensic evidence could be concocted and engineered by Premadasa to fit into his theory that the LTTE was responsible for the murder. The lawyers wanted an international investigation team to probe this killing too. Premadasa promptly acceded.

The forensic experts from Scotland Yard were summoned. After months of investigation, Scotland Yard confirmed the reports of our own forensic experts, who had to make do with scientific and forensic instruments which were outdated and archaic to those of the Scotland Yard.

Premadasa readily obliged these demands of his enemies, who were hell bent on proving that he was the murderer. He appointed independent investigators and Commissions, as he knew that neither he nor his government was involved, directly or indirectly, in these crimes. These allegations were spread, by his opponents, with the sole purpose of destroying him politically.

People prayed for an era free of terror to dawn. No one in the then government realized that. As long as they were in power, they thought that they could go on. But fear paved the way for Chandrika to come to power with an overwhelming majority.

Her main slogan was an end to corruption and terror. Recently, Mahinda said he did not want people to light crackers when he died. He was referring to Premadasa's death. Though, the UNP denounced that statement, it is a fact that cannot be erased from the memory of people.

There are many incidents, in the recent past, which took place when Mahinda was attempting to do something very important. This has lead to conspiracy theory that some of these things are done in order to lower the image of the President before the world community.

Though I do not subscribe to this theory but when you analyze these events something more than mere coincidence would emerge. When the President met the international press and was discussing media freedom, the "Udayan" press was attacked.

When he was meeting Tony Blair, the Tamil editor of the Sooriyan Radio station was abducted and later released. When the President was addressing the world leaders and emphasizing the importance of rooting out terror and making an important distinction between freedom fighters and terrorism, there was that massacre of Muslim youths in Pottuvil.

No one, even the most rabid nationalist, would say that an international image is unimportant. No country can live independently having tarnished its image internationally. Therefore, it is important that whoever is responsible for these crimes, whether it is the LTTE or any other organization, it be investigated by the Government.

Mahinda has done extremely well during his short tenure in office. There is a rejuvenation of hope that this country could finally achieve peace by rooting out terrorism. But, I believe there may be other elements that have different agendas and are striving hard to achieve them at the expense of the Government and especially that of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The President's international image should not be permitted to be tarnished by the LTTE or any other group. We certainly know of his commitment to human and fundamental rights. The fact that he has invited Thondaman and accepted him into the Government is a great stride forward. But, everything must be done to prevent any further violation of rights.

We must perceive only the LTTE as our adversary and the Tamils and Muslims as our friends. Then even those who pay a lip service to the LTTE will ultimately join hands with Mahinda. Then only could we genuinely alienate terrorism and bring every one together to hammer out a formula accepted by all.

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