About One year ago, I stopped writing about anything political or politically inclined given the prevailing atmosphere at that time about such views being published in a public forum. I don’t mean to say I used to write a lot neither has a lot changed since then, yet at every opportunity that I wished to express my views on what was going on, I would hold back.
After reading this article on groundviews and reading "Queen of Deceit" by Victor Ivan, I just need to rant here. Queen of Deceit is based on the former president of this country, it details, according to Ivan, how the Queen managed to deceive the public and amass a fortune that would pay for many a generation to live in the lap of luxury. This does really say much about us Sri Lankans, doesn't it? Those of us in Colombo detach ourselves from Cries of the North. I've heard so many people claim that the war did not affect them. I've heard them say all the Sentries are for our own Protection. I've also heard them complain about the governments they have elected and do nothing more than that. For us in Sri Lanka freedom seems to be a gift granted by the ruling Kings and Queens of this country out of the Generosity of their infinitely kind hearts. In Sri Lanka it is not about people power, it is Personal Power.. The Power to control the truth and I believe in time, history will be rewritten to hide their sins and glorify meager achievements.
Novemeber 2005
"I wanted Peace to continue, was that such a bad thing?"
In 2005 we had Presidential elections that were dependant on a Voter base from the North of this country. When those votes did not come through, the tide shifted here in Colombo with the Coalition for War sliding to victory with a margin of about 2%, so in essence 51% managed to gain control of 49% of this Country. Many fingers have been pointed, unproven statements and questions have been raised as to how and why the Voters in the North did not vote on that fateful day. Prior to that election we were in a peace process that seemed to be working, Economic Development, Freedom of movement and in General we moved away from being at the wrong end of anavtomat kalashnikova, very popularly known as a AK-47. That, to me was the best part of the peace process, no more guns in sight. No more fear of being taken in for questioning or shot on sight. Unfortunately the majority of the south did not see what i saw. They preferred the alternative of suffering, death and war.
Popular Gun Culture
"It makes me uneasy to see men pointing their guns at me, it makes me nervous"
With the end of the peace process so began the abductions, the deaths, the censorship and eventually Dictatorship. The blame of this war cannot be carried by one side, it is too complex and foolish to believe that this is one sided. The Sinhalese believe it’s the Tamils and the Tamils believe it’s the Sinhalese. The now defeated tigers wanted war, they did not want a peace deal. They might have been trapped in one in 2003 but the moment they saw the opportunity to escape from it, it was taken. So the voters were barred from voting that day knowing fully well who they would vote for. In the months that followed the violence began and spread to all parts of the Island, under the pretext of protection - freedoms were stolen, rights were denied and So began the Strong arming of the man who Carried a Gun. If you didn't fall in line, you are a terrorist. The war came to an end in May 2009 and the unimaginable seemed to be, the Tigers were defeated. Could this be? Yes it could.. No conventional method could have defeated them, so unconventional it had to be. This resulted in many dying on both sides, innocent or not you had to die if you were caught in the middle. It was appalling to see how stupid the people of this country really are. Nationalism Kills and no one realises this. Return to the Rule of the Gun.. if you had a gun, you wielded power.
And Now,
Its over, the war I mean. People have died, enough people have died and the IDP's are all that remains of this bloody period. The issues pertaining to the insurrection? Not addressed yet, would they be addressed? I don’t know. Do I think people in government believe there is a solution? No I don’t!
How could they? They carried out a war on Terrorism which in turn terrorized. However I think people on both sides of this equation need to come to terms with what they have now, have lost in the last three decades of fighting and Move on. If the Government isn't going to solve it, its time for the people to change their mindsets and move away from blaming each other. Everyone has suffered at the hands of their so called saviours. If a solution is not given to those people who have lost so much already, we are looking at yet another lost Generation. Its time for that unaffected Diaspora to stop with their rhetoric and move on. Its time to teach these children a new way of living, its time to sensitize them to compassion and forgiveness. Sri Lanka is a desensitized nation which is a breeding ground for anger and hatred.
The simplest example I can give anyone to make them understand what we are faced with here is this, a conversation I had a with girl who is moderately well educated and doesn't feel too much racism toward Tamils, Not on a personal level anyway. About one year ago at the height of the war when all the names of the towns were coming up she said this - "After the war I think they should change all the names of these towns, I can’t even pronounce half of them, what is point of having these names. They can name it after the dead soldiers" I was so baffled by the blatant ignorance and lack of empathy that I didn't really have much to say. I briefly tried to explain and asked how she would feel if people suddenly started changing her home town name to something she wasn't familiar with, the idea was understood but not fully comprehended.
The above is the extent to which I think this divide exists. There is no trust neither is there understanding and given that we have a government which prefers to solve all problems by pointing a gun in that direction how long before any kind of trust can be established.
"Is reconciliation that hard to accomplish? We all know that crimes were committed by both sides. Why can't we acknowledge this fact and move on?"
I feel like I am just one man with a stupid Ideology. Humanism over nationalism is what this country really needs. Blaming each other is not going to result in any solution for the real issues prevailing in Serendipity.
