Conspiracy of the Church in the North
Friday, September 5, 2008
by Charles S. Perera
In the wake of the Government Forces entering in to the District of Kilinochchi controlled by the armies of the demoniac Prabhakaran, Duleep Chikera the Anglican Bishop has woken up to call for a Peace Zone in the North.
The Church is trying to make the best out of a bad situation to permanently implant the influence of the Church in the North after the terrorists are eliminated by the Government Forces. How else can one explain this delayed intervention of Duleep Chikera the Bishop to call for peace zones now ?
The Church is pleading for the cause of the Tamil civilians caught in the conflict to show themselves as the saviours, so they could herd them into their camp as the children of the God saved by their intervention. In fact what they are doing is to see that the north remains their Zone of influence once the terrorism is eliminated and peace and calm settled down.
From far away
The majority of the people of the North are Hindus, but it is unfortunate that only white cassocks of the priests are seen in the images sent for public consumption by the media. The role of the Hindu priests is to remain in the temples, to perform rituals and invoke the blessings of the Hindu deities. They do not venture out to help the believers and see to their welfare. Hence the Catholic priests have become the cocks in the pen, to manage the civilian population in the north according to their guise.
There are lot of Tamil writers in the websites devoted to the Tamil cause, but none of them had found it necessary to get involved in forming welfare groups ( without being supporters of the terrorists), to help their Hindu compatriots without leaving the field open to the Catholic priests. INGOs who have access to the civilian population may also be willing partners of the Catholic Church. The pandering by these people, the Catholic Clergy and the Christians will distance the Tamil civilian population from their own religion and culture which would be an obstacle to the unity of the Communities after terrorism.
The Tamil middle class, the Tamil intelligentsia, and the rich Tamils in Sri Lanka including Anandasangaree are more interested in political independence, and devolution of power- under a Federal Constitution, while the poor Tamil citizens are being herded either by the terrorists, to make cannon fodder of their children while the old, and the rest are made to suffer under a fascist dictator, or by the Catholic Church to take away their cultural identity, and replace their inherited gods by a foreign god.
It is time that the Tamil Diaspora opens their eyes to this disaster that has befallen the ordinary masses in the North-their kith and kin, the poorer Tamil citizens. While they send their hard earned money to enrich the coffers of a group of terrorists, to create a homeland for the Tamils of the diaspora , their poorer compatriots are left at the mercy of terrorists, and their inherited culture is being pawned to gain a paradise after death, offered by the Church.
We appeal to the Tamil diaspora to at least now forget the past, and instead of continuing to sow seeds of hatred, join with the Tamil, Sinhala, and Muslim communities in
1: Let my people go in Peace by Dr.Noel Nadesan (30.8.2008)
2: Open the gates of hell and let my people go by Selva Gnanam (4.9.2008), and
3: Tamil Racism is older than 1956 by Thomas John Pulle (4.9.2008)
It is in this background, that Professor Emmanuel pontificates (TamilNet-4.9.2008) from far away Germany to speak of an impending human crisis of a first magnitude. He paints a picture of utter desolation caused by the government forces, and speaks of the district overcrowded with internally displaced people from Vanni seeking protection from the atrocities of the Sri Lanka Forces. Prof. Emmanuel seems to say that the IDPs are flocking into Kilinochchi running away from the Armed Forces seeking protection from the terrorists. He adds with a flourish that "
It is strange Prof.Emmanuel echos the sentiments of M.K.Narayanan, in saying that
Quite contrary to Sarah Palin's assertion that it is the God that had made the American Armies go to Iraq, the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka have been sent by the Government to eliminate terrorism, and with clear instructions that in doing so they should avoid putting into danger the lives of the Civilian population. That is one reason the government says, why the progress of the government Forces towards entering Kilinochchi to oust the terrorists is slow.
Even though there are complaints of the dangers caused to the Civil Population in the conflict zone in the North, even the TamilNet the voice of the terrorists has not pointed out any major disaster to human life because of the bombardments, and army artillery fire by the Government Forces.
Prof. Emmanuel who is himself not informed of the correct situation, writes an article which is meant to poison the minds of the uninformed Tamil diaspora against the Sinhala Community, and draw the attention of the International Community to his imagined "human crisis of a first magnitude."
He says that in a couple of months when the war is over the Tamil demand for basic human rights in
The north is marked by the absence of Buddhist Viharas, therefore it is essential that the north as in the south should have Buddhist Viahras with Monks and Nuns, in their yellow robes, without leaving the space in the north free for the Church to dominate the scene, to hinder the progressive development of communal relationship of the Hindu Tamils, Sinhala Buddhists, Islamic Muslims, and the Christians.
