Enemies of Reconciliation

| by N.A.de S.Amaratunga

( May 13, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Reconciliation of the communities after the three decades of war is an imperative need if the country is to develop as one nation. The task however is not easy mainly due to the machinations by the enemies of reconciliation who would like to see the country destabilized and divided. In fact there are several parties with vested interests both local and foreign who are hell bent in deranging the reconciliation process.

One of these groups which are the most powerful and determined are the imperialist forces. For the better understanding of this matter one must look at the history. The colonialists in the lands they occupied practiced a divide and rule policy which enabled them to rule the country and the people with less possibility of a concerted and united rebellion by the people. By these means they could exploit the resources of the country with minimum resistance. Whenever and wherever resistance erupted it could be put down as the nation was divided. The British were the masters of the divide and rule policy. Seeds of separatism were thus sowed in the fertile psyche of the Tamil nationalists.

As a consequence at the time the British were debating the granting of independence to Ceylon the Tamil leaders asked for a separate state and when that was rejected they petitioned the British requesting them not to give independence to Ceylon! And to this day they harbour the notion that a separate Tamil state is their inheritance which had been denied to them. Initially this notion was limited to the mind set of the Tamil leaders but after thirty years of war the ordinary Tamil people too seem to have been brain washed to believe in it to some degree. The fact that the Tamil people were not interested in a separate state could be seen by their voting pattern in the elections held prior to the war. It need not be assumed, however, that the Tamils will always remain estranged and alienated. If their lot is improved and if they are made to feel that the entire country, and not parts of it, belongs to them and the Sinhalese are their true brethren they could be, once again, a part of the nation. Tamils must realize that a separate state is inimical to their interests too.

Parties with vested interests however would do their utmost to prevent the above mentioned desirable change taking place. The colonialists of the past and powerful countries with imperialist intentions are the leaders in this campaign. As they did their vile deeds during the war so are they busy again with similar actions to disrupt the process of reconciliation. They kept the war going for thirty years by ensuring that the LTTE got the funds and the arms they needed. They tried their utmost to stop the war when the LTTE was about to be wiped out. Now they are trying to get a UN mandate to interfere in Sri Lanka. The US resolution submitted to the UNHRC attempts to give the powers of running Sri Lanka’s affairs to the officials of this UN body. These officials are under obligation to the US and Europe for giving them their jobs. It will be therefore the West who would run Sri Lanka by proxy.

They drive a wedge between Tamils and Sinhalese by shouting hoarse about human rights violations during the last stages of the war. They publicise fabricated films on war excesses and made up atrocities in order to sow the seeds of hatred and perpetuate the animosities. All this is done in the name of reconciliation! This is nothing but naked imperialism, the continuation of the divide and rule policy. They are the enemies of reconciliation, the Tamils must understand this. They have no love for the Tamils. They instigate conflict and nurture war because it is easier to dominate a world in turmoil. A united world could rise against imperialist exploitation. One has only to look around to see what these do-gooders are doing to the world in the name of peace.

They have made every problem in the Middle East worse while pretending to solve them. The Palestinian issue which is central to all the problems in the region has not been allowed to be resolved. They had taken the land which belonged to the Palestinians and set up a Jewish state. Palestinians weary of war and suffering are prepared to forget that historical injustice provided they are given back their land Israel grabbed in subsequent wars. Western countries could have settled this problem but instead what they have done was to make Israel militarily so powerful, with nuclear weapons too, that even US cannot force them to accept even the UN resolutions on conditions of settlement. To maintain the balance of power in favour of Israel the Western countries would bomb to smithereens any other Arab country that would dare attempt acquisition of nuclear weapons. Iran is currently under threat for purportedly attempting this "grave crime". Is there a worst injustice than what is being done in the Middle East? Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya have been destroyed with millions of civilians killed. Sudan was divided. Syria, Pakistan or any other who dare not fall in line would get the treatment.

In all of the above instances internal elements with their own agendas had helped the imperialists to destabilize their countries. In Sri Lanka too there are such groups working in tandem with the imperialists. Present Tamil political leaders do not seem to be interested in reconciliation. Perhaps they think communal harmony is not in their interest. Political grievances that they could nurture for political gain have to be kept alive in the minds of the Tamil people. The ill feelings that were burning during the war cannot be allowed to be subdued. Separatism that had served them well in the past has to be kept alive. Hence they demand from the government what is not possible to give without causing an injustice to the other communities that live in this country.

Land and police powers in a merged North and East would almost amount to a separate state or a stepping stone towards getting it without difficulty. No government elected by a large majority can afford to grant such concessions unless it has suicidal tendencies. If they are true statesmen the Tamil leaders must help the Tamil people, who by nature are not unreasonable, realize the folly of separatism and the advantages, both material and spiritual, that could accrue to them through peace and harmony. If they are true statesmen they must be national leaders and stop being parochial communal politicians and work for the good of every citizen in this country.