Building bridges with Tamils
PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa made a pertinent point the other day when
he enjoined certain elements from the majority community against
treating every Tamil as an LTTE terrorist.
Opening the Weerawila Airport Project in his native Hambantota last
Sunday, the President stressed on an attitudinal change of a petty
minded among few who continue to maintain such prejudices against
ordinary Tamils.
The President no doubt is keen to remove the deep seated suspicion
and heal the wounds that has existed between the two communities for
decades realising the need for all sections to work as one family if the
country is to progress and release its true potential.
For it is only a nation that stands united which can wither all
challenges and aspire to reach its goals. This the President is fully
alive to, hence his appeal to sections of the majority community.
No doubt feelings certainly are bound to run high in a charged
atmosphere where soldiers suffer heavy casualties on the battle front.
It is pertinent to note here that it was the death of 13 soldiers in
that fateful landmine in Thinnaveli on July 21, 1983 that triggered the
worst communal riots in the country. Sinhalese by and large had been
wiser since then and had not reacted even under the gravest provocations
of the LTTE.
The majority community for all intents and purposes had put behind
that black episode which earned the country pariah status with the
international community, thanks in no small measure to the then
Government in power, who it is well known, inspired the riots.
President Rajapaksa who has gone on record fiercely condemning that
spasm of mindlessness that took hold of some elements of the majority
community is naturally determined that the country puts behind that dark
chapter and mend fences with the minorities.
He is keen that no room is allowed for any bad blood between the two
communities in the new social environment created under his
dispensation.
Being an ardent campaigner of human rights from his salad days as a
politician the President no doubt is sincere in his commitment to forge
amity between the two communities.
The President also pointing to a bevy of children belonging to all
communities who flocked to garland him at the ceremony said he harboured
a dream to see this unity reflected in the larger fabric of communal
relations in the country.
The President's avowed dream also harkens us back to days when
leading schools had students of different communities sitting in the
same row next to each displaying a brotherhood and camaraderie which
sadly has disappeared and replaced by acrimonious feelings over the
decades.
It is this brotherhood and conviviality that the President is
yearning for when he appealed to the majority community to banish all
prejudices and not see a tiger behind every bush.
The President also noted in his speech that there was a vast gap
between terrorists and innocent Tamil people and for the country at
large to draw a clear distinction in this regard. He also warned
instigators of communal tension that he would have no mercy on such
elements.
It is the duty of the majority community to heed the appeal of the
Head of State and strive to build bridges with their Tamil brethren
which would be a huge fillip to the efforts of the President to clinch a
negotiated settlement to the national problem. |
Norway gave money
It was April 2004. LTTE's renegade leader Karuna
retreated after clashes with Prabhakaran. It happened two days after
Karuna gave his final face-to-face interview to this writer who was
then at "The Island" newspaper. The interview was published in The
Island on 9th April. However, in 2002 the writer predicted that both
Karuna and Prabhakaran would split and the article was published in
"The Island" in May 2002 and subsequently in India's "Frontline"
magazine. Many violent incidents have taken place since then and we
questioned if Karuna was also adopting Prabhakaran's tactics and who
would survive. It seems that they both have survived rightly or
wrongly while the country is yearning for peace. One time deputy of
Prabhakaran and LTTE's most dreaded 'colonel' Karuna, now the most
wanted man of the LTTE speaks to the Daily News face-to-face for the
first time in his Eastern stronghold.
Full Story
To the LTTE: Karuna
WE are not a paramilitary group. We are the
breakaway faction of the LTTE and we are also a registered political
party now. Prabhakaran and the LTTE lost its support even from the
Diaspora after I split. Many Tamils are working against Prabhakaran
openly now and rising against him, even the people in Jaffna.
Full Story
The choice for Tamils: failed Prabhakaran or peace-winning
Anandasangaree?
SUMMING up the Washington meeting of the
Co-Chairs - US, Norway, Japan and EU - US Under Secretary for
Political Affairs, R. Nicholas Burns dealt a body blow at the press
conference that has sent the Tigers reeling. This is not what they
expected. The Tiger lobby went into top gear on A-9 road to convince
the international community,
Full Story |