After the ‘War on Terror’
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
Single handed, without any Powerful Nation to help, the Sri Lanka Security Forces are doing remarkably well in the « war » front against terrorism, while the American army equipped with sophisticated military arms, and supported by able armies of several Western Countries have not even been able to weaken the terrorists, let alone eliminating them from Iraq and Afghanistan.
May the Triple Gem protect our valiant armed forces !
As the SLSF are sending reports of their continued successes, those international terrorist supportive media, INGOs, the human rights activists, and the local anti war lobbies seek international intervention to save what remains of their pet rebels. One does not know to what extent Mano Ganeshan is a patriot, but one could be sure he is one who would like to resuscitate the dying terrorists, to preserve his popularity among the International Embassies, and poisoning the environment with his racist anti Sinhala, anti Government propaganda.
That said, it should be reminded to the people and all concerned in
It had been reported some time back in France, when many Jewish tombs were desecrated by bands of youth breaking into the Jewish cemeteries, that it is a phenomenon of the generation gap where the atrocities suffered by those who went through the holocaust had been forgotten by the present generation. The present generation unable to imagine the horrors of the period , take the mass murderers of yesterday as their heroes.
This is a phenomenon against which the government and the people of
In
Despite that remark of the well behaved Sri Lankan youth, we have to take into account the JVP revolt of the youth which claimed many lives, before they embraced democracy. Next Prabhakaran's terrorism, that began 30 years ago. But, Prabhakaran was used and encouraged with ulterior motives by
In the North and East the religion that had a greater influence was the Catholic Church.
As it had been in the West, the Catholic or the
But the Kovil did not interfere into their private lives. The youth of the North and East should therefore be given more opportunities to shape their lives according to their religion, through their association with the elders and participating in religious , and cultural activities. The sports too is an activity that should be encouraged as it brings communities together.
With the
This separated them from the other communities, and the influence of Buddhist philosophy. That may be the reason why there are so many Tamil writers, who denigrate Buddhism using " Buddhist" as an addendum of insult to Sinhala. They have a wrong conceptual understanding of the Sinhala Community, and the Mahawamsa.
Buddhism is associated with the Sinhala, and as a result the Tamils who are prejudiced against the Sinhala Community, separate themselves from Buddhism even though there is no great difference between the two philosophies of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Buddha had been a good Hindu to begin with and differed from early Hinduism as he thought that development of mind to understand the reality of life was more important than religious rituals to get the blessings of the deities.
But unfortunately, despite many ruins of early Buddhist Monasteries in the North and the East , Buddhism has not influenced those people of the North and East. The only Buddhist temple in the north- the temple in Nagadipa is out side the mainland. The north and east were on the other hand under the influence of the Catholic Church, a religion which is completely outside their Culture.
The Catholicism was one of the arms - a part of the military baggage the conquering Christian nations, brought with them to convert the indigenous "savages", to their religion to make them better, docile servants of their masters-the occupying armies. It was the role of the Catholic missionaries to turn away the indigenous population from their proper religion, to accept their "foreign" Gods.
The greatest obstacle to their plan of Christianisation of Sri Lanka was Buddhism, which they did their best to keep away from the north and east. The result is that the great philosophical influence of Buddhism is today lost to those people.
After the elimination of terrorism the Government should set about the preservation of the ruins of the Buddhist Monasteries in the north and east, and build temples, not to oust or diminish Hinduism, but to be a complementary influence among the Hindus, as the Hindu Kovils are influencing the Buddhist population in the South. This will help to bring about a better understanding between the communities.
There are Buddhist temples in South India, as well as in
Had their been a Buddhist influence in the north and east, with temples and Buddhist monks and Nuns, there would have been a better understanding between the Communities, and terrorism may not have gained ground, to the extend it has.
This time Jehan Perera has something important to say.
Monday, September 1, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
Commemoration of events perpetuate the memories of them either to enrich human relationship, or make unity and cooperation impossible through hatred those memories invoke.
Year in and year out commemoration of the July,1983, only distances the communities. Every nation in the process of its evolution go through painful periods. But for that matter they do not hinder the enemies of the past, from forgetting the enmity to build new relations of partnership.
