Why I blame Sirasa/Maharaja.

Everyone else blames Merv the perv for the recent Dawson Street incident. I blame Sirasa/Maharaja.

Not that I approve Merv’s dirty job. We know him. I wonder whether this Rastapopoulos ever did an honorable thing in his life. Why mince words condemning him when that makes no difference? Why upset the master by complaining about his ‘above the punishment’ favorite? Let him appoint another ‘special inquiry’ and then go to hell. Should I care?

Instead I blame Sirasa/Maharaja. Not that I have scores to settle. On the contrary, I am an ardent fan of Sirasa. When the vandals smashed its ultra modern studio at Depanama, I created the FaceBook group “Sirasa we are with you, whatever happens”. I have friends at all layers at Maharaja, from top to bottom. From very top to very bottom. One former Maharaja driver now drives me home everyday. The short address book in my mobile starts with a Sirasa employee (Asoka) and ends with a Sirasa employee. (Yasarath). Period.

I blame Sirasa/Maharaja because I believe they still can and should learn. I know its long term objective is to be the best broadcaster in South Asia. An ambitious dream. Still I like to see them achieving it. Any distractions, naturally upset me.
Sirasa/MTV/Shakthi’s achievements within a short period of their existence are momentous. Kingsley redefined radio when it was almost dead. Buddhika turned a new page in political debates. Sirasa news team was always the first in delivery, and when they weren’t CID questioned why. Nilendra created the icons of Shihan Mihiranga and the rest of the super stars. Within just four days of tsunami, Sirasa even beat the government by collecting enough relief material to fill twenty trucks. I can go on, but will stop there.

The sad truth is despite all this, Sirasa faces a serious credibility issue. Sadder that it got into this mess by being independent. But let us face the reality. When the society moves with the singular objective of destroying the terrorist menace of three long decades, any slight distraction is taken with fury. Sirasa/Maharaja paid enough I guess, before realising its mistake. Not that I loved to see the only independent channel being another trumpet for the state. But these are small prices to be paid for a serious long term goal.

Sad that Sirasa/Maharaja had to lock horns with Merv too. In retrospective I see all pre planned. Merv, who could not get even 2,000 votes representing one of the biggest electorate, wanted publicity. He might have preferred good publicity, but even bad publicity is never too bad for a politician. Sirasa News team fell for the trap. It was the vehicle Merv used for creating his image. This totally unnecessary tussle did nothing good to Sirasa. In fact it did irreparable damage.

Few months before its Depanama studios were demolished I suggested Sirasa/Maharaja should try an image rebuilding exercise. I gave even a vague guideline. (Frankly, I never thought things were that bad.) I was listened to but no serious action was taken. I don’t say an image rebuilding would have prevented the attack, but at least Sirasa would have received public sympathy. It wasn’t just Sinhalese extremists complained Sirasa burned their own studio to claim insurance.

Now to Akon. I do not know who initiated, but Maharaja Management to was naïve to endorse the event. I am no pop music fan and I don’t know him from Adam. I have never heard him sing. Still I know bringing him to Sri Lanka is plain stupid. Whether we like it or not ours is a predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist, xenophobic society. It is easy to provoke this society. Merv the perv knows that. It just needs a spark to create a bushfire. I am baffled that Sirasa/Maharaja management never thought about the possibility of a backfire. Can they so easily forget the Shahrukh Khan incident?

Mr.Rajamahendran is one of the nicest men I have ever met in my life. He is a professional with several decades of business experience, but never having been part of the Sinhalese Buddhist society he may find it difficult to understand how narrowly and stupidly it sometimes behaves. Post 2003 era is so unpredictable, that things often surprises even me.

Sirasa/Management should have been educated about these pit falls. I am sure Maharaja has enough middle managers capable of doing this. Sadly I do not see that happening.

I still say Sirasa/Maharaja needs a serious image rebuilding exercise. Sirasa/Maharaja needs to win the trust of the majority Sinhalese Buddhists. That will not happen just by employing 99% Sinhalese. The majority should see Sirasa/Maharaja as a friend not foe. This does not mean they have act like extremists. Understanding what masses and offering them few of their choices is more than enough. There is no need to air eulogies six times a day. Adding few carefully planned serious cultural programs would do. They need to win the respect of the viewers to the extent the latter see the value of safeguarding the channel. Otherwise they will not make a voice even Merv brought down the building flat.

I love to see the day Sirasa becomes the best broadcaster in South Asia. Maharaja should focus on this long term business priority instead of fighting with petty politicians on petty issues.

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(NB: I use the term ‘Sirasa’ as it is closer to my heart, but I mean the gamut of brands Maharaja/MBC/MTV/Shakthi.)

Why Tamils should vote for Sarath Fonseka in the Presidential Election

“Given the depth of Tamil feeling – and bitterness – about the treatment of Tamil civilians by the security forces, particularly, though not only, in the endgame of the war, do you really think an army general can represent Tamils as well as Sinhalese and do you think they will trust him?”

The question was from a Face Book friend. Instead of an individual reply, let me take the issue in open. She may not be the only skeptic.

On the face of it, I partially agree with her. Large number of Tamils might be still feeling bitter about General Sarath Fonseka’s role in the war – between rebels and the state to many, but between Sinhalese and Tamils to few.

However, it was not the only war Sarath Fonseka fought. He was a senior officer in 1988/9 too and certainly fought for the interests of the state against the rebels – JVP and Sinhalese. He was a soldier. His duty was not to question why, but to do and die. The decisions to fight, as we know well, were of politicians. Soldiers do not select their opponents. They fight against the enemies of the state; be that Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims. (I am not giving excuses, this is the harsh reality)

Why nobody asks how many Sinhalese killed by Sarath Fonseka’s boys in 1988/9? Because we know the soldiers don’t see them as Sinhalese. Soldiers are not given a choice to sympathise with their cause. Had one of his daughters taken arms against the state, Sarath Fonseka would have fought with her too. He was a soldier.

Operations issues, no doubt were concerns. How did Sri Lanka Army, with Sarath Fonseka as its head treated Tamil civilians? Was it as bad as portrayed by the Diaspora Tamil community?

Let us discuss that, but more important things first.

I see five and only five options available for the Tamils of Sri Lanka in the forthcoming Presidential election.

a) Vote for Sarath Fonseka

b) Vote for Mahinda Rajapaksha

c) Vote for the Tamil candidate

d) Vote for anyone among the rest (eg. left candidates who did raise a voice for Tamil rights)

e) Refrain from voting

Let us see the possible outcome of each; bottoms up.

OPTION 1: REFRAIN FROM VOTING

This was what the ‘Jaffna Tamils’ (A bit inaccurate term to refer Tamils from the Northern province) did in 2005. Even without LTTE influence, most had reasons to boycott elections. With LTTE reluctant to resume peace talks, a vote for Ranil Wickremasinghe did not necessarily bring a new hope; from their perspective.

Now, the environment is different. LTTE is history. We are back to near normalcy. Jaffna Tamils get an opportunity to freely exercise their votes for the first time after 1982. (Just assume Rajapaksa boys do not play any dirty games on January 26) They have all the right to abstain, but why? That will not serve any useful purpose, unless if one prefers anarchy.

