Terrorism, justice and lasting peace
‘We need to take a good look in the mirror
to see if we see a good Sri Lankan first, so we could then be the good
Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, SLFPers, UNPers, TNAers, MCers, Marxists,
JVPers, JHUers and the like’
“Peace is not the absence of war, but the
presence of justice”, says a Harrison Ford.
I quote it here, for I think it aptly describes our current
socio-political situation. For nearly 30 years we waged a war against
terrorism. That movement at its roots began with the cause of Tamil Sri
Lankans calling for dignity and honour. Yet, its operations took a turn
with a call for a separate state, with the use of terror as the means
for achieving that end.
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Towards
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Though some may claim that the end justifies the means, there is no
way any reasonable human being can condone terror as a means to
achieving any end. Thankfully, the determined leadership effort by our
President, his team that shouldered the burden of that effort and our
Armed Forces, supported by the majority of our people, were able to put
that lengthy phase of terrorism behind us.
There is no doubt in any reasonable person’s mind or there need not
be any argument, that we must make that hard-won end to terrorism stay
and last. That it must transform into a state of lasting peace. There
should also be no issue on the need for us to ensure that justice
prevails at all times in our midst, to enable us to get there.
That must transform to mean justice for all innocents; regardless of
race, creed, colour, rich, poor, level of influence, affiliation or the
might one may command. It must be at all nooks and corners of this land
and be real and be perceived, sensually touched and felt by all as being
real. That must be the task we all must work on single-mindedly, while
taking ownership of the process of its making.
Steer and cheer
Justice, defined as the ‘quality of being just or fair’ must prevail
where, every Sri Lankan who has not committed any crime under the law of
the land, can live with equal dignity and honour. In the context of a
just and fair society, we all must have access to opportunities and the
unhindered ability to make a better life for each of us, our families
and be able to pave the way for those that are yet to be born.
Justice and peace therefore goes hand in glove. This is where we must
steer and cheer the process of getting there, when it is right and
denounce and jeer, when it is wrong. It is sad that it is not so with
most of us. We seem to be divided on many fault-lines. They appear as
political party affiliations, blind loyalty based support, cast and
creed-based actions and /or dominant belief-led outcomes.
Lack the tools
It is often we see that the same position taken by two different
entities being dealt with in two different ways by those who look at it
with their tainted minds or tinted or coloured lenses. It is true that
most happenings around us cannot be defined as being black or white, but
grey. But it is also true that there cannot be any line of compromise
between what is just or fair. Yet, there is a marring of our views, as a
result of the prejudices, loyalties, likes, dislikes, affiliations and
detachments each of us hold within us.
In most instances, I find that we lack the analytical tools to
understand the working of those who are driven by different ethos to
that of ours. A good way to describe it, is the more popular parlance
used by the elite of our society a few decades ago to describe a person
who was not akin to their ways.
The term used then was godaya. Though the term is not in use today as
widely as it was then, the sentiment that led to its formation still
exists among many. It has to do with our almost blind acceptance of the
dominant Western cultural values and the shunning of our own (ape kama)
as being backward or archaic.
Repeated appeal
Here I must share with you two recent examples that can serve to
illustrate my point about the prejudices we carry. During the last two
weeks, I received eight emails forwarding me the speech made by George
Willy, the Houston based immigration lawyer of Sri Lankan origin. He
spoke in English in the presence of our President, during his recent
visit to the USA and called for him to follow the Buddhist principles of
compassion, truth and justice. His repeated concluding appeal to the
President was “Your Excellency, return us to Paradise... Return us to
Paradise”.
Lawyer Willy, like many other Sri Lankans living abroad or most
living in Sri Lanka, may not have known that our President, on several
occasions earlier had articulated the need and desire to unify Sri
Lanka’s 20 million people as one family, based on the same principles.
One instance is the recent speech he made in Sinhala and Tamil (not
in English) to the children of Sri Lanka at a recent ‘Mother Sri Lanka’
program presentation. No one sent me an email attachment of that speech.
It is sad that many in our midst do not or choose not to, see, hear or
accept that there is genuine effort here, away from the political
rhetoric and cat-calls made by opportunistic Opposition.
Good Sri Lankans
Then there is a recent satellite television statement by Prof
Karthigesu Sivathamby, made at the award ceremony when he was honoured
with a Life Time Achievement Award for Sri Lankan Literature, which I
must bring to your attention.
Touching on the need for the emergence of a truly Sri Lankan
literature, he said, “There are very good Sinhalese, very good Muslims
and very good Tamils I know, but not one good Sri Lankan”.
I guess that sums up the dire need we have today, when we take on the
long journey before us, in seeking justice for all and lasting peace.
Like the good Professor said, we perhaps need to take a good look in the
mirror to see if we see a good Sri Lankan first, so we could then be the
good Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, SLFPers, UNPers, TNAers, MCers,
Marxists, JVPers, JHUers and the like.
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