In the holocaust, six million Jews, 10 million Poles, 20 million Russians, and 2 million Gypsies were massacred , but for that matter, today the
These sad events in history are now commemorated not to perpetrate hatred to one another but to remind that those events should not happen, not again not any more. Therefore, it is not necessary to commemorate the July 1983, to keep flames of hatred alive, to distance the communities from one another.
The Sinhala people for that matter, are showing today, a tremendous patience, despite the awful murders committed by the terrorists in the past- 84 civilians were massacred in Kebitigollawa, 31 Buddhists Monks were massacred in Awarantalawa, 146 civilians praying at the Sacred Bo tree in Anuradhapura were assassinated, 103 Muslims praying in a Mosque in Kathankudy were shot dead, the list is long. Each one of these incidences could be commemorated to arouse hatred.
It was only last month that a young 22 year old Sinhala Student was assassinated at the
It is time to stop the commemoration of the July,1983 in the interest of the re-unification of the Communities.
It makes us happy as Sri Lankans to see that our people be they Tamils, Muslims or Sinhala,
having left the country, are doing well in foreign lands. In case of those Tamils, who left the Island as a result of the events of the July,1983, the memories are certainly hard to bear, but life has to continue, not with hatred towards those who brought them the sadness of separation from their motherland in mind, but with the intellectual awakening of the necessity to pardon those who had erred, without revenge in mind, but compassion and goodwill to the people of their motherland.
This should be the mission of intellectuals like Jehan Perera, to build a bridges between the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities in
They should be made to understand that the financial contributions made to the Terrorists, is only to make the terrorists fight relentlessly massacring all those opposing them including the Tamils themselves, to realise the dream of just one man –Prabhakaran. That is not the dream of the ordinary Tamil people who only want to live peacefully together with the other communities.
July,1983 is the past and nobody wants to repeat that event once again, therefore it should not be made an occasion to commemorate, but an occasion to forget and forgive, because the Sinhala people have since then shown exemplary patience, tolerance, peaceful generosity. In their continued support for the " idyllic vision " of a homeland, the Tamil diaspora only alienates themselves from the motherland and its people.
The motherland which they were forced "on their own" to leave, is still there as it was when they left, as an un-mutilated whole, for them to return and feel at home. A 54 percent of the Tamil population of
Jehan Perera is certainly a good hearted man who feels the pains of others, and specially those who had been denied or believe to have been denied to have a say in what is exactly going on in
But intellectuals like Mr. Jehan Perera, should attempt to show that this notion of a separate Tamil homeland is a grievous mistake on the part of the terrorists. Living in foreign lands, the Tamil diaspora sees how the political issues are solved in the countries which they have made their home, democratically without resort to arms and terror.
Mr. Jehan Perera ofcause understands this and he does not seem to be the paid agent of the LTTE I believed him to be, for he says, "………………..This means that if the Tamil diaspora wishes to come to the aid of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, they need to be prepared to engage constructively with the Sri Lankan state, and find ways to do so. It also means that the Tamil diaspora has to reconsider its separatist option and be prepared to accommodate themselves to the reality that the LTTE's military force ( I would say LTTE terror), will not win peace, happiness and prosperity for the Tamil people in the homeland."
The point is how to reach the Tamil diaspora to turn them away from the confidence they had placed on the LTTE terror group. I have seen one or two Tamil journalists writing to the Sri Lanka Guardian, who could perhaps change the attitude of the Tamil diaspora. One of them is Dr.Noel Nadesan, the Editor in Chief of the Uthayam, the Tamil Community News Paper in Australia.
In my opinion the time has come when we should bury our cudgels and stop bashing the President of Sri Lanka who is without doubt a good man who is able to accept all points of view and unite the Communities. We have to unite without further division and bring in all factions to build our motherland to be a peaceful happy place for all of us to live together.
In saying that I wish to quote from what Mr.Jehan Perera says in conclusion, "……….wherever there are members of the Indian diaspora,
Barack Obama & Minority
Friday, August 29, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
On the 27 August,2008,
The nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for the Presidential election of
In proposing his nomination President Bill Clinton put it in strong terms that
It is indeed an example for little nations like ours to set aside our differences and unite for progress and development. We will not be able to rise above our state of under development as long as we hold onto our ethnic problems, putting all our ills to the fact of our communal difference.
The Afro Americans had gone through untold misery in the hands of the White Americans. They were massacred, lynched, raped, hanged,burnt alive, made to live in fear of death under the hands of an inhuman Klu Klux Clan There leaders were assassinated. Despite all that humiliation and suffering, they were able surmount them to be a responsible, recognised, and respected people of the American Nation.
