THE TIMES THEY ARE CHANGING - EDITORIAL

uly marks the commencement of one of the darkest periods in this country. Following the ambushing and killing of 13 soldiers in the north, the government of this country condoned a section of its people to be brutally massacred by another section of our countrymen. Following these events, for a period of 35 years, 9 months, 3 weeks and 4 days -- both Sinhalese and Tamils unleashed brutalities and crimes against humanity on each other. 

Today, July 23, 2018, both Sinhalese and Tamils need to collectively hang our heads in shame. We need to accept that in our name, be we Sinhalese or Tamils, we tacitly allowed death and destruction to be rained on innocent men women and children. Many among us, again both Sinhalese and Tamils, were opposed to the destruction being visited upon the other in the name of community. 

But we did little to oppose the ongoing atrocities. Perhaps we were afraid of the consequences of outspokenly opposing the horrible crimes which were committed in our name. But the fact remains we did not make known our opposition to the dastardly deeds committed in our name.
In the south, a few Sinhalese protested at the draconian legislation in the form of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Very few, if at all, protested the myriad of attacks on an innocent Tamil civilian population under cover of this Act nor did we see many demanding the release of young boys and girls who later disappeared under the provisions of this Act. 

Entire villages in the east of the country razed, but even NGOs normally in the forefront of human rights causes took to the streets to protest the atrocities. In like manner, when the armed struggle commenced in the Tamil areas of the north and east, lamppost killings were frequent. People were accused by one militant group or the other of some petty crime, tied to a lamppost and shot out of hand.

There was no opposition or condemnation of these killings. Even when particular Tamil militant leaders like TELO leader Sri Sabaratnam was brutally dragged behind a jeep through the streets of Jaffna and killed, by a particular group which claimed to be the ‘sole representative of the Tamil people’, no one protested. In some places the opposite happened, celebrations appeared to breakout and traders began distributing soft drinks to people in the vicinity...

When a giant Tamil intellectual like Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam was killed by a suicide bomber or when TULF leader Amirthalingam was shot in cold blood there was no outpouring of grief among the Tamil people, nor did we see protests in the North and East against the killings. In fact Dr. Neelan Thiruchlvam was labelled a ‘traitor to the Tamil cause’.

When bus loads of Sinhalese people, including infants and children were targeted and killed, protests did not breakout in the north and east against the atrocities. Nor did protests breakout when the Muslim populations in the north and east were ethnically cleansed. 

It’s time to stop misquoting Franz Fanon’s phrase in The Wretched Of The Earth that ‘violence committed by the victims of oppression, cannot be equated with that of the oppressor’. Despite our thin veneer of civilization, both Sinhalese and Tamils, did in the past tacitly approve the atrocities committed in our name. 

Sadly, in the near 10-year period since the armed opposition was crushed, we have not moved beyond the stage of blaming each other for past sins. Some leaders on both sides of the ethnic divide continue rousing tensions based on ethnicity, religion and race. It is also time to face another home truth. There is a distinct disconnect between the the younger generation of Sinhalese and Tamils, regarding the events of July ‘83, the war which followed.

In Palestine, young people are in the forefront of the struggle against Israel because the atrocities against the Palestinians never ceased.

In Sri Lanka, the situation is different. Small but significant changes have occurred.

But the state has missed many opportunities to eradicate the fears of the vanquished. The Tamils expected the government to protect them. After the war, this was not apparent. Let the people honour their fallen dead, its a small but significant step. The military should work with the local government to build infrastructure country-wide, rebuilding playgrounds, hospitals and roads
It’s time to remember, learn lessons of the past and ensure history does not repeat itself.