OPTION 2: VOTE FOR ANYONE AMONG THE REST

Hardly makes sense. None of them will get enough to be seen as a protest vote. Voting Wickramabahu Karunaratne, Siritunga Jayasuriya or Wije Dias to show gratitude is fine, (These are three rare Sinhalese who fought for Tamil rights throughout their lives.) but after two weeks nobody will remember their votes. (Less than 0.1% anyway)If protest is what you want, make sure that is seen.

OPTION 3: VOTE FOR THE TAMIL CANDIDATE

Why should Tamils vote for a Sinhalese when there is a Tamil candidate?

Let me tell why. Even if the entire Tamil population votes for Sivajilingam he will get not more than 10-15%. (This is highly unlikely; More than 90% Colombo Tamils back UNP. Even without Thonda, sizable percentage of ‘Indian’ or ‘Upcountry’ Tamils too will follow suit.) So what? It will not make him the President. Doing so will surely show the Tamils’ strength but for what? Isn’t this the time to think as Sri Lankans? Isn’t this the time to vote on larger political issues rather than on ethnicity?

By the way, Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest ‘Tamil’ party has not endorsed the candidacy of their former colleague. Instead they have decided to support Sarath Fonseka. Nobody calls that a perfect choice; just the best among the available.

In the Presidential Election of 1982, the only one so far to have a serious Tamil candidate, G.G. Ponnambalam Jnr. (Kumar) got only 40% (87,263 votes) from Jaffna district while the SLFP candidate Hector Kobbekaduwa was not too behind. (35% and 77,300 votes) Why Jaffna Tamils voted Kobbekaduwa, whom they have hardly heard about? It could have been partially a protest vote, but more importantly a reflection Jaffna Tamils did well under the control regime of Sirima Bandaranaike. They vote on issues, not on people or ethnicity.

That is what we need. Tamils should think themselves more as Sri Lankans and vote on principles rather than ethnicity. Who will address their day to day problems? (We have come a long way since the ‘Sinhalese’ governments could ignore their pressing issues like they did in 1970s.) In terms of economy and rights Sarath Fonseka certainly offers a better package to Tamils than anyone else in the list.

OPTION 4: VOTE FOR MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA

This sounds more like a joke. Why should a Tamil vote for Rajapaksa? Or, for that matter why should anyone vote for this opportunistic would be dictator whose only interest is himself and family? Do we want a Zimbabwe here? Can any self respecting individual endorse the re-election of this Idi Amin who shamelessly violated the human rights? Have we forgotten white vans? Have we forgotten Karuna hijacking Colombo Tamils for ‘kappam’?

Rajapaksa is also the candidate of the extreme Sinhalese – the Jathika Hela Urumaya types, who think the land belongs only to Sinhalese Buddhists and everyone else (including Sinhalese Catholics) live as second class citizens. He doesn’t even represent the moderate Sinhalese. Why should anyone expect him to represent Tamils?

Sarath Fonseka, on the other hand is the only candidate that represent the minorities. See the people who stand with him. We still have a long way to go to win an acceptable political solution to ethnic issue and Tamil grievances, but that will happen only if Sarath Fonseka comes into power. Otherwise the road will be closed forever.

OPTION 5: VOTE FOR SARATH FONSEKA

I already gave TEN reasons why anybody should vote for Sarath Fonseka. I reproduce five below in summary format. The full list is at http://bandaragama.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/2564.

1. HE IS CLEVER: Sarath Fonseka started at the lowest ranks of the army and rose to the very top. Then he ended a 30 year long ‘unending’ war. Need I say more?

2. HE IS HONEST: Having led the army when it did procurements of unprecedented levels, Sarath Fonseka could have made fortunes for seven more generations, even with 1% cuts. He did not. All he owned at retirement were a 15 perch land at Bokundara, Piliyandala with a house – that cost LKR 1.2 million for construction, a Mercedes Benz, and LKR 641,000 in bank. His wife has bank balances of LKR 23,307 and USD 2,952 and jewelry worth a little more than LKR 1.6 million.

3. HE INTENTIONS ARE NOT TO SERVE HIS FAMILY: Let us not kid ourselves. Why Rajapaksa wants power? To make his family grew further – bigger and more powerful. Perhaps he wants to make his family the richest in South Asia. Aren’t we tired of this kind of petty politics? Isn’t this the time to give a chance for somebody who thinks about the country before himself?

4. HE REPRESENTS A NATION, NOT A SINGLE RACE: Can Rajapaksa ever say he represents Tamils, or in that case even Muslims? Rajapaksa’s JHU supported Peoples’ Alliance represents only the extreme Sinhala Buddhists – not even moderate Sinhalese. On the contrary, Sarath Fonseka’s United National Front, true to its name, represents all ethnic communities at the top level. He will be the only leader capable of uniting this divided land.

5. HE IS ABOVE POLITICS: Unlike Rajapaksa, who is still very much within the political game (and thus not approved by nearly half of the country) Sarath Fonseka is above politics. He is not a candidate of this part or that party. He will unite the entire nation under a single flag.

Finally, the bitterness Tamils having with Sri Lanka Army. Whatever they are irrespective whether they are true or not, I frankly think this is the time to bury the hatchet and forget differences. We all should think as a nation. True, Sarath Fonseka, just like Rajapaksa, primarily represent Sinhalese. Yet, given his team I firmly believe he will do more for Tamils interests than Rajapaksa. What matters is future and not past. Sorry for being blunt.

SARATH FONSEKA IS THE FUTURE OF SRI LANKA NATION. I AM SURE YOU ALL WILL AGREE.

Sri Lankan Soldiers Open Fire on Refugees Fleeing Camp, Wound two – Bloomberg

Civilians stand behind the barbed-wire perimeter fence of the Manik Farm refugee camp located on the outskirts of northern Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya

Sri Lankan soldiers fired at refugees trying to escape from a camp in the country’s north, wounding two of them, the Defense Ministry said.

The incident occurred yesterday at the Menik Farm, according to a statement posted on the Media Centre for National Security’s Web site today. The refugees attacked soldiers guarding the camp with “clubs and stones.”

The soldiers defended themselves with “warning fire” after one of the refugees tried to throw a hand grenade, according to the statement. Police have arrested 19 refugees.

More than 280,000 people, mostly Tamils, have been held in camps since Sri Lanka’s army defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May, ending its 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent his political affairs deputy Lynn Pascoe to the South Asian island nation on Sept. 16 to press for a swift release of the refugees.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said earlier this month he wants to achieve reconciliation with the Tamil community and bring permanent peace to the country. Tamils make up almost 12 percent of Sri Lanka’s 20 million population. Sinhalese account for 74 percent, according to a 2001 census.

Sri Lanka on Sept. 15 rejected an assertion by Navi Pillay, the UN human rights commissioner, that Tamil refugees are being held in “internment” camps, saying they will leave when security is established and the region is cleared of mines.

The government is undertaking a program providing relief, resettlement and reconciliation to displaced people, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s minister for disaster management and human rights, said in an address to the UN Human Rights Council the same day.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=ap42ovLqZNek

Tissainayagam case: Sinhala Bloggers Show Solidarity

While Sinhala print and electronic media, with the rare exception of the Sinhala weekly Ravaya, showing either indifference or the endorsement of the twenty year rigorous imprisonment sentence given to journalist J. S. Tissainayagam for two articles he has written and purely based on his ‘confession’, some of the Sinhala bloggers have taken a hundred and eighty degree approach by expressing their solidarity and in some cases censure.