But the Tamils unable to surmount the tragedies that affected them hark back to the July 83s, the riots that caused Tamil tragedies, and live continuously brandishing the memories of them, renewing hatred to the majority community.
A Tamil writer called Peter Ratnadurai writing to the Sri Lanka Guardian, shamelessly distorts facts misinterpreting situations. Referring to the recent polls he says, "……as the election results show, there are still large sections of the Sinhala community that believe in a military solution to the ethnic conflict".
The military solution is to the terrorism, which this man interprets as the ethnic problem. His mind is so biased he cannot see the difference between the terrorism and the ethnic problem. He continues his Sinhala bashing stating, "If only the Sinhala people were not so fickle, they would remember that, as late as the turn of the century, they heard all the same tough talk; seen all the record-breaking military spending; and partied at the capture of many Tamil towns and cities. Should sanity prevail, they would realise that doing the same thing over and over again, be it on a larger scale, will not produce fundamentally different results."
How can we, with people like this turn tables to the past and look forward to a different future of peace and prosperity. He asks the Sinhala people to learn lessons from the past, without he himself not learning any lessons. They prefer to live with festering sores with maggots in them, taking every opportunity to lash out at the Sinhala people for what they had been, and what they are.
This is the tragedy that had befallen on us. Unless we forget these and turn a new leaf, and begin life afresh we will never dream of one day reaching the political heights reached by the American people.
On the other side we have people like, Mangala Samaraweera, Ranil Wickramasinghe, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Rauf Hakhim, who make us wonder how we would ever progress into being a Nation. One sees in these people the extent of decadence into which we have fallen. They have no ambition for the country, to build itself into a dominant Nation in
American people are either Republicans or Democrats. They have no political parties for Africans, Indians, Chinese, Muslims or Porto Rican. That is how they were able to bury their ethnic difference. Why cannot we be like them- the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim people, in political parties that do not identify the ethnic difference ? Would not that be a first step to end the ethnic problem ?
Let us hope that the American People will vote Barack Obama as the President of the
An ordinary man's after poll contemplation on political problems of Sri Lanka
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
by Charles. S. Perera
The Provincial Council Elections of the 23rd August, was a demonstration of peoples' demand for an end to terrorism, and the confidence they have placed on the President Mahinda Rajapakse as the one who is capable of responding to this popular demand.
In analysing the peoples' choice at the polls, one should be careful not to not mix ,(1) the liberation of the civilian population in Wanni, (2) the rampant corruption, and (3) the ethnic problem. These are three different problems, which in my opinion were not uppermost in the minds of the voters. The solution to these three different problems, have to be found in a sequential order, one at a time.
If the political analyst is a Tamil, you can bet your " last rupee", that the racial hatred towards the majority community will be seen through the analysis, with the assertion that there are those of the majority community who seek to dominate the minority communities. The relevance of this argument may not have any direct relation to the topic under analysis, nevertheless, rhetoric of hatred has to be spewed out. The "cancer" is this mental attitude, which stops the Tamil political analysts from thinking beyond the so called "majorities' desire to dominate the minorities". It is this biased opinion, perhaps springing from an inferiority complex, which is the root cause of the "ethnic problem".
If we are to profit from the results of the polls, after twenty five years of spouting venom at the Sinhala majority in various ways, and the possible end to terrorism which is in the horizon, we should make these two events the catalyst to rid ourselves of all prejudices with intelligent apperception of the different aspects of the problem, that keep the Tamil and the Sinhala Communities away from a meaningful integration.
On the other hand, the Sinhala people, who would analyse the political situation after the polls keeping the "ethnic problem" in mind , and bracing to the continuous potshots taken at them as the " majority", by unconcerned Tamil racists, they will be awakened to the fact that they are after all the "majority", and question what right the 13 percent of the Tamil Community has, to ask for equal rights. Therefore, it is pertinent to ask why the heavens do these morons of Tamil political analysts, have to systematically broach the question of Sinhala majority. They should merely ask for the rights of the Tamil speaking people, not claiming to equate themselves to a majority.
However, it has to be emphasised, that the Sinhala people do not claim special rights over and above the minority communities. It is only a figment of the biased, complexed minds of the militant Tamils-the politicians, journalists, and political analysts. Therefore, it is relevant to ask what, after all, are the rights that the Majority Sinhala Community enjoy, that the minority communities are deprived of ( other than the language )? This claim for equal rights is a creation of the interested politicians beginning from Ponnambalm, Chelvanayagam, and the rest, to wield political power within their communities. For the last 25 years I have heard about an existing "ethnic problem", without any one explaining what exactly is this "ethnic problem".
