Is Sri Lanka making or repeating history?

(June 20, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The recent military victories have given the present Sri Lankan government a historic opportunity. The government can carefully seize the moment to make history or carelessly ride the momentum to repeat history.

To make history, the Sri Lankan government must heed the words of Martin Luther King Jr that the ‘arc of history is long, but it always bends towards justice.’ Let the Sri Lankan government not forget that the Tamil people have been crying for justice for sixty years since Sri Lanka’s independence. And every time their cry was ignored, they came together to find a way forward—however dire their plight. This is why when their peaceful ways were repeatedly suppressed they even contemplated a path of violence in the form of LTTE.

Today, the Sri Lankan government has succeeded in crushing the present form of LTTE. But the Sri Lankan people cannot enjoy lasting peace if they continue to ignore the increasing cry of the Tamil people. It is this cry - not Prabakaran - that created LTTE. The world today recognizes the inherent weakness of a democratic system in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Sri Lanka. Due to the pressure to please majority block of voters, democracy in Sri Lanka does not provide adequate political incentives for any governing party to genuinely care for the rights of their minorities. The history of Sri Lanka, including the way the present victory was achieved, is a strong proof of this unpleasant reality. Such realities will always cause the neglected minorities to cry aloud for their human rights. And these cries will continue to create more Prabakarans and generate new ways to fight for their justice.

As such, whether Sri Lanka is making or repeating history depends critically on whether the Sri Lankan government is heeding the rightful cry of the Tamil minorities to address the root causes or using the self interests of Tamil opportunists to fool the world. The Tamil people are currently outraged by both the complete disregard shown for the safety of civilians during the final phase of the war and the lack of urgency being shown for the welfare of IDPs subsequent to the war. Such neglects, by successive Sri Lankan governments, have convinced the Tamil people that they need power to manage their own affairs, especially in the development of their homeland, economy, education system and police force. For the Tamil people to feel heard, it is important that the Sri Lankan government seeks a solution to both the current humanitarian crisis and the long-standing ethnic conflict by bringing together immediately all Tamil voices including key actors in the Tamil Diaspora and LTTE (who have denounced violence). These groups have a significant influence on the Tamil people and if brought together in a timely manner can be used to win the hearts of the Tamil people and to play a positive role in turning Sri Lanka into a developed nation in a speed that is faster than Singapore.

But if the Sri Lankan people and their government fail to seize this historic moment to make the Tamil people genuinely better by the weakening of LTTE, they will turn increasingly bitter and will once again find other means to take their aspirations forward. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the recent cries of their loved ones are bringing together the Tamil Diaspora as a UDTL (United Diaspora for Tamil Liberation) in a way similar to the coming together of all Tamil political parties under the umbrella of TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) in 1976, demanding a separate state, and the emergence of LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam) after the 1983 riots, to fight for one.

This ever increasing cry for justice is likely to result in the UDTL making a compelling case for Tamil right for self determination. They will do so by highlighting the recent excesses of the armed forces, the continuing intimidation of journalists, the neglect of IDPs in welfare villages, the settlement of Sinhalese in Tamil homelands, the strategy of deception by the Sri Lankan government and the inability of the international community to stop the abuse of Tamil minorities. Given the history, the Sri Lankan government can be sure that the UDTL will find a way to fight this increasing injustice, and their fight this time will not only be against the Sri Lankan government but also be against the economic and geo-political forces of a global world.

They are likely to fight the economic forces by framing the Sri Lankan government as an apartheid regime, calling for economic sanctions, loan limitations and product boycotts. And they are likely to fight the geo-political forces by highlighting the conflicting interests of China and demonstrating how the threat of a separate Tamil State with the support of India and the western nations can serve as an effective strategy to get the Sri Lankan government to break-up their love affair with China. Even if this strategy fails and leads to an actual separation of Sri Lanka, they will point out that India and the western nations will be better off having a loyal government in Jaffna than a disloyal one in Colombo whose words are undependable and whose human right records, a continuous embarrassment.

If these peaceful efforts of the UDTL fail, the Tamil youth will continue to disappear, be discriminated or forced to remain in refugee camps like the Palestinians. Then like Hamas, another version of LTTE is likely to emerge, fighting a guerilla war against the economic and tourist targets with the aim of destabilizing the Sri Lankan economy and deterring foreign investment. Depending on the development and intensity of the Chinese factor, they might even employ their guerilla tactics against Chinese targets in Sri Lanka, furthering the regional interests of India and western nations as a way of seeking their support.

With President Obama, a man of understanding, principles and courage as the Commander-in-Chief of US forces, the Sri Lankan government will be making a mistake if they seek peace in Sri Lanka by ignoring the just cry of their ethnic minorities and the geo-political interests of India and the western nations. Such an approach will also make it difficult for these nations to ignore the gross human right violations by the Sri Lankan government or continue to deny Tamils’ right for self determination.

Instead of opposing President Obama, it is time for Sri Lanka to imitate him and do the impossible to make history. Sri Lanka, can you also dream of a minority – Tamil or Muslim - President for your country?

Yes, you can, because you believe in the tenets of Buddhism. The dream of Martin Luther King Jr is a reality today because his dream was founded on justice and human rights. He dared to believe that the forces of justice are strong enough to overcome the roots of prejudice in the hearts of whites and the thoughts of inferiority in the minds of blacks and the walls of segregation between the two races. Yes what happened between the blacks and whites in America can happen between the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka because most Sri Lankans are deeply religious and all their religions call for understanding and acceptance of each other.

Sri Lanka: dare to dream of a nation that is founded on the common tenets of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam and built by the common interests of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims rather than the conflicting interests of China, India and Russia. Dream of a nation where not only the LTTE branches are cut off but the very roots that gave rise to them – the continuing and increasing cry of the Tamil people – are rooted out. This is the way to truly eliminate the tree of terrorism from Sri Lanka and to celebrate both your unity as Sri Lankans and diversity as Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims.

Sri Lanka: developing and following such a dream will make you stop repeating the same historical mistakes and set you on a path to make history and be proud of the journey. More importantly, you would have found a dream that is better than the American dream and a story that is better than the Singaporean story.

“Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always.” - Mahatma Gandhi

(The writer can be reached at JesusforJustice@hotmail.com )

-Sri Lanka Guardian