An open letter to Prabhakaran

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe President’s Counsel Member of Parliament

STATE OF MIND: At a time when black clouds which have been gathering over the years are deepening, and the whole atmosphere is threateningly dark in our beloved country, it is the opportune moment to view the situation in a very sober and composed state of mind.

There is no gainsaying that our society is embedded with several cultures, religions and languages thereby creating a multiplicity rich and vivacious, a fact conceded by the international community as well. Nurtured by profound religious values, for the most part, we have lived in peace and harmony claiming a high civilization which is the envy of many nations.

As fate would have it, several countries from the west invaded our country bringing in the wake of it, a mostly inimical influence. Specially, during the British period, a detestable policy of divide-and rule was adopted in a very subtle and pernicious manner.

Insensitive as we were to these divisive tactics in which the British were past-masters, we walked into their snares and traps, the consequence being the tapering-off of the unity and the affinity that existed among the communities. They were virtually led to a state of being at loggerheads with one another while the British were quick at fishing in troubled waters.

Distrust, animosity and malice were introduced to the one-time healthy relations among the communities. That trend caught on with cankerous effect and mutual suspicions began to stalk the one-time land of peace.

That was a situation brought about deliberately by the manipulations and the machinations of the British rulers. Thus when Independence was conferred upon us in 1948, the country was knifed into mental divisions under the veneer of unity that had ceased to exist. People by and large, were envisaging to live in a sun-lit land of peace and harmony enjoying the benefits of the newly-won independence. But lamentably, it was not to be.

Mutual distrust and enmity began to take its heavy toll, a sad phenomenon which cannot be attributed fully to the majority community as some attempted to do so. What was the scene that emerged? It was a society fragmented into pieces and at loggerheads with one another, so to speak. During the last few decades, Neo-Colonialism has raised its ugly head and spread its tentacles with cancerous effect eating into the vitals of the politic.

With the existing set-up it is apparent that internal issues entangled among ourselves are globalized, paving the way to various international organizations, to make a complication of matters instead of extrications.

Those who catch fish in troubled waters absorbed our resources weakening our economy. Every man and woman on this land has sacrificed around one third of his or her earnings and wealth during the last couple of decades to enrich arms manufacturers and dealers whose conduct is disastrous to the whole world.

In addition to that, over 60,000 lives were lost to this country and about a similar amount are disabled. Several lakhs of people became victims either by losing their beloved ones or getting disabled.

They are all human beings belonging to one family irrespective of their race, language, religion or political opinions they held. Categorisation of them into Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims amounts to humiliation and degradation which should be repulsive and repugnant.

Killing of others is the most primitive way to find one’s liberty. Killings will lead only to frustration and repentance, it will never be a matter for resilience. People who take arms kill only themselves and retribution would hover around them. Hatred can bring only hatred, it will never bring peace, love or affection. But one’s dedication to society could be shown only by way of adoption of his composure, equipoise and quintessence.

Ferocity would lead only to one’s devastation at the expense of his own blood and nerves. But love and affection come up with resilience and rejuvenating the whole body and soul. What one cannot achieve by a gun could be achieved by a smile.

What one cannot achieve by a million of rupees could be achieved by a mere soft spoken word. What one cannot achieve by a horrendous war could be achieved by uttering by the magic word of “peace”.

We have inherited a society with multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural features which goes back to time immemorial. The unity, dignity and divinity of ours had been commended often by the international community as revealed by resources found and relied upon as history.

Our nation is a time honoured one which has set examples to the world not only on the grounds of peace and harmony maintained among the different communities but also on grounds of prosperity, hospitality and civilisation.

Patriotic leaders who steered the country towards victorious independence were from all communities irrespective of their language, creed, religion, or caste. People were dreaming to live in a society of one country and one nation, but, it faded away within a few decades due to various reasons which were not within the control of the majority of the people.

People are well conversed with the reasons and backgrounds. The resultant position was to have divisions and the society was fragmented into pieces and scattered all over the country.

History records that Mihintalawa is the first and foremost sanctuary in the world officially proclaimed by King Devanampiyatissa in 376 BC, which act speaks volumes of the civilisation that we had reached in the centuries of yore. While the King was on a hunting trip, the Arahath Mahinda, son of the Great Emperor Asoka of India, who had won a large number of wars and dominated the biggest territory in the then world, preached that -

O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts have as equal a right to live and move about in any part of the land as thou. The land belongs to the people and living beings, thou art only the guardian of it...”

This was quoted by Vice President of the International Court of Justice, C. J. Weeramantry, J. in the famous Danube case. Dr. Ranjith Amarasinghe, Judge of the Supreme Court while ruling against the rulers in privatisation of Eppawala phosphate deposit, cited the said sermon and further strengthened the phenomenon of human civilisation and its virtues as follows:

“The capitalist economy as distinguished by Adam Smith’s ‘Concept of Market Economy’ has a potentially fatal ignorance of two subjects. One is the nature of money. The other is the nature of life. This ignorance leads us to trade away life for money, which is a bad bargain indeed.

The real nature of money is obscured by the vocabulary of finance, which is a doublespeak... We use the terms ‘money’, ‘capital’, ‘assets’ and ‘wealth’ interchangeably - leaving no simple means to differentiate money from real wealth. Money is a number. Real wealth is food, fertile land, buildings or other things that sustain us.

Free economy based on money market in the world has resorted to masquerade wealth either by hook or by crook at the expense of human blood and lives, and has gobbled up humanity. Armed industry is the most lucrative business in the world today. Poor nations are the bread and butter of those rich.

