War unfortunately resumed in early 2006. It did not initially affect the people outside the North and East and the ‘border areas’. There were, no doubt, targeted killings and abductions, mainly of Tamils and Muslims. The victims also including some military and intelligence persons. Apart from the killings and abductions, Tamil civilians, particularly young people, faced harassment and some were remanded for no reason other than that of their ethnicity. Most of them were released in due course but only after undergoing a traumatic experience. But, the war did not affect the rest of the population. The sensitive among them were concerned about the indignities that the Tamil and Muslim people, particularly in the North and East, and the people of all communities in the ‘border villages’ were living with.

But, terror that used to stalk civilians in Colombo over ten years ago has now returned. With the escalation of the war, this was inevitable. Over the course of this year, hundreds of non-combatant civilians have been killed – in Pesalai, in Allaipiddi, in Kebbitigollawa, in Pottuvil, in Trincomalee, in Muthur, in Gomarankadawela, and other places. In recent days, we have had indiscriminate killing of civilians in all parts of the country. In the Mannar District, a teacher and some students were injured as a result of a shell that fell in the compound of their school in Kattiadampan. In Kilinochchi, thirteen persons, including eleven school children, were killed when the van in which they were travelling hit a claymore mine. And this week, terror returned to Colombo after a long lapse of time. A suicide bomber killed a public official. The same evening, a parcel bomb in the baggage counter of a store killed at least eighteen people and injured scores more. All these killings deserve our strongest condemnation. None of our problems are going to be solved by these killings.

Countering Terrorism

In almost all cases of terror and carnage, we have a general idea as to who or which group is responsible, even before the law enforcement authorities or the SLMM monitors conduct their own investigations and publish findings. But, we need to guard against selective condemnation. And we also need to guard against taking the law into our own hands and dispensing justice against the perceived offenders. This has happened, for instance, in the Delgoda and Kalutara family massacres. Those were bad enough but the danger is greater when the perceived offenders are believed to belong to an ethnic group. It can lead, as it did in the past, to violence against innocent members of a particular ethnic group. This is where the active involvement of responsible politicians, media personnel, religious leaders and opinion makers is required to prevent such unfortunate incidents from occurring.

One shouldn’t be selective in condemning terror. The 1983 pogrom was allowed to escalate and get out of hand by irresponsible political leadership in the south. Similarly, the nascent militancy in the North in the seventies was allowed to grow into terrorism by the unwillingness of the then northern political leadership to take a responsible stand against violence and the killing of police officers and political leaders like Alfred Durayappah. The grave danger is that we seem to be returning to that dark eighties era when human rights of our people, the trade unionists, the minorities and the political opposition were abused with impunity.

Gotabhaya Rajapakse today openly claims that he is going to get at, meaning kill, the LTTE leadership. Nobody dare express outrage at this blatant rejection of the rule of law, lest they be declared terrorist supporters and traitors. Is there nobody in our political leadership with a vision for the future of our country, where people of all faiths, of all ethnic groups and of all social classes can live with equal rights, with equal opportunities and with equal dignity? And is there nobody with the courage to say so?

The way forward

The government is moving on the authoritarian lines of the J R Jayewardene regime, trying to eliminate dissent by violence. The JRJ regime caused the polarisation of the country on ethnic lines. It alienated the non-LTTE Tamils by word and action. The present government is tragically moving along the same lines. By going along with the agenda of the hardline Sinhala extreme nationalists, it is even alienating the eastern Muslims who feel threatened. Using the Karunas and the Pillayans in the East and the Devanandas in the North may bring short-term gains but in the long-term, we are going to end up as divided nation. None of them enjoy popular support among the Tamils or Muslims. Nor does the LTTE, which is not trusted by the Tamils. They may consider it as only a ‘foil’ to the Sinhala extremist nationalism.

The government must realise that the only way that the country can be pulled out of this mire is by negotiating with authentic Tamil and Muslim voices (who include the TNA but not the LTTE) and by rejecting the extremist Sinhala agenda.

There is an urgency for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to change direction. He has a lifeline in the APRC and that is now the only way to move ahead. Tissa Vitarana must be urged to make public the APRC proposals which must be discussed with the TNA, which was left out of the APRC due to a political blunder. These proposals must be put before the people (at a referendum?) for approval and implemented as a political solution. There is no other way forward. Militarism is not going to solve the political problem. It will only make polarisation and division more acute.

Sangakkara’s Example

Kumar Sangakkara was cruelly deprived of a double century by a monumental umpiring blunder in the recent Hobart Test match. Those who watched the replay on television saw that his bat and gloves were nowhere near, when the ball struck him on the shoulder and helmet and lobbed up for the Australian skipper to hold it and appeal for a catch.

Umpire Rudi Koertzen, usually very correct, obviously had a momentary lapse of concentration. He had certainly not been watching the ball when he upheld the appeal. It was a hard blow for Sangakkara. It is very hard work to get so close to a double century and, in this case, join the company of cricketing great Hammond as the third highest scorer of test double hundreds. Only Bradman and Lara would have been ahead of him. (Let us also not forget that another Sri Lankan Marvan Atapattu now lies joint fourth with Sangakkara and Miandad.)

Even though he would have been hugely disappointed, Sangakkara displayed sportsmanship of the highest order when he accepted the umpire’s later apology with good grace. Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are among the very few top international players who ‘walk’, without waiting for the umpire’s decision when they know they are out. Sangakkara created a sensation very recently when he walked when even the fielding side did not realise that he had edged the ball and did not even appeal for a catch. For such a sportsman, it was cruel luck to be deprived of this double century. But, he played his cricket in the best traditions of the game and has brought credit both to cricket and to Sri Lanka.

But, many Sri Lankans writing to the newspapers went on lambasting Umpire Koertzen. It was akin to the reaction of many when members of the UN and international community point out human rights abuses in our country. They pick on some petty point and go about abusing them. Sangakkara and skipper Mahela Jayawardene are an example to all of us.

We all can and do make mistakes. But, we need to move on. We do not keep harping on them. We just examine ourselves and correct our own mistakes. Sangakkara, by the way he has responded to this incident, has done our country proud.

He has set an example to the rest of us.

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