Beyond Frame, arguably the most popular Sinhala blogger, in his own way expresses the anguish – in verse. “Tissa, why didn’t you swim downstream (like everyone else)?” asks Beyond Frame. “Why you swam upstream? Then why you had to be a Tissainayagam, not a Tissanayake?” The two are slightly different Tamils and Sinhala versions of the same name.

W3Lanka, the first Sinhala blogger to discuss the issue, obviously taking a certain amount of risk gets an interesting comment. “In 1989, Tissainayagam translated some documents on the human rights violations of then regime for (now President) Mahinda Rajapakse, a key human rights activist of the day, to be taken to Geneva. He was a hero then, but now a villain. Is this because then he was fighting for rights of the Sinhalese and now for Tamil rights?” Asks the commentator Pathum.

Two more popular Sinhala bloggers ‘Taboo Subjects’ and ‘Makabass’ innovatively use published Sinhala verses and songs in place of their comments. Taboo Subjects use a verse by poet Dayasena Gunasinghe, while Makabaas gets the best use of Nanda Malini’s popular ‘Nidahas Bailava’ – with its catchy line “This is the great country with the freedom to write, speak and reprimand” as his title. Their reluctance to comment further is understandable as not everyone is certain about the legal implications.

Ramachandra, a keen political analyst blogger goes a step ahead by questioning if Tissainayagam were to be imprisoned for twenty years what should be the punishment for Gunadasa Amarasekera, who had made worse racist remarks about the Tamils, for not voting for Rajapakse regime. Ramachandra asks why Amarasekera were not punished for equating Tamils to cows in an article to a racist Sinhala weekly.

Meanwhile some pro-Rajapakse and pro-Sinhala extremist bloggers have posted approving the judgment.

Tissainayagam and the land of deaf and dumb

Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced J. S. Tissainayagam to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for publishing a magazine named North Eastern Monthly which ‘provoked racism’. Colombo High Court Judge Deepali Wijesundara sentenced him after convicting him on three counts indicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Emergency Law. This is an appealable judgement, and I am certain there will be one.

The judgement per se does not surprise me. What surprises me is the local media response. There was not a single print media – in English and Sinhalese, I do not read Tamil – that did an editorial on this. Not a single editor, including Tissainayagam’s own stood for his/her own colleague. Some Sinhalese media, notably Lankadeepa of the very Wijeya Group that employed Tissainayagam for nearly a decade showed no reservations in expressing their pleasure. I thought there was something called ethics in fourth estate. I was wrong. These are the times of invertebrates.

I never knew Tissainayagam personally. I have glanced over some of his articles to Sunday Times. I never read the controversial magazine. Basically I have little idea what he stood for. But as a lawyer none of the above stops me commenting on the case.

What was the basis of conviction? Let me quote from the press release of International Press Institute.

The evidence against the journalist is based on two articles he wrote in the North Eastern Monthly, and a signed confession, which Tissainayagam later said had been written under duress. According to the written submission made by his defense counsel to the court, the confession was tampered with to suggest that the journalist had taken money from the LTTE. The document says: “The only allegation that he (the accused) did (accept money from a terrorist organization), is based on a fraudulent alteration of the Accused’s purported confession.”

In other words, the judgement was not based on any serious evidence other than a confession. The only occasion a court should take a confession seriously is when the behaviour of the accused supports such confession. One makes a voluntary confession only when one is convinced about guilt and regrets one’s actions. In this case Tissanayagam’s behaviour clearly was the opposite. Then the next factor is to whom he made his confession.  Don’t we know about Sri Lanka’s police? Don’t we know how these confessions were taken?

This reminds me the old joke about KGB. Having left no other way of determining the time, Soviet archaeologists handed over a mummy to KGB. They didn’t have to wait for long. Pat came the answer. Apparently, the mummy has ‘confessed’.

As a lawyer, I have appeared for hundreds of ‘JVP suspects’ during the 1988-9 era who had made similar ‘confessions’. So I know how confessions are made. I know who makes them.  Thanks to Inspector K. P. Newton, former-OIC of Angulana Police station and Vass Gunawardena, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), I do not have to mince words explaining. The entire island knows.

Neither does International Press Institute (IPI) mince words. This is what it says:

No less than twelve journalists have been killed in Sri Lanka since 2006,  according to its Death Watch list, with many more harassed, threatened, and arrested.

In January 2009, Lasantha Wickrematunga, editor-in-chief of the Sunday Leader, was shot at close range in the head and chest by two men on a motorcycle as he drove to work in a suburb of Colombo. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received emergency surgery, but died a few hours later. Known for his critical reporting on the government, Wickrematunga was a frequent victim of harassment and intimidation, and predicted his own murder in the pages of his newspaper. The initial results of the investigation of his death have not been released.

Obviously the Sinhalese racists are jubilant. Seeing a Tamil in mess always makes them happy. To them, we have the best police and the leagal system in the whole world.

Sadly, on the other hand, this furthers us from civilised world. Sri Lanka was hardly known for its Media Freedom, but this takes us even lower. No better confirmation of the fact than the following brief story on from Chinese Xinhua:

JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS FOR AIDING TERRORISM IN SRI LANKA   

COLOMBO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) — The High Court on Monday sentenced journalist to 20 years at hard labor for aiding terrorism. J. S. Tissainayagam was arrested by the police’s Terrorism Investigation Division in March 2008 for alleged aiding and abetting terrorism through a magazine he edited.

Thanks guys, for your warm welcome to the club. We owe you one.

Sri Lanka’s abuse of press freedom: Kurakkan maama’s ‘amude’ is showing

Winston Churchill wrote in his history of the Second World War that the first trait required of victors was “magnanimity.” The Sri Lankan government would do well to remember that lesson in its treatment of its Tamil minority, whose insurgents it mercilessly crushed this past spring to end a 26-year civil war.

So far, the government in Colombo has shown little if any magnanimity toward the vanquished Tamils. More than a quarter of a million of them remain in refugee camps from which foreign aid workers and international journalists are barred. Conditions in some of these camps are “desperate,” according to the United Nation’s High Commission on Refugees.

Then on Monday, a Tamil journalist — the quiet, slight J. S. Tissainayagam — was sentenced to 20 years hard labour for alleged violations of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act.

While he is accused of having taken money from the outlawed (and brutal) Tamil Tigers to operate a website providing the Tamil version of facts about the civil war, Mr. Tissainayagam’s main crime seems to have been writing two articles in the now-defunct Northeastern Monthly magazine in 2006 and 2007 criticizing the Sri Lankan persecution of the Tamils, who were seeking an independent homeland in the north-east corner of the island nation.

Mr. Tissainayagam criticized wartime tactics employed by Sri Lankan leaders, including the alleged withholding of food, medicine and other essential items from Tamil areas as a way to strike back at the Tigers. He also complained that the Sri Lankan army was conducting extrajudicial executions — murdering civilian Tamils as a warning to the Tigers that Colombo was not to be messed with and a caution to ordinary Tamils not to abet the Tigers.

