by Shanie
(June 20 Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Some years ago, two associates in the old Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Sydney Wanasinghe and Wesley Muthiah collaborated in producing a series of books recording some significant events from the Sri Lankan Left’s distinguished history. One of the books, to which they had invited Selvy Thiruchandran also to be joint-editor, was on the Socialist Women of Sri Lanka, They had selected twenty women, from all walks of life, who were pioneers of women’s liberation. These were women activists in the Left movement who cut across ethnic and caste barriers in their work with the people, who worked with men on an equal basis in the trade union struggles of the time. Six of the women had served as Members of Parliament, one of whom was Doreen Wickremasinghe, a British Socialist who, after graduating from the London School of Economics, had come to Sri Lanka as Doreen Young at the age of twenty-three. She headed two girls’ schools, first Sujatha Vidyalaya in Matara and later Ananda Balika Vidyalaya in Colombo. Not long after she arrived, Doreen Young married Dr. S. A. Wickremasinghe, and took Ceylon citizenship. Together the husband and wife took a prominent part in the struggles of the Left movement, including the Suriya Mal movement, and when the LSSP split in the early forties, the Wickremasinghes were in the forefront in forming the new Ceylon Communist Party. Doreen Wickremasinghe was elected to Parliament in 1952.
Many in Sri Lanka have watched a YouTube video of Sitsabaiesan making her maiden speech in the Canadian House of Commons during the Budget debate, She spoke fluently in English, French and Tamil. It was an impressive speech and she spoke up for her constituents criticising the Budget for doing little to alleviate the hardships faced by the poor, the marginalised and the senior citizens in the field of post-secondary education, health care, transport and local employment opportunities. She also referred with pride to her being a Tamil and to her being able to address the House in Tamil. But there was no racist or chauvinistic baggage in her speech for which she received an unprecedented standing ovation from her fellow parliamentarians.
The case of Rathika Sitsabaiesan
B It is a pity that this remarkable achievement by a young Sri Lankan woman immigrant who is still under thirty years of age has received little or no publicity in Sri Lanka. Detractors must know that although Scarborough has a sizeable Sri Lankan Tamil population, they form only a small minority in the constituency from which Sitabaiesan was elected. Wide publicity is given by the media when Raj Rajaratnam, another Sri Lankan Tamil immigrant is rightly or wrongly convicted of insider trading but Sitsabaiesan’s election was not even mentioned by some of the private media, leave alone the state media. Over the years, discerning commentators have referred to the shameful part played by the media, Sinhala, Tamil and English, in bringing about ethnic polarisation in our country. With the LTTE defeated and the war ended, one would have hoped for a more positive attitude towards ethnic reconciliation. Politicians on both sides of the ethnic divide have played politics with the National Question largely to divert the people’s attention from their own failings. The media, instead of being the watchdogs, have gone along with the political manoeuvrings of the politically powerful.
Sri Lankans, irrespective of any ethnic. religious or social differences, need to be proud of Rathika Sitsabaiesan, who is following in the steps of Doreen Wickremesinghe of an earlier era and Sonia Gandhi of the present time as immigrants who have been accepted as political leaders in their country of adoption, What Kumari Jayawardena wrote about Doreen Wickremasinghe in Wanasinghe and Muthiah’s Young Socialist publication is true of all these immigrant leaders: "What is perhaps most remarkable about Doreen Wickremasinghe’s career was the way she was accepted by Sri Lankans, including activists of the Left, workers peasants, women, and even by the electorate. For many middle-class radicals too, she was an example of how a Western woman could devote her energy to causes ranging from national liberation and women’s liberation to socialism....She radicalised education in Buddhist girls’ schools, and succeeded in giving many teachers and pupils a political and social awareness, an ability to fight patriarchal family oppression, an appreciation of local culture, as well an international perspective. Doreen Wickremasinghe’s life particularly serves as an example of a woman who participated in the social and political movements of her time, showing courage in confr4onting oppression and exploitation and speaking out without fear against all forms of injustice."
