Reflections: One year after terrorism was vanquished

It's a year since we got the official announcement that the leader of one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations was dead. With the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lanka entered a new phase in its history. It was called 'Post-War'. Not disputing the fact that history does not hold any guarantees, it is safe to say that the Tamil community, regardless of grievance-perception/articulation and aspiration would have to think 100 times before opting to walk the bloody, destructive and ultimately self-defeating path that Prabhakaran chose.

Sure, we can have the likes of R Sampanthan trying to be the A Amirthaligam of the 21st Century, spawning another Prabhakaran to cause another 100,000 deaths and to persuade several hundred thousands of Tamils to migrate, it will not bring 'Eelam' any closer. The Tamil community is inhabiting a political and historic moment where it is called upon to decide how it wants to identify itself, how it wants to chart the future of Tamil children in terms of other communities and in terms of the structures of the State, including the parameters of 'citizenship' as they exist and as they can be altered. The Tamil community will not 'self-determine' to self-destruct, but their so-called representatives may very well determine this for them. Time will tell.

Today, a year later, we are told to play a game called 'truth and reconciliation'. We hear also calls for investigations into alleged war crimes. These allegations, we note, are based on little or no evidence apart from the howls of people who bent backwards to try and save Prabhakaran. Strangely, those who call for such investigations maintain a stony silence on crimes against humanity perpetrated by the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and other Western countries.

They are also silent about the fact that there were no T&R games pertaining to the 88-89 massacre of some 60,000 people by the rabidly fascist UNP Government in its altercation with the rabidly fascist JVP. There is no mention of the fact that the people knew the truth, reconciled and moved on without any help from I/NGOs and UN agencies looking for remunerative employment and a cheap vacation in a tropical island.

'Truth and Reconciliation' should include a FULL CONFESSION on the part of all those who supported the LTTE and the Eelam Project, all those who did their best to stop the military offensive, all those who threw sand in the wheels of the national effort to rid ourselves of the terrorist menace, regarding their crimes of omission and commission.

Let them be honest. They need to 'reconcile' with the victims of terrorism and this can only be done if they start with a long and serious process of self-reflection and self-criticism. I suggest that the National Peace Council, Centre for Policy Alternatives, the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, the Social Scientists' Association and other two-bit operations including the Free Media Movement when it was run by Sunanda Deshapriya and his gang of crooks go into a huddle in some nice hotel and confess to their sins as a necessary precondition for recommending policy.

Today, a year later, we hear people complain that the Government has not resolved the problems of the Tamil community. What is this indecent hurry, though? We went for 30 years watching blood being spilled on the basis of fantastic extrapolations based on myth and legend, right? Was not the blood-letting stopped? Is development not happening? Is not the Language Act being implemented with more enthusiasm than has been seen since it was enacted? What's Sri Lanka's track record in terms of 'resettlement' and is it not streets ahead of any such exercise anywhere in the world at any time in history?

Something died in Nandikadal Lagoon on May 18, 2009. Yes, Velupillai Prabhakaran died. The version of the Eelam Dream and the methodology that he championed and advocated also died. The 'We-Can't Syndrome' was shot to pieces along with the LTTE leadership.

What were we left with, though? We were left with the belief that a nation, if it depends on its own brains and strategies, can achieve things that seem impossible. For thirty years, we listened to all kinds of 'solutions', 'methodologies' etc., and got our collective behind riddled with bullets. Now we know that when we decide to do things our way we stand a better chance of success. It's about our blue-prints. We also proved to ourselves that a nation, united, can overcome all manner of obstacles. That's a lot to have obtained from the entire exercise.

It is a year since the war ended. There are things we should remember. Things we should never forget. The sacrifice. The dedication. The overwhelming resolve of all the players in this national endeavour, big and small, those with known names and those who will remain known only by the near and dear, the soldier, the sailor, the airman, the police officer, the personnel in the civil defence unit, the tireless government servant, the scribe, the diplomat, the politician, the doctor, engineer, the man who changed the tyre, the alert citizen and the indignant scholar who raved against the anti-intellectualism that was buttressing the separatist ideology. Everyone, everyone....the victims of terror, their loved ones, the victims caught in crossfire, the victims slaughtered in anger and anguish by irresponsible troops.

This is a time for healing. For forgiving. For accepting blame rather than blaming. It is a time for self-reflection. A time for kicking oneself for looking the other way because the truth was uncomfortable. A time to salute heroism regardless of the conviction of he/she whose act was indisputably heroic. It is also a time to remember, recognize and applaud the role of those who for other reasons one may take issue with. Yes, I am thinking of a man called Sarath Fonseka. A leader of men. One of history's chosen agents. Flawed, perhaps, but still a key role-player. A hero.

One year later, let us give ourselves an hour to be silent. To meditate. To repent, if indeed we should. To forgive as we must. To honour those who are deserving of honour. These are prerogatives pertaining to the peace we enjoy today. Let us reflect.

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