American Red Indian leader Great Seattle while writing a letter addressed to the American President as far back in 1855 has stated that, every part of that land is sanctified to his people and questioned how can one sell or purchase the sky, air, earth and warmth.

Every glittering pine, every sandyshore, every mist in the dark jungles, every tree, every creeper, every stream, every waterfall, every animal, every bee, every fly etc. are part of their lives.

Further stressed that all such things belong to one and the same family and they are inseparable. Blood of every man or woman or any being is red in colour. That shows all of us are equal in nature and natural justice is against any kind of discrimination.

Where have we gone wrong? Is it due to lack of understanding and trust and being in the grip of hatred and avarice? People are born to live in peace and die in grace. Life span is short and unpredictable. War pushes all hopes to a far distance and embraces only repugnance, hatred and malice. Everybody must make a contribution towards the uplift of the human society at large.

When natural disasters break out, when diseases spread, when wars erupt, there is no way to choose the identity of the victims. Nature has not distinguished them in terms of colours, race, language or religion.

Nature has not distinguished them in terms of colours, race, language or religion. A gloom has descended upon us. Who are the saviours? The simple answer is only ourselves. Don’t curse the dark. Be enlightened on truth. Do away with myth. Nature will look after the rest.

The time is appropriate for us to extend our natural courtesy and camaraderie to each other. Kindness and sensitivity we commonly held in the past ought to be retrieved. Hatred and vendetta should be suppressed. What could not have been achieved in war for twenty five years may be achieved in one word ‘peace’.

That is why they say a meaningful word is mightier than a sword. Wearisome people are eagerly waiting to hear that word. It cannot be found in cities such as Oslo, Geneva, Tokyo or Bangkok or even in continents or in oceans whether they are oriental or occidental. But it could be found only in our own hearts.

War and killing both are enormously expensive, guns, grenades, multi-barrels rocket launchers, artilleries etc., are not only deadly to the people, but to the economy as well. In the world of war, one’s breath is other’s death. Destructive arms bring inflorescence to the economy of the arms manufacturing countries. Are we to continue to be the pall bearers of the nation any more or to salvage the nation from the quagmire in which it is now?

There exist more commonalities among the Sinhalese Buddhists, the majority of the Sinhalese community and the Hindu Tamils, the majority of the Tamil community, in this country than there are dissimilarities. Sinhalese believe in the Tamil God called God Kataragama while Tamils believe in the Buddha said to be the incarnation of God Vishnu in their belief. We both have inherited a common new year which dawns at the same time and the same day.

There are many in common in the cultures, traditions, customs, rituals, and social standings of the communities. Hence, there exist more parities than disparities, more reasons to unite than to divide, more features to comprehend than to apprehend, more needs to compromise than to deprecate, more grounds to surrender than to rip asunder, more matters to contribute than to attribute, and more demand to solidarity than to solitude among these communities vice versa.

We should be more concerned about rehabilitation than about annihilations, conversation than to combat, abdication than to vindication and optimism than to pessimism.

We have reached a crucial stage in our lives. By the manner in which we acquit ourselves now, would depend the future of this great land. Even now we could barricade the sharp slump down the precipice of destruction, and engage in the ascending exercise. To avert the slump, we should shake off the slumbers descended upon the nation, and brace ourselves to the task of retracing the fatal steps and reach the level of sobriety and aplomb.

Let us put the bitter memories of the past behind us and march towards a great future which this nation is heir to, with goodwill to all and the tendency to blame one another, tossed into the dustbin of past memories. Let us forge ahead as a nation joining hands with each other and make this land resplendent as the pearl of the East, again.

Many religions believe that all the earth, beings, seas, ranges, rivers, trees, creeps, lakes, languages, cultures etc., are created by God. Buddhism believes that it is a result of natural phenomena.

If the earth and beings are created by God, God may have created them so as to facilitate the human beings and others for their living. If God was aware that people would kill each other for the purpose of claiming title for themselves a piece of land, which facilitate them to sustain, God must be the biggest lamenter in today’s world.

Languages are made to facilitate conversations for the purpose of understanding each other and to resolve all disputes through dialogues. If the languages have become grounds for misunderstanding and disharmony among communities, the purpose of making a language is not only lost, but it also turns to be a means of devastation.

Similarly all religions teach us human values and virtues and the essentiality of communal harmony for betterment of the human society. But it is unfortunate that religions and languages kill a large number of people annually exceeding the number of killings done by arms and weapons including nuclear weapons.

If so, do religions and languages remain as tools to keep and maintain human unity, or to divide them and to lead them to disaster reflecting the true nature of theirs’ as lethal weapons?

We shall not be misguided, thinking that the land belongs to us. Instead we belong to the land. We are only temporary caretakers until the next generation takes over. We are not supposed to ruin them, but, bound to protect them as custodians. Much above every thing, that can be done only through peace and harmony. Enough is enough and let us in one chorus say let wiser counsel prevail at last.

There exist more commonalities among the Sinhalese Buddhists, the majority of the Sinhalese community and the Hindu Tamils, the majority of the Tamil community, in this country than there are dissimilarities. Sinhalese believe in the Tamil God called God Kataragama while Tamils believe in the Buddha said to be the incarnation of God Vishnu in their belief.

We both have inherited a common new year which dawns at the same time and the same day. There are many in common in the cultures, traditions, customs, rituals, and social standings of the communities.

Hence, there exist more parities than disparities, more reasons to unite than to divide.