For this, the Sri Lankans — who are mostly ethnic Sinhalese, not Tamil– charged Mr. Tissainayagam with “causing communal disharmony,” a serious offence under anti-terrorism laws there. His supporters, along with Amnesty International and the Asian Human Rights Commission, claim the evidence that he purportedly co-operated with the Tamil Tigers was fabricated.
They claim he is a political prisoner and that the criminal charges against him were trumped up in order to silence his anti-government views.

Sri Lanka has an abysmal record of press freedom. Not only is it keeping international reporters from its 30, soldier-guarded refugee camps for Tamil civilians, but over the course of the quarter-century-long civil war, at least 20 journalists critical of Colombo disappeared in a practice that became known as “white vanning.” A white van would pull up next to a target as he walked down the street. Masked men would jump out, throw the journalist inside and he would never be seen again. The International Committee to Protect Journalists ranks only Iran, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Colombia as worse in their mistreatment of reporters.

Throughout the final years of Sri Lanka’s civil war, this newspaper was broadly sympathetic to the Sri Lankan government’s goal of confronting and subduing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers. While the Tamil people had legitimate gripes against the Sinhalese majority government, nothing could justify the Tigers’ tactics.

The LTTE murdered civilians, including Tamils, to strike terror into the hearts of the Sinhalese and compel obedience from ordinary Tamils. They perfected the use of suicide bombers long before Palestinians employed the tactic against Israel. Tigers threatened the lives of Tamil families effectively held hostage within Tiger-held areas in Sri Lanka in order to extract war funds from expatriates worldwide.

Still, it is clear the Tamils have been persecuted since Sri Lanka was granted its independence in 1948. The ruling caste when Britain ruled the island, the Tamils have since been legally denied government jobs and places in business merely because of their ethnicity. In 1983, hundreds of innocent Tamils were murdered by roving Sinhalese mobs in what became known as Bloody July.

The U. S. State Department has urged Colombo to release Mr. Tissainayagam. U. S. President Barack Obama even singled him out for mention in his Press Freedom Day speech in May.

Now that it is at peace again, Sri Lanka has an obligation to honour freedom of the press and of speech.

Source: National Post: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1948907&p=1

සිංහල ජීවිතයක වටිනාකම ලක්ෂ පහකි. දෙමළ ජීවිතයක් සත පහක් වත් නොවටින්නේද?

මිය ගිය දෙමළ දියණියන් දෙදෙනාගේ දෙමාපියන්. මේ මිනිසුන්ද අපේ රටේම පුරවැසියන් බව අපි කවරදාක නම් අවබෝධ කරගනිමුද?

මේ රටේ වර්තමාන ආණ්ඩුව හා සමාජය බහුතර සිංහලයන්ට හා සුළුතරයන්ට සැලකීමේ ඇති පරස්පරය දෛවය විසින් අපට පෙන්වනු ලබන්නේ පුදුමාකාර විදියටය.

කෲර ලෙස ඝාතනය කරන ලද අහිංසක සිංහල තරුණයන් දෙදෙනකුගේ සිරුරු අඟුලානේ තිබී හමුවන්නේ සති කිහිපයකට පෙරය. දැන් මේ සිද්ධිය ඉතිහාසයට එක්වී හමාරය. වරදකරුවන්ට නිසි දඬුවම් ලැබුනේය අපි නොකියමු. එහෙත් මේ සිද්ධියෙන් පසු යම් පියවර ගන්නට ආණ්ඩුවට සිදුව ඇත. සිද්ධියට සම්බන්ධ පොලිස් ස්ථානාධිපතිවරයා තම සගයන්ද සමඟ රිමාන්ඩ්ය. සිංහල ජන මාධ්‍ය හැමෙකක්ම සිද්ධිය ගැන පිටු ගණන් කතා කොට ඇත. රටේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා මේ සිංහල ජීවිතයක් මිළ කරන්නේ රුපියල් ලක්ෂ පහකටය.

ඊට සතියකට පසු දෙමළ තරුණියන් දෙදනකුගේ සිරුරුද කොළඹ බෞද්ධාලෝක මාවතේ කුණු ඇලක තිබී හමුවේ. වයස අවුරුදු 13 හා 14 වයසේ මේ දැරියන් කොළඹ පැමිණ ඇත්තේ වැඩකාරකමටලු. පොලිසියට අනුව මේ මරණ ‘සිය දිවි නසා ගැනීම්ය’. අඟුලානේ තරුණයින් පාතාලයට සම්බන්ධ බව කීවේද පොලීසියමය. මාසයකට පමණ ඉහත අවාසනාවන්ත අන්දමින් මියැදුනු කාවින්දි අනුත්තරා දියණියගේම වයසේ මේ දෙමළ දියණියන් දෙදෙනා එකවිට දිවි නසා ගන්නට බෞද්ධාලෝක මාවතේ කුණු ඇළට ආවේ කොහොමදැයි පොලිසිය කියන්නේ නැත. ඔවුන් සිංහල බෞද්ධ නොවන නිසාදෝ සිංහල ජන මාධ්‍යවලට මේ නොවැදගත් ප්‍රවෘත්තියකි. එය වාර්තා කරන්නේද සන්ඩේ ටයිම්ස් බඳු මාධ්‍ය අතළොස්සක් පමණි.

සිංහල තරුණයන්ගේ මරණ වෙනුවෙන් කඳුළු හෙලූ, යළි එවැන්නක් සිදු නොවන්නේ යැයි මූණ ඉච්චාවට හෝ පොරොන්දු දුන්, රටේ ජනාධිපතිවරයාට මේ දෙමළ දියණියන් දෙදෙනාගේ මරණ ගැන කිසිම කැක්කුමක් නැත. උන් දෙමළනේ, ඔහු සිතනවා ඇත.

විහිළුව මේ සියල්ල මෙසේ සිදුවෙද්දීත් මේරටේ අන්ත වාර්ගික කොටස් දෙමළාට කිසිම ප්‍රශ්නයක් නැතැයි පුන පුනා කීමය. මේ රටේ සුළුතර ජන කොටස් හඬක් නැගීමට නොහැකි කමින් පීඩනයට බඳුන්වන ආකාරය ඉතාම ලෙහෙසියෙන් “ඕවා සිංහලයන්ටත් වෙනවාය” ආත්මාර්ථකාමී ලෙස ඕනෑකමින්ම සැඟවීමය.

ඇත්ත. මේ රටෙ සිංහලයන්ටද කිසි විටෙක සම්පූර්ණ සාධාරණය ඉටු වන්නේ නැත. අඟුලානේ තරුණයින් වෙනුවෙන් ලක්ෂ පහක් වත් ලැබෙන්නේද ගම් වැසියන් ඒ වෙනුවෙන් මහ හඬක් නැඟූ පසුය. නැතිනම් ඒ පවා විහාගයක් නැතිව යට යන්නට තිබුණේය. නමුත් හඬක් ඇති සිංහල බහුතරයටද එසේනම් හඬක් නැති දෙමළ සුළුතරයට මේ රජයෙන් සහනයක් ලැබේ යැයි අපි කෙසේ නම් සිතමුද?

