Delhi masters
I wonder whether the parties concerned have obtained prior approval from the Delhi masters. Subjugation to Indraprasasthi Arya Brahmanism was the net result of the war. After all, both the Mahinda regime and the TNA are guided by the Indian ruling elite. Maybe the discussions are also enforced by them. As I said before, the Indian rulers who advocated the annihilation of the Tamil militant leadership and did everything to consolidate the chauvinist Sinhala regime, are now interested in making that regime deliver autonomy for the Tamils! The TNA leadership has no alternative but to go along with the discussions while declaring May 18 as a black day for the Tamil people. It is incredible to believe that two parties, one making merry over the slaughter and the other crying for the bereaved, discussing cozily the fate of the nation. It would have been at least more logical if the TNA leadership requested the government to first stop these unethical celebrations. After all, the government admits that it fought with a rif-rag army of desperate Tamil youth propelled by generations of discrimination. They are a part of the youth of this country. The war destroyed our properties and our people, in spite of the divisions on national lines. If the government is not prepared to accept that, it was a tragic war without a real winner, then there is no basis for discussions. If the government insists that there are no war criminals then it should at least agree that there are no war heroes as well. But there could not be any basis for discussions on the assumption that the Tamil fighters were criminals and the Sinhala soldiers were heroes.
Not only the Tamil youth but also the Sinhala youth rebelled in this country. The latter too were ferocious and fought ruthlessly. In the early 90s Mahinda met those of us from the Nava Sama Samaja Party quite frequently to discuss the tragedy of the Sinhala insurgents. Together we campaigned to get the imprisoned youth released and to get compensation for those who disappeared. We fought for human rights and travelled to far away countries to expose the repression and atrocities committed by the state forces. On what ethical basis does this man see today, the misery of the Sinhala rebels but not that of the Tamil desperado? If the crushing of Sinhala youth by Premadasa is not a victory to shout about, how could the crushing of Tamil youth be an issue for celebration. If the Mahinda regime cannot see the fundamental ethical blunder they are making by this second attack on the surrendered Tamil people, through this lunatic victory celebration, then there cannot be any healing of wounds. Even on the basis of Buddhism, what the government should be doing is to hold Maha Pirith sangayana for the sake of all those who died in this tragedy.
State terror
Do they follow Dharmasoka who renounced military victory and conquest, for the spread of the dharma; or are they folowing the brutality of Chandasoka? So far the government has shown that it is continuing with its war mongering policy. Mahinda used extreme state terror to drive away pavement hawkers. At Slave Island it used military brutality to break houses and expel residents who had nowhere to go.
Military terror was used against unarmed women and children. They were driven out like rabbits hunted by wild dogs. One gets the impression that the military is dictating terms to the government. The military forces are used not only against the Tamils and Muslims but also against the Sinhala workers and peasants. Foreign powers are behind these developments and the role played by Indian rulers is obvious.
- By Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne
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