Dr Hewapathirane views Tamils as non-indigenous minorities

Didn't Lt General Sarath Fonseka say the same thing asks Jacinta Cruz

"This seems a new twist to the question of minorities in Sri Lanka and a more dangerous one too. Before this gathers wind, the Government of President Mahinda Rajapakse must nip this in the bud. Racial bigotry should not be allowed to raise its horrible head again and people like Dr Hewapathirane must be given a course in what culture really means and in respect of Sri Lanka, its origin, development and enhancement. He is utterly ignorant especially about the principles Buddhism stands for in the first place. "

by Jacinta Cruz in Los Angeles

(October 07, Los Angeles, Sri Lanka Guardian) Dr Daya Hewapathirane’s feature Need to Be Cautious of Tamil Diaspora (Oct. 06, Sri Lanka Guardian) is saturated with rank, fetid racism, the type of which Sri Lanka ill-affords. Obviously a professional, perhaps medical perhaps non-medical, it is so sad to note him indulge himself in a triumphant chest beat like the ape in Tarzan movies overjoyed that the LTTE is about to be decimated.

He makes a wild observation that “one should not overlook the fact that, the overwhelming majority of Sri Lankan Tamils living overseas, were providing all possible assistance, both directly and indirectly, using all possible deceitful means, to this ruthless Tamil murderer Prabhakaran and his terror movement for over two decades.”

It shows how little he understands the plight of the Tamils overseas who themselves are victims of the LTTE workers in Canada, UK, Australia and other places who have hijacked the leadership in various ways and terrorizing them to silence.

If the LTTE was enabled to “to carry out the most gruesome, hideous and horrifying terrorist activities against our people, our leaders including Bhikkhus and our men and women of the military forces and police”, Dr Hewapathirane must have the guts to understand and appreciate that the ethnic crisis has remained unresolved for over four decades and governments have shunned away as accepting all Sri Lankans have equal rights. This was the fodder that has kept the LTTE alive.

Sinhala racism is the mother of Tamil terrorism and even earlier, terrorism was born in the south engineered by the JVP. It was a purely Sinhala initiative against the failure of the government to develop the southern region and during which thousands of Sinhala youth perished.

Has Dr Hewapathirane for a while given thought to how Tamils civilians have been terrorized by the Tigers and their children captured and forced into military action. Even more, how many of their moderate leaders have been killed, shot randomly and executed in gruesome ways. Tamils were caught between the devil, the Tigers and the Deep Blue Sea, the government.


Furthermore he talks about bombs and missiles. The entire country is enmeshed in corruption. How many of the politicians are receiving massive commissions for the purchase of arms licitly and illicitly. The Colombo underworld has a strange unity of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims who are operating like a terminal cancer in the country and involved in supporting the Tigers in their Colombo operations are not the Tamil Diaspora but those of the community of Dr Hewapathirane.

If Dr Hewapathirane will only go to Jaffna and talk to the people there, he will see the entire problem in a different light; even the armed forces personnel will tell him how brave the people there are against the LTTE blight. Even among the Tamil Diaspora while a few have expressed grave concerns about the failure of the Sri Lankan government to sort the ethnic crisis out, there are groups despite Tiger threats who have been fully involved in human rights activities against them at great risks to their lives but even more to their kith and kin in Sri Lanka. It is their effort to a considerable degree that had the LTTE banned in some countries.

Just like the unfortunate statement made by the Lt General Sarath Fonseka to the National Post in Canada, Dr Hewapathirane only talks about “our illustrious national culture and our Buddhist Sangha community responsible for nurturing, promoting and uplifting this outstanding indigenous culture and the Sinhala language for some two thousand three hundred years” and continues to charge that they “ were subject to debase and disrespect by these treacherous Tamil racists and extremists, following their barbarous and maniac leader.”

How unfortunate that such an observation could be made by anyone especially one who has a doctorate to his credit? If he cannot accept and respect that Sri Lanka has a culture that has many common features with that of the Tamils and all rooted in India and that Tamils too are Sri Lankans, then Dr Hewapathirane is dragging this lovely country into the mud and insulting every citizen of the country.

If he cannot say something good and that something good and true, then he should keep his feelings, hot-blooded racist feelings totally unacceptable, under perennial control.

He should have had the courtesy to respect the appeal of the Sri Lanka Guardian to keep all views outside the bounds of racism. The country has paid to big of price and this has lasted too long. It is strange that a man who blurted out so much vile and bile should end his feature as follows:

“We have nothing against anyone who wishes to shed extremist feelings and joining us to build a nation which is peaceful and prosperous, a nation which shuns extremism and terrorism and where democracy prevails, and a nation led by bold, patriotic and compassionate persons, who will not permit racism and terrorism to ever raise their heads in our land.”

However, he concludes: “We want all the non-indigenous minorities of our nation, whatever label they may hold, to join us to build one nation, a nation founded on the noble principles of non-violence, tolerance, compassion, where peaceful co-habitation is the cornerstone. So in other words, according to him, all Tamils are non-indigenous minorities. Is this not what has concerned many people about the statement made by the Lt General Sarath Fonseka?Ends- Sri Lanka Guardian