Velupillai Prabhakaran | වේලුපිල්ලේ පිරබාහරන් | வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் (1954-2009)

What happened to Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or to his body shrouds in a mystery. He could have died in a mass explosion or an aide destroyed the body like Hitler’s, preventing identification. Even escaped (unlikely) he has to live the rest of his life in oblivion. Assuming the political demise of the character, therefore, is logical. He is gone forever. His ghost will no more appear in anyone’s nightmares.

He was a terrorist, no doubt, but Prabhakaran deserves an obituary, even in a language he barely understood.

When Lanka Guardian, edited by Mervyn de Silva then, chose Prabhakaran as the ‘Man of the Decade’ in 1989, there was no dispute. He wasn’t a martyr – Osama Bin Laden too wasn’t when he was considered for TIME’s Man of the Year in 2001 – but Prabhakaran was one individual who changed the destiny of a country. Not that it would have been a Singapore, but at least it could have been a country better known for its tea, than for terrorism.

Sinhalese typically saw him as their arch enemy. (Many are eagerly waiting for the good news to start grand celebrations. It can happen any time now.) Feelings of Tamils were mixed. While some showed a passive solidarity, thousands spend hours on net eulogizing their Surya Thevan – The Sun God. “Terrorist to one” they said “…a freedom fighter to another” Only a handful of educated Tamils saw him in his true terrorist outfit. To the rest he was the typical smiling, child-kissing politician. At least few Tamil boys and girls were ready to exchange their lives for a last supper with him.

There was nothing ‘elusive’ about Prabhakaran, as political pundits liked to remind us. Had he shaved his thick moustache, spoken Sinhalese quoting religious texts and worn national dress probably with a shawl, Prabhakaran could have passed for a typical Sothern politician, with his big belly and smile. Lack of education (He was a tenth standard dropout, just like Wimal Weerawansa) might not have been treated a serious flaw. He could have easily been a minister in President Rajapakse’s jumbo cabinet. In fact, his once second in command made it.

Little is known about Prabakaran’s early history. This is what Wikipedia says.

Velupillai Prabhakaran was born on November 26, 1954 in the northern coastal town of Velvettithurai. A Hindu by birth, he joined the student group TIP, during the standardization debates. In 1972, Prabhakaran founded an organization named Tamil New Tigers (TNT) which was a successor to many initial organizations that protested against the post colonial political direction of the country that pitted the minority Sri Lankan Tamils against the majority Sinhalese.

In 1975, after becoming heavily involved in the Tamil movement, he carried out his first political murder against the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, by shooting him at point blank range while he was about to enter the Hindu temple at Ponnaalai. The assassination was in response to the 1974 Tamil conference incident, and the Tamil radicals had blamed Alfred Duraiappah, because he backed the then Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) implicated in the violence as well as for allegedly betraying the Tamil nationalist sentiments in the Jaffna peninsula.

In May 5, 1976, the TNT was renamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers.

Some of these facts are disputed. Contrary to the popular belief, there is a school that believes Alfred Duraiappah was killed by a rival  gang. With nobody to certify, these minor details will now be forever lost.

Prabhakaran’s political origins were closely linked with the splitting up of nation on cultural and linguistic lines in mid 1970s, what was later termed as an ‘ethnic issue’. A radical youth in his early 20s, he was in the ideal position to exploit the increasing gap between Tamil politics and the mainstream. He was more the ‘first among equals’. Uma Maheshvaran, Sabaratnam and even Kuttamani – assassinated by Sinhalese prisoners in the immediate aftermath of 1983 Black July were either his seniors or equals. Instead of condemning, the senior Tamil politicians like Amirthalingam encouraged the growing unrest among youth, certainly to be exploited for their own political objectives. Little did they realize they nurtured a treacherous scorpion, who would one day bite the same hands that fed him. Then it was too late.

Prabhakaran was never guided by any strong political ideology. All he had was shamelessly hijacked SJV Chelvanayakam’s political agenda. His political immaturity never let him change the boundaries of the original map of the mythical Tamil Eelam. It was based on the first colonial segregation of administrative districts (only five then) and included not just present North and East but parts of Puttalum and Polonnaruva districts, where no Tamil inhabitations exist now. Wthere he was too dumb to imagine the majority presenting such a vast geographical area in a plate of silver or that was only a cover for receiving the continuous support of Diaspora Tamils, the younger generations of whom had little idea of the issue is not clear. Now he is dead and gone, we will never know.

Further, Prabhakaran’s mythical state of Tamil Eelam, was a only cut down version of the feudal state Rajapakse is planning to create in South. It was meant to be a monarch, with a royal family and all, not even a twentieth century autocracy. There wouldn’t have been even a trace of modernity. Just like Rajapakse wants to take us few centuries back to the days of King Rajasinghe, Prabhakaran wanted the resurrection of the dynasty of Nallur kings. He certainly wouldn’t have tolerated elections, a parliament or an opposition. Had it ever materialized, it would have been an isolated kingdom, with no Diaspora Tamil ever wanted to return or invest in. In fact, Diaspora Tamils have never tolerated Prabhakaran as their ‘king’ for too long. He was only their instrument against the real or imagined oppression by Sinhalese majority.

What made Prabhakaran’s larger than life image was his ability to survive for thirty long years against both the Sri Lanka forces and IPKF. Rest of the rebels, including Minister Douglas Devananda laid down their arms and joined mainstream, but not him. In retrospective, Prabhakaran’s survival should not be a surprise. The Government of Sri Lanka never. had a consistent strategy to match his. Successive governments attempted to find an everlasting solution to the ethnic issue, through democratic means rather than focusing their strengths on eliminating Prabhakaran or LTTE, till somebody made it his life mission. Past presidents, three of them from UNP, knew when ethnic issue was solved Prabhakaran would cease to exist. However, none of them, till Ranil Wickremasinghe bravely did, sacrificing his political future at least temporarily, offered a viable solution to the ethnic issue. There was hardly any attempt to win the moderate Tamils. So the opportunity was forever lost with Prabhakaran receiving a walkover. The only Sri Lankan leader who ever politically weakened Prabhakaran was Ranil Wickremasinghe. It is not a surprise he fondled such a grudge against Wickremasinghe.

A myth fondly propagated by the present government is that Mahinda Rajapakse alone defeated LTTE. He didn’t. Jaffna peninsula, the historical stronghold of Tamil rebels was overtaken by security forces in 1996, during Chandrika kumaratunge regime. Killinochchi was only their temporary shelter. LTTE was further weakened during the Ceasefire period as the return to normal life after a long last war made many leave the movement. The restart of economic activities were the main reason for the fast disintegration of the LTTE at the time of the fall of Ranil Wickremasinghe’s government. The security forces, under Mahinda Rajapakse regime hit this already weakened set up. So it is unfair for the current government to disregard the indispensable contributions of the former President Chandrika Kumaratunge and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, in making a job lot easier for them. In the dog-eating-dog world of Sri Lanka politics however, it is too much to expect such a gratitude.

Even a bigger myth is that the ethnic issue will vanish with Prabhakaran. Well, he didn’t create it, so why assume his demise would bring end to the hatred between the two communities? Contrary to what President Rajapakse wants us to believe (in vain), the mistrust between the Sinhalese and Tamils will continue. Tamils will never recognize Rajapakse as their leader. So even though the armed struggle is over temporarily the Herculean task of uniting the nation remains to be a task to be completed by a more capable and wiser leader then the present President.

