Is the Sri Lankan war anti-Tamil or anti-Terrorism?

| by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

( May 29, 2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) To many Sri Lankans, the Sri Lankan war is not ethnicity related. The more one thinks that the war was Anti-Terrorism war, the less space there is for thoughts on the basis of ethnicity. Similarly, those who focus more and more on ‘what happened’ than ‘why it happened’ – are moving away from finding out the reasons why.

To the extent we consider the armed Sinhalese thugs and the Official Armed Forces or the LTTE as the reason why we had the war, we do not recognize lack of appreciation of ethnic diversity being the primary reason. One has to rise above the two sides to be able to see both sides independently. That is when one has authority over both sides. When we are at the same level, we have to show the effect of the other side’s actions. In other words, where there is no authority, the visible cause and the visible effect give the full picture. Hence the requirement for transparency. Where there is authority from a higher level – there is requirement for confidentiality.

According to the Government which largely represents the Sinhalese side and has official authority to state what it considers to be the reason, the cause was Terrorism. According to majority Tamils who think at Governance level and therefore represent Tamils, the effect was due us being an ethnic minority seeking to be recognized as independent equal citizens. In religious language – the Government is saying that Sri Lanka is Buddhist country and Tamils are saying Hindus are independent of Buddhism and therefore independent of the Government.

In his Sri Lanka Guardian article ‘Why military matters in the North?’ Colonel Hariharan states ‘President Rajapaksa’s May 19th speech stressed that it would not be possible to remove armed forces camps in the North: “It is necessary to ask those who call for the removal of the armed forces from the North whether the ‘Diaspora’ and Eelamists have stopped their work although the country has returned to normal. It is no secret that those who conscripted children to war, and other war criminals who are leaders of the LTTE, are acting with freedom in foreign countries. Just as much as their work their demands also remain the same; they seek the same ends through different means. Therefore, we must ask if we in a position to remove the armed forces camps in the North and reduce our attention national security. That is not possible. Armed services camps are not found in the North alone. They are seen throughout the country. They are in Colombo and Giruvapattu in the South. These are found in our country. Not in any foreign country.”

The President's argument has three elements of doubtful validity: (1) presence of army in North is related the work of the Diaspora and ‘Eelamists’ who are acting with freedom in foreign countries; (2) removing armed forces in the North will reduce attention to national security; (3) Army camps are found not only in the North but throughout the country so why remove them.’

As a natural, independent member of the Tamil Community, I do identify with the Diaspora Eelamists as being a major reason why the Tamil Tigers became a difficult enemy of the Government of Sri Lanka. The UNHRC Resolution also confirms this. The UNHRC Resolution is the karmic effect of civilian deaths and Chettikulam camps. An effective Administration would have prevented civilian deaths. The army presence in North is required so long as there is fear of war in the mind of the Government. As a person who works in Vattukottai area, I became anxious when I heard that Vattukkotai Police were called in last week, by the people who worshipped at our family temple, after they observed a new arrival to the local area dropping what looked like a dangerous item into a disused well. The items was reported to be a hand-bomb which was later detonated by the Army. There is an Army check-post near the temple. Often, the Army passed through the Temple grounds to go to their check-post. Yet, it was the local folks who observed and drew the attention of the Armed forces. The fact that the new arrival was able to bring the bomb past the check points – confirms that the Armed Forces were not intuitive enough to identify the problem. The fact that the locals called the Armed Forces in, confirms the need for them until there is appropriate devolution of Security Powers – so that there is a deeper connection between the People and the Police for them to share each other’s real powers through common faith. It is highly likely that without common faith the Sri Lankan Armed forces would be foreigners in Northern Sri Lanka. High level of Administration would help the two sides merge with each other and the solution would satisfy the People – especially the educated People. It is then that one has the right to claim that the war was not for particular ethnic reason but for General anti-criminal purposes.

Each one of us would view the effects as per our own reasons and when we are within the limits of our own Truth – our identification would be right for us. When using it for wider purpose, we need to regulate it on the basis of common form and/or regulations and not use our individual reasoning indiscriminately in all forums. To indiscriminately use it, would weaken our own inner powers and therefore the natural protection we have in real life situations.