Of course, the Sinhala people have a special claim which they profess as a duty to save, for which in a way the Sinhala Buddhist soldiers are giving their lives in numbers to rid this blessed
This claim the Sinhala people make, is not in any way to subordinate the rights of the Tamil, Muslim, and the people of other faiths. On the other hand the preservation of this
That said, every one agrees , that the Tamil Speaking Communities( Tamils and Muslims) should be given the right to use their mother tongue Tamil, in all correspondence with the government and receive replies in the same language, thus giving Tamil the same official status as the Sinhala Language. Secondly one also agrees that the Tamils should be given equal opportunities in education , without any racial discrimination. Thirdly , one agrees further more that there should not be any racial discrimination in providing employment opportunities to the persons of the three communities.
These are matters that could be settled without calling names to each other, harbouring intense racial hatred towards the Sinhala, because they happen to be the "Majority". This continued anti Sinhala racism, condemning every thing connected with the Sinhala, such as their religion- Buddhism, their history, their historical chronicle- the Mahavansa, may harden the Sinhala peoples' attitude towards the Tamil Community, which will not help to construct a durable Unity of Communities.
There is no question now, for the army to withdraw from Wanni without having removed the terrorist scourge. As long as the canker of it continues, there would never be an opportunity for the civilians in the Wanni to revolt against the terrorists.
The UNP and the JVP are adopting a divisive political attitude. Their continued opposition is to matters that the Government will attend to according to its election manifesto Mahinda Chintanaya, when the times would be propitious after the elimination of the terrorists, which is its priority at the moment.
The people who vote for the UNP are the people who are still attached to the old UNP of the D.S.Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, CWW Kannangara, A.Ratnayake, DB Wijetunga and other role model politicians, and those who inherited an old guard political affection to the UNP, from their parents, and the elders. The People, on the other hand, seems to be running away from Ranil Wickramasinghe, with his band of windbags, the market politicians- Lakshman Kiriella , Tissa Attanayake, SB Dissanayake, and the rest. If the UNP leadership is not changed, the present UNP politicians will soon end up in the political morass, despite their cache of the block votes, which seems to seep from the seams.
Since the departure of Wimal Weerawansa, JVP has lost its political attraction. Amarasinghe, Lalkantha, and now Anura Dissanayake drive people away from the JVP. These three are negative personalities that have dimmed the light of an essential young political group which had vast possibilities, and a bright political future. The ordinary members of the JVP should revolt against its present outmoded leadership to bring back the break away group lead by Wimal Weerawansa, and be a part of the governing body, if it wants to revitalise its political image. Lal Kantha that opposes every thing, and Anura Dissanayake who speaks of blood baths, hark back to the days of JVP's tumultuous revolutionary period, which may frighten away the people from JVP.
Mahinda Rajapase is a great political figure- a rare gem in the political landscape. He is a world class political leader, a statesman. He is a charismatic politicians, who has a personal magnetism that exudes confidence. He is sincere and dedicated to the political cause he spouses to unite the people without discriminating against their racial, or religious differences.
He is a genuine leader of the people, who is simple, who is uncomplicated, who thinks like them, and acts like them. He is a person who could be identified with the ordinary masses.
Mahinda Rajapakse is the only political leader among the many we have had, who having evaluated the immense material and intellectual riches of the nation, is driven by a passion to muster these potentials to develop the nation economically, socially and culturally to bring it in line with any developed country in the world.
As an example from the developing countries, we could mention the political leaders of
It is an insult to one's intelligence to compare Mahinda Rajapakse, to Ranil Wickramasinghe who has no leadership qualities- a politicl moron.. He is a politician running after his own gain, like a grey hound running after the lure. People of the North and East will surely place their trust in Mahinda Rajapakse, rather than on Ranil Wickramasinghe. It is already evident in the East. If the people of North and East do not trust Mahind Rajapakse, it would be because they are lead by their nose by selfish political leaders and Ullemas, for whom the political vision for our country does not go beyond the end of their noses.
However, the Provincial Council elections show that the ordinary Tamil and Muslim people are turning to Mahinda Rajapakse, and they are ready to turn away from the old Political Parties like the CWC of Thondamans, and the SLMC of Rauf Hakhim, that they were forced to follow through sentimental attachment roused by rhetoric, or zealotry( or Muslims Religious Councils).