Cannel 4 Video
Two days ago, The Island gave publicity to a call by Rathika Sitsabaiesan for a probe into allegations of abuses during the closing stages of the war two years ago in Sri Lanka. Sustainable peace, she has said, can be achieved only if these allegations are investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. It was time to end the culture of impunity. Her comments followed the screening of video clips by Channel 4 television in Britain reportedly taken on a mobile phone. This columnist has not seen this video but agrees with Sitsabaiesan that allegations of this nature need to be independently investigated. It does nobody any good just to dismiss the video as a "fake" or to question the bona fides of Channel 4 which aired it. The country needs to move forward; reconciliation, peace and justice should now be our priority. We have to do all that is possible to bring about reconciliation among our people. To ignore the concerns and cries of those who have had their loved ones disappeared or killed, whether it is 1400 or 40000, whether it is the civilian, soldier or LTTE cadre, is to put back the process of reconciliation.
The key word now is ‘accountability’. There must be accountability for any action taken but it does not necessarily mean punitive justice for those held accountable for violation of humanitarian laws. This was the spirit in which the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions the world-over, and particularly the South African one of which many Sri Lankan are aware, have worked. Whilst acknowledging that any culture of impunity needs to changed, the TRCs enabled the perpetrators to acknowledge their wrong-doing. The TRC recommended amnesty for them in nearly all cases. Likewise, it is in our own national interests to set up a credible independent domestic mechanism to investigate allegations of abuse and violation of humanitarian laws. For such a mechanism to be credible, a Commission similar to the TRC needs to be appointed composed of persons of proven independence and integrity, not necessarily all Sri Lankan nationals, acceptable to all affected parties. There must also be a witness protection law in place with evidence heard either in public or in camera. If such a mechanism is set up, it will show the world that our country means to acknowledge any mistakes of the past, uphold the rule of law, and move forward to genuinely reconcile all our people.
The Channel 4 video apparently shows only alleged atrocities by soldiers. That is a pity, although the TV channel will claim that journalists were not allowed into the war zone during the final stages and therefore they had to rely on video footage provided by people on the ground, including soldiers. From all reports, not just from former LTTE cadres now acting as Government informants and apologists, there were atrocities committed by the LTTE as well during the same period. These also need to be investigated.
So also another investigation is right and proper for the whole period of the Thirty Year War. At long last, the massacre by the LTTE of 400 surrendered policemen, in clear violation of international humanitarian laws, was remembered by the Police Department last week. The Eastern LTTE commander who oversaw that massacre now enjoys high political office, blaming everyone other than himself for that massacre. Similarly, there have been massacres and extra-judicial killings over the thirty year period by the many different actors in this war. True reconciliation can come about if these are investigated and justice is provided for the survivors and for the families of those killed.
Ben Bavink was a Dutch church worker who lived and worked in Sri Lanka for over twenty-five years. Earlier a teacher in the Under-graduate Department of Jaffna College Vaddukoddai, he spent the last few years working as a relief co-ordinator in the North and East. He maintained a diary during this period, the first volume of which was published earlier this year jointly by the Rajini Thiranagama Memorial Committee and Vijitha Yapa under the title ‘Of Tamils and Tigers’. We end this column this week with one of the concluding entries dated 13th May 1994 in this first volume of Bavink’s Diary: "Á few days ago we witnessed on TV how in South Africa, Nelson Mandela was installed as President. Unbelievable!...Not only the tremendous turn-around, but also the peaceful and non-violent manner in which it happened. At the inauguration ceremony, the need for reconciliation was stressed and Mandela praised de Klerk for his contribution. When one sees and hears all these things, one is at the same time thrown back into a mood of despair about the situation here (in Sri Lanka). Here there is no really liberating leadership visible on either side of the political spectrum. Blessed South Africa where they can boast of such leaders. Leaders who have a long-term vision of the needs of the country and the people and who because of that are able to overcome feelings of hatred and distrust so that a new, united South Africa can be inaugurated."
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