Back to Prabhakaran. Did he achieve anything worthwhile for his community? The answer is a big NO. Ethnic (Jaffna) Tamils are worse off than they were in 1970s. More than half of the Tamil population has already left for good. Thousands of Tamil families had to live with eternal grief of losing one or more family members. Ethnic Tamils, the largest minority in Sri Lanka then, has now reduced to the pathetic third place after Muslims and Indian Tamils. Jaffna, the second most advanced city in Sri Lanka, with its famous education system, is now far behind. As a community Tamils, at least the unfortunate ones to still remain, have moved ten or twenty years backward. They were termed as terrorists across the world. North and East have become more and more economically dependent on Colombo. At least for the next few years, till a UNP government implements a political solution, they will be remotely controlled from Colombo. All thanks to Prabhakaran.

Prabhakaran’s life was a book of mistakes – a manual of how not to do things – but even among them there are three big blunders. First was the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Whatever the reasons, with this emotional act, he lost the only possible international ally. (Had India been neutral it would not have been so easy to eliminate LTTE) The second was his decision to kill civilians – irrespective of their ethnicity. Even ethnic (Jaffna) Tamils were not spared in these random killings. The southern equivalent of LTTE, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) never killed civilians and had a section of masses supporting them till the end. Majority of the Sinhalese were not racists and till mass civilian killings began in Colombo and Anuradhapura some were even politically sympathetic to their cause. Killing of innocents changed that forever. The third and the biggest mistake was Prabhakaran’s decision to indirectly support Mahinda Rajapakse in the 2005 Presidential election. If not for the LTTE’s boycott Ranil Wickremasinghe could have been the President and could have brought a more humane and ever lasting solution to the ethnic issue. Now that opportunity is lost forever. A political solution is only a dream under the present regime.

Prabhakaran is no more a hero than Hitler or Pol Pot, but he is a legend that will live on. I am sure for centuries to come mothers use his name to scare little children. I am personally happy to see the ‘king maker’ gone. In future people of this country will elect their leaders, not Prabhakaran.

(Edited photographs are from www.defence.lk)

Poor Mahinda maama gets the boot from Hillary aunty

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday it “is not an appropriate time” to consider a massive International Monetary Fund loan for Sri Lanka.

Clinton told reporters that the United States has been “trying to convince both sides,” the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, to stop fighting.

“We have also raised questions about the IMF loan at this time. We think that it is not an appropriate time to consider that (loan) until there is a resolution of the conflict,” Clinton added.

The United States is the main shareholder in the IMF and its approval is key to the release of the loan.

Clinton’s comments came two weeks after the IMF said talks with Sri Lanka for a bailout package of around two billion dollars were continuing despite reports the fund was under pressure to withold the planned financing.

News reports said US officials indicated that they want the IMF loan to Sri Lanka, aimed at helping the low-income Asian country cope with the global financial crisis, delayed to prod Colombo to step up aid to civilians.

The central bank in Colombo said at the time that an IMF mission was in Sri Lanka to try to ensure there are enough controls to verify that the IMF funds for balance-of-payments support are not used for other purposes.

Sri Lankan central bank governor Nivard Cabraal said the IMF loan was on track and procedures such as safeguard assessments had to be finished regardless of whether the United States was dragging its feet over the loan.

Jeff Anderson, a US embassy spokesman in Colombo, rejected any notion that Washington was threatening to stop the IMF loan, which according to reports ranges from 1.9 billion dollars to 2.4 billion dollars.

But the French ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Jean-Maurice Ripert, was quoted in a media report as saying that the “Americans want to play with the question of the IMF loan.”

Clinton and her British counterpart David Miliband, during a joint appearance here Tuesday, called on all Sri Lankans to stop fighting immediately and allow trapped civilians to escape the conflict.

It was the latest in a series of so far futile international calls aimed at ending the fighting between government forces and the separatist guerrillas, holed up on a coastal strip in the island’s northeast.

They also expressed “alarm at the large number of reported civilian casualties over the past several days in the designated “safe zone” along the coastal strip.

The pair urged the warring sides to allow a UN humanitarian team to visit the conflict zone and help evacuate the civilians as well as allow food and medical aid to reach those trapped by the fighting.

In New York on Monday, Miliband and his counterparts Bernard Kouchner of France and Michael Spindelegger of Austria issued an appeal that called on the UN Security Council to address the “appalling” crisis in Sri Lanka.

Report from: www.dailymirror.lk

රාජපස්ස ගොයියාගේ ළමා සොල්දාදුවෝ

පිරබාහරන් ගොයියාට සේම රාජපස්ස ගොයියාටත් ළමා සොල්දාදුවන් පිරිසක් සිටින බැව් මෑතක් වන තුරුම මා නොදැන සිටි කාරණයක් විය. ඒ බව දැන ගත්තේ බ්ලොග් ලිවීම පටන් ගත්තාට පසුය.

පිරබාහරන් ගොයියාගේ ළමා සොල්දාදුවෝ තුවක්කු අරගෙන යුද්ධයට යති. රාජපස්ස ගොයියාගේ ළමා සොල්දාදුවෝ කිසිම හිරිකිතයකින් තොරව ඔහු වෙනුවෙන් අන්තර්ජාලය ඔස්සේ කඩේ යති.

කොහේද මේ ළමා සොල්දාදුවන් හමු වන්නේ?

යන්න සිංහල බ්ලොග් කියවනයට!

වැටුප් නොලබා සිය කැමැත්තෙන්ම රාජපස්ස ආණ්ඩුවට ප්රශස්ති ගී ගයන්නන් මෙහි දක්නා ලැබෙන්නේ දුසිම් ගණනිනි. (ඊට එරෙහි මත දක්වන්නන්ද නැතුවා නොවේ. ඔවුන් ගැන පසුව ලියමි.)

Black July 1983 - Borella

රාජ්ය මාධ්ය ඔස්සේ අප අසන සියල්ල බ්ලොගවකාශයේ වමාරමින්රාජපස්ස ගොයියාට කොන්දේසි විරහිතව කඩේ යෑම දැන් සිංහල බ්ලොග් ලියන මල්ලිලාගේ අළුත්ම තරගය වී ඇත්තේය. මල්ලිලා කීවාට වයසින් අත දරුවන් එතන ඉන්නෙ කීප දෙනකු පමණකි. අනෙකුන් මානසික අත දරුවන්ය.

