Some fathers need not claim paternity

By Malinda Seneviratne

(May 24, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) These are days of victory. As such there is very little reason for apportionment of blame. There is, on the other hand, a manifest abundance in the matter of claiming credit. It is natural after all. Victory has a thousands fathers, they say, defeat is orphaned.

I really don’t care who consumes what in the credit cake regarding the defeat of the LTTE. What matters is that this war is over and that the LTTE is history. On the other hand, I think just as we cannot begrudge the security forces for the sacrifice, determination and ability to deliver, we should not forget others who contributed.

Of course I have no way of knowing all the names of those who helped one way or another to give us this moment of triumph, but there are names and there are names and some must be mentioned.

I am thinking especially about those who understood long ago that the LTTE does not understand or want to understand the language of negotiation and therefore it is necessary to eliminate the outfit through military means. Today it seems almost a no-brainer, but there was a time when Governments, Presidents, academics, key personalities in the NGO sector and of course journalists who were adamant that Prabhakaran cannot be defeated military. Some of them were against military action period whether or not such action could destroy the LTTE. Some were naive and some were not.

That was a time when those who said the necessary truth, that the LTTE must and can be defeated militarily were laughed at, ridiculed and vilified as war-mongers. Today, those who engaged in such trash-talking would do anything to have that history erased. There was a time when a person who said he/she was a nationalist, was immediately called a Sinhala chauvinist. Today one would be hard pressed to find anyone who would say he/she is not a nationalist.

Version of Nationalism

This is why I remember with gratitude Dr. Nalin de Silva. He was for a long time a lone voice in this regard. One may object to his version of nationalism but one would have to be endowed with a particularly ungracious mind not to acknowledge that he was far more of a visionary than any of his contemporaries or fellow-columnists. Week after week, Nalin wrote to the Irida Divaina. I met him one day in the Divaina editorial office and asked him whether he had come to submit his piece for the following week. This is what he told me:

‘Malinda, I am ashamed to say this; these people don’t understand my difficulties. I don’t have a job (he had been interdicted at that time) and what they pay me (at the Divaina) is important to me.’

Now contrast this with the dollar salaries that his detractors were getting for defending the LTTE and articulating positions that totally opposed what Nalin advocated. There are many reasons why the so-called ‘peace lobby’ failed and one of them is avarice, I submit.

I must also mention S.L. Gunasekera, again a lone voice, especially in the English press, vilified, called names and ridiculed at every turn. Significantly, those who called people like SL ‘chauvinists’ and vociferously kept them out of all discussions pertaining to the so-called ‘ethnic problem’ and its possible resolution, bent backwards to accommodate proxies of the LTTE. Another reason for their failure: double-standards. Yes, we can add, disingenuous politicking.

There was also Gamini Weerakoon, editor of The Island. He picked holes in the then Government’s policy in dealing with the LTTE, especially regarding the Ceasefire Agreement and how things unfolded thereafter. I remember Tissa Jayatillake calling him an ‘embarrassment’. Tissa, where are you these days, by the way?

There are others too, I must add, such as Gunadasa Amarasekara who was Nalin’s ideological companion and an important figure in nationalist organizations. Piyasena Dissanayake was another.

There is also Champika Ranawake who formed the National Movement Against Terrorism an organization which, both when it was under him and operated separately, played a key role in the ideological task of preparing the general public for the battles that eventually won them their freedom,

Then there were the organizations such as the Sinhala Veera Vidahana. The Sihala Urumaya was called bad names. Their political presence was marginal. However, their very existence forced the major parties to recognize that the Sinhala people also had a point of view, had grievances and aspirations. Similarly, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (a greater presence and a more significant influence on the political) and the JVP played important roles in directing policy with respect to the conflict.

Mavil Aru protest

When the Jathika Hela Urumaya went to Mavil Aru to protest against the LTTE’s closure of the sluice and demanded that the LTTE be forced back, there were MPs in parliament who laughed at Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thero, who led the demonstration: ‘Mavil Aru Rathana maaru!’ one person screamed. Someone later had to eat his words.

The JVP broke the back of the Eelam ideology by petitioning the Supreme Court to de-merge the North and East. They were also unabashed in expressing their nationalism and demanding that the LTTE be defeated. It was Wimal Weerawansa I believe who once called Eric Solheim a white tiger. Today is there anyone who would say that Wimal was not spot-on in this description? The JVP sprouted organizations such as the Desha Hitheishee Jathika Vyaparaya and the Manel Mal Vyaparaya which were significant players complementing the men on the frontlines.

It is easy to jump into the bandwagon when the going is merry and you have the comfort of numbers. Many who would have happily counted themselves among those who vilified Nalin, SL et al a few years back, are now raising a cheer to the security forces. Some have transformed themselves into ideologues for the regime. They would today be jostling to get to the front of the long line of people claiming parentage for this victory. The true fathers and mothers, very much like how it happened in the Caucasian Chalk Circle, would choose to step aside. Those who ride the wave today and hail the nation, trust me, would if the tables were turned tomorrow trash nation and nationalism with equal fervour.

Let us remember the vital role played by all these individuals and organizations, the silent authors of the script that was eventually played out, in this struggle to win freedom from fear for our motherland. They will not receive medals of honour.

Their names will not be murmured collectively in terms of gratitude. I am sure they would not care either way, for theirs’ was a struggle informed by conscience. The only thanks they might entertain is the victory that is being celebrated in the streets today. Some people will claim paternity. The real fathers do not. They need not. The children know. Or come to know, sooner or later.

Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer. He can be reached at malinsene@gmail.com

-Sri Lanka Guardian