සාරාංශ කළහොත් ඔවුන්ගේ තර්ක මෙබඳුය. (ඒවායේ ඇලපිල්ලක හෝ වෙනසක් නැත!)

i. අපේ රටේ වාර්ගික ගැටළුවක් නැත. (හරියට එක කාලයක අපේ කවියන් සිරිලක ස්වාභාවික විපත් වලින් විනිර්මුක්ත පින් බිමක් කියා ලිව්වා වගේය. එකම ලොජික් එකය. )

ii. සිංහලයෝ ජාතිවාදීහු නොවෙති. වෙන එකක් තියා 1983දී කවුදෝ හඳුනා නොගත් පිරිසක් කොළඹ දෙමළුන්ට අරියාදු කළ විට ඔවුන් ඉන් බේරාගත්තේද සත් ගුණවත් කරුණාවන්ත සිංහල ජනතාවය.

iii. දෙමළු ජාතිවාදීහුය. (මින් එක බ්ලොග් ලියන්නකු කුඩා කළ යාපනයට ගිය විටක යාපනයේ හෝටලයක් ඔවුනට කෑම සැපයීම පිළිකෙව් කොට තිබේ. පර දෙමළුන් ජාතිවාදීන් කියන්නට මීට වඩා සාධක ඕනෑද?)

iv. මේ සිංහල බොදුනුවන්ගේ රටය. අන් හැම දෙනා (සිංහල කතෝලිකයන්ද ඇතුළුව ) එහි ජීවත් විය යුත්තේ සිංහල බොදුනුවන්ට ඕනෑ විදිහටය. (මීට සමාන තර්කයක් මා ආනන්දයේ උගන්නා කාලයේදී අත් විඳීමට ලැබිනි. ආනන්දයේ සියළුම සිසුන් බුදු මැදුරට ගොස් මල් පූජා කිරීම අනිවාර්ය විය. ඉස්ලාම් සිසුන් පවා එහි යායුතු විය. මීට හේතුව ලෙස දක්වන ලද්දේ ආනන්දය බොදු පාසලක් වීමය. මේ මෝඩ සිරිතෙන් කවරකුට හෝ ලාභයක් විනියි නොසිතමි.)

v. දෙමළ ජනතාවට කිසි ගැටළුවක් නැත. ඔවුන්ගේ ගැටළු සියල්ල 1948 සිට බලයට පත්වූ ආණ්ඩු විසින් සාධාරණ ලෙස විසඳා තිබේ. (පුදුමයකට මෙන් මේ බ්ලොග් කරුවන්ගෙන් වැඩි පිරිසකට අනුව 1948 සිට අප ආණ්ඩු කර ඇත්තේ රටේ පොදු යහපත තමන්ගේ තනි යහපත වෙනුවෙන් පාවදුන් හොර මුළකි. මේ හොරුන් රැළම රට වනසන අතර දෙමළුන්ට පමණක් සාධාරණය ඉටු කළේ කෙසේද යන පරස්පරයට ඔවුන්ට විසඳුමක් නැත.)

vi. අපෙ රටේ ඇති එකම පුරස්නය ළඟදී මෙහි ආ පර දෙමළු මේ තමන්ගේ බිම කියාගෙන ආයුධ අතට ගැනීමය. (මුන්ට තෝසෙ එකක් වඩෙයක් කාල ඉන්න බැරි හැටි! )

vii. ලංකාවේ වාර්ගික ගැටළුවක් නැති නිසා LTTE එක පරාජය කළ සැණින් සියලු ගැටළු මොහොතකින් විසඳේ.

viii. කොළඹ කේන්ද්ර කොට ගත් ඒකීය ආණ්ඩුවක් යටතේ රට පාලනය විය යුතුය.

ඉහත එක තර්කයක් හෝ ප්රශ්න කළහොත් ඒ ඩොලර් වලින් යැපෙන NGO කාරයෙකි. නැතිනම් කොටි හිතවාදියෙකි.(බුදු හාමුදුරුවන් කාලාම සුත්රය දේශනා කොට ඇත්තේ මෙබඳු අඳ බාලයන්ට විය නොහැකිය.)

මෙබඳු අන්තවාදී ජාතිවාදී ස්ථාවරයකට අපේ තරුණ පරම්පරාව පත්ව ඇත්තේ කවර නම් හේතුවක් නිසාද? කාගේ ඕනෑකමකට කෙරුණත් අවසානයේදී මරු දකින්නේ තමන්ගේම වයසේ සිංහල දෙමළ සහෝදර සහෝදරියන් පිරිසක් බව ඔවුන් මෙතරම් පහසුවෙන් අමතක කරන්නේ ඇයි? (පිරබාහරන් ගොය්යා සේම රාජපස්ස ගොයියාද තමන්ගේ දරුවන් යුද බිමට එවන්නේ නැත. අඩු තරමින් යුද්ධ කරන්නට අපට බණ කියන කොළඹ ආචාර්ය මහාචාර්යවරුන්වත් තමන්ගේ දරුවකු වැරදිලා වත් හමුදාවට බාර දෙන්නේ නැත. ඔවුන්ගේ ළමුන් ඕස්ට්රේලියාවේ සරසවි ජීවිත ගෙවද්දී යුද්ධයෙන් මිය යන්නේ අපෙ දුප්පත් දෙමාපියන්ගේ දරුවන්ය. )

මේ බ්ලොග් ලියන මල්ලිලාගෙන් වැඩි පිරිසක් අනුරාධපුරයෙන් හෝ පොළොන්නරුවට නුදුරු මනම්පිටිය පාළමින් හෝ එපිටට අඩියක් හෝ තබා ඇතැයි මම නොසිතමි. උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර ඔවුන්ට ආගන්තුකය. එහි වෙසෙන්නෝ ආගන්තුකයෝය. නැතිනම් සතුරෝය. (එක බ්ලොග් මල්ලියකුට අනුව සත්තුය ) මේ සතුරන් මැරිය යුතුය. මේ වෛරී චේතනාව උදේ හවස රූපවාහිනියෙන් හා ITN එකෙන් මනස විනාස කරමින් වපුරන ජාතිවාදී විසිරණයෙන් තවත් තීව්ර කරනු ලැබෙයි. වෙසක් පෝයට සිල් ගන්නා මේ මල්ලිලාම දෙමළුන්ගේ ලේ ඉල්ලන අන්තවාදීන් වන්නේ ඒ නිසාය.

Black July 1983 - Borella Bus Stand

මේ බ්ලොග්කරුවන් 1983ට පසු උපන් හෝ වැඩුණු පරම්පරාවට අයත්ය. 1983දී දකුණේ සමාජය තුළ දරුණු බෙදීමක් විය. ඉන් පෙර යම්තාක් මට්ටමකට හෝ සිංහලයන් සමඟ මිතුරුව දිවිගෙවූ කොළඹ දෙමළ ජනතාව 1983ට පසු ගුල් තුළ සැඟවෙන මීයන් පරිද්දෙන් සිය කැමැත්තෙන්ම හුදකලා වූහ. (1983ට පෙර දෙමළ දොස්තරවරුන්ගේ නම් සහිත පුවරු ඕනෑ තරම් කොළඹදී දැකිය හැකි විය. දැන් එබඳු පුවරුවක් බේතකටවත් සොයා ගන්නට බැරිය.) මෙසේ වීමේ මූලික හේතුව 1983 අප්රසන්න අත්දැකීම් මත තව දුරටත් දකුණේ ජනතාව ගැන පූර්ණ විශ්වාසයක් තැබීමට ඔවුන්ට නොහැකිවීමයි. අපේ සිංහල බ්ලොග් කරුවන් හැදී වැඩී ඇත්තේ මේ ජාතික වශයෙන් බෙදුණු සමාජය තුළ බව අප අමතක නොකළ යුතුය. (එහෙත් එය ජාතිවාදී වීමට නිදහසට කාරණයක් නොවේ.)

ඔවුන් අධ්යාපනයේදී ඒකභාෂික වීම සේම පැහැදිළි ලෙස දෙමළ සිසුන්ගෙන් වෙන්වීම තවදුරටත් ඔවුන්ගේ එක පාක්ෂික ජාතිවාදය කුළු ගන්වයි. පණ්ඩිතයන් සේ මෙසේ බ්ලොග් ලියන මේ මල්ලිලා වැඩි හරියකට ඇත්තේ සිංහල අධ්යාපනයක් පමණකි. ඔවුන්ගේ ඉංගිරිසි අධ්යාපනය විෂය කටයුතු වලට (බොහෝ විට පරිගණක අධ්යාපනයට ) සීමා වී ඇත. මේ රටේ ආණ්ඩු විසින් (UNP ආණ්ඩුද ඇතුළත්ව ) අන්තනෝමතික ලෙස අධ්යාපනය සියතට ගෙන තමන් රිසි දේ පමණක් විද්යාර්ථීන්ට පෙවීමේ උත්සාහයට වන්දි ගෙවීමට සිදුව ඇත්තේ මේ බ්ලොග් ලියන මල්ලිලාටය. ඔවුහු බ්ලොග් ලිවීම දනිති. එහෙත් එකම රටේ වෙසෙන වෙනත් ජන කොට්ඨශයක ඇසින් ලොව දැකීමට ඔවුනට අවබෝධයක් නොමැත. ඔවුන්ගේ ඇස් ඒකභාෂික අධ්යාපනයෙන් වසා ඇත. කන් වෙන කිසිවක් නොඇසෙන පරිදි ඒක පාක්ෂික ඉතිහාසයකින් අගුලු දමා තිබේ. හැම ළිං මැඬියකුට සේම ඔවුන්ටද ළිඳ වූකලී ලෝකයයි.

මේ තනි ඇසින් ලොව දැකීම උතුරේද මෙසේම හෝ මීට වඩා දරුණු ආකාරයකින් සිදුවේ. 1983ට පසුව උතුරේ උපන් දෙමළ දරුවකුට සිංහලයකු යනු බෝම්බයක් එක අතකින් ගෙන තමන් මරන්නට එන රකුසෙකි.

සිංහල හා දෙමළ තරුණයන් අතර මේ අන්යොන්ය අවබෝධය දුරු නොකොට යුද කාමයෙන් මත්වී සියල්ල තුවක්කුවෙන් විසඳීමට තැත් කරන්නෝ කිසි කලෙක සාමයක් නොදකින්නෝය.

මේ සරල කරුණු කීපය කෙටියෙන් දක්වන්නේ කමෙන්ට්ස් ලෙස කුණුහරුප අසා ගන්නා ආසාවෙන් නොවේ. (කුණුහරුප දැන් මහින්ද චින්තනයේ කොටසක් හැටියට බ්ලොගීකරණය වී ඇත.) කාගෙ කාගෙත් කිල්ලෝටවල හුණු ඇති බව පෙන්නා දෙන්නටය.

1). සිංහල – දෙමළ භේදය අපේ දේශපාලනය තුළ 1920 පමණ සිට තිබුණත් එය ලේ හැලීමක් බවට පළමු වරට වර්ධනය කරන ලද්දේ දෙමළුන් නොව සිංහලයන්ය. ඒ 1956 දී සාමකාමී රැලියකට පහරදීමෙන් සහ 1958 දී එය දෙමළුන්ට පහර දෙන හා මරා දමන ජාතිවාදී කෝලාහලයක් බවට පත් කිරීමෙනි.

2).1948 අප නිදහස ලබන විට යාපනය ලංකාවේ දෙවන ප්රධාන නගරය විය. එහෙත් නිදහසින් පසු 1970 තරම වන තුරුම යාපනය හෝ උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර පළාත් වල ආර්ථිකය නැංවීමෙහිලා රජය මඟින් කෙරුණෙ අතිශය සුළු කාර්ය භාරයකි. ආචාර්ය එන්. එම්. පෙරේරා යාපනය හැඳින්වූයේ ‘මනි ඔර්ඩර් ආර්ථිකයක්’ හැටියටය. යාපනයේ ජනතාව යැපුණේ ඔවුන්ගේ නෑයින් කොළඹ සේවය කොට මාසය අන්තිමට මනි ඔර්ඩර් මඟින් යැවූ මුදල් වලිනි. යාපනය මූලික උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර ආර්ථික වශයෙන් කොන් කිරීම ජන වාර්ගික අර්බුදයේ ආරම්භයයි.

3). 1956 දී මෝඩ ලෙස සිංහල පමණක් රාජ්ය භාෂාව කිරීම නිසා සිංහල නොදත් ඉතා විශාල පිරිසකට රජය සමඟ කටයුතු කිරීම පමණක් නොව රාජ්ය අංශයේ රැකියාවක් ලබා ගැනීම පවා අසීරු විය.

4). 1970 දශකය මැද යාපනයේ දෙමළ තරුණයන් ආයුධ අතට ගැනීමට ආසන්නම හේතුව වූයේ 1974 දී යාපනයේ දෙමළ සම්මේලනයේදී පොලිසිය වෙඩි තැබීමෙන් දෙමළ 9 දෙනෙක් මිය යාමය. දොරේඅප්පා ඝාතනය කරන ලද්දේ මීට ප්රතිචාර වශයෙනි. වෙනත් විදියකට කිව්වොත් ප්රභාකරන්ලාට වේදිකාව සපයා දුන්නේ අපේම මෝඩ ආණ්ඩුවයි. (දොරේඅප්පා ඝාතනය ගැන කථා කරන මේ මල්ලිලා ඊට පූර්වගාමී වූ මේ ඓතිහාසික මරණ 9 ගැන කතා නොකරන්නේ ඇයි? නොදන්නා කමමද?)

5). 1948 සිට අද දක්වාම උතුරු නැගෙනහිර දෙමළ ජනතාව නියෝජනය කළ ඇමතිවරු සිට ඇත්තේ පහකට අඩු සංඛ්යාවකි. දෙමළ කතා කිරීමට පවා නොදත් කදිරගාමර් දෙමළ ජනතාව නියෝජනය කළේ නැත. ආණ්ඩුව අනුන්ගේ බව උතුරු නැගෙනහිර දෙමලුන්ට සිතීම අරුමයක්ද?

මේ කරුණු දක්වන ලද්දේ අර්බූදයේ සියළු වගකීම සිංහලයන් මත පැවරීමේ අරමුණින් නොව, අර්බූදයට දෙමළ සිංහල දෙපාර්ශවයේම දායකත්වය ලැබී ඇති බව පෙන්නා දීමට පමණි. තනි අතකින් අත්පුඩි ගැසිය නොහැක.

ලොව කිසිදු ජාතියක් අනෙකුන්ට වඩා අඩු හෝ වැඩි ලෙස ජාතිවාදී නැත. ඔවුන් ජාතිවාදයට දක්කන්නේ ඔවුනට සමාජයේ විඳීමට සිදුවන අසීරුතාය.

ඒක පාක්ෂික නොවී අනෙකාගෙ ඇසිනුත් ප්රශ්නය දැකීමට සාධාරණ වන්න.