Once the war against terrorism is over the Government may have the time to turn to eliminate corruption, set up development projects, begin progressive programmes to unite the communities in to a Nation of Lankans , bound by the common object of brining peace and prosperity. In order to make it a reality we should not turn away from now available forces, to seek alternative forces else where, in another time.
To chew and digest, to the Tamils, and the Muslims of Sri Lanka, who seem to consider the Sinhala majority a barrier to unity and development of Sri Lanka, I give below an extract of Michelle Obama's speech made on the opening day of the Democratic Convention in Denver, "…..You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party, if any, you belong to. You see, that's just not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in
Bruce Fein makes himself liable to criminal charges for deformation, libel, and slander
Thursday, August 21, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
I am a jurist myself and to see Bruce Fein a Washington Attorney, writing to the Washington Times on "Sri Lanka Officials Complicit in Tamil Genocide ?" ( 20.8.2008), making baseless allegation against responsible persons in
This is character assassination on misinformation to bring disrepute to persons, which is condemned in civilized society. Mr. Fein is acting like an uneducated village hag who carries false libellous information of persons from house to house through sheer hate and ill will. Mr. Fein in defending the terrorists who have killed many eminent persons of both Sinhala and Tamil Communities of my country, is writing to earn blood money, He does not seem even to understanding the correct meaning of the words he uses.
Genocide is a systematic murder for the extermination of a race or a culture The government of
United States of America though often interferes into the affaires of sovereign states, through its self claimed right to police the world, may not pay heed to a coyote of a citizen howling absurdities against the Government of Sri Lanka and its accredited persons. It needs no great intelligence to understand that the Sri Lanka officials he names, are engaged in a justifiable retaliatary military action to get rid of a menace to the people and the country, in the form of a group of terrorists, accepted by people more informed than Mr;Fein as the most ruthless group of terrorists in the world.
If Mr. Fein's principle attempt is to get the American State Depoartment to make investigations on Mr. Gotabhay Rajapkse to divest him of his American Citizenship, it may not have the accepted effect, if the investigators are free intelligent persons, which I am sure they are. Such investigators will find that Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakse's role as an Official of the Government of Sri Lanka has brought him credit, making him acceptable as a honourable citizen of
I would like to ask Mr. Fein whether he has done any thing creditable in his life that would make the American people be proud of him. Has Mr. Fein done any act of heroism, initiated any action to help the unprivileged, and the needy ? Has he been to any place in the world where there is human suffering and invested himself to find out how their suffering could be alleviated ? Mr. Fein seems to be in the habit of writing a good number of poison pen letters based on meagre, unverified information, enjoying his cosy comforts, but he seems to be one who dares not step out side to bring a little comfort to those suffering in ghettoes or backstreet in
But Gotabhaya Rajapakse who Mr. Fein tries to vilify, insult, defame and denigrate, is a far greater person than Mr. Fein would ever be. Mr.Bruce Fein may never reach the heights Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakse has reached. He was a war hero, before he became a citizen of
One other matter comes to my mind before I go back to read Mr.Feins slanderous garbage. Some time back the Government of Australia, offered a public apology to the Australian Aborigines for the past mistreatments. Has the American Government offered an apology to the American Indians – the Mohawk, Creeks, Navajos, Zunis, Apachis, Comanches , Blackfoots and so on ? If you are working to bringing violators of human rights before the American State Departments OSI, why accuse people for imagined genocides in a far away country like
As far as
Problem in Sri Lanka Mr. Fein is simple. I will try to give it shortly. We in
Sinhala and Tamils have their very early beginnings in
Muslims have their own religion Islamism and use both Tamil and Sinhala. Language wise the Muslims are closer to the Tamils. They live in villages close to Tamil or Sinhala villages and have a close relationship with both Sinhala and Tamil Communities. There is no intermarriage between the Muslims and the Sinhala or Tamils, but that does not stop Muslims keeping Sinhala or Tamil mistresses.
From time to time there had been tensions between the communities, and riots on three or four occasions There were massacres on both sides but never took the proportion of a genocide.
The problems that reached riot proportion, were the result of the Tamil Politicians, who asked for same rights enjoyed by the Sinhala majority. The ordinary Tamils cared less for equal rights, but they were brought into it through their sentimental attachment to the utterances of their politicians.
The Sinhala being the majority Community, were the majority at elections and formed governments, with consenting Tamils and Muslim political parties.. It was in 1956 that a government made Sinhala the Official language. The Tamils opposed this and that was the beginning of the politics of conflict.. The governments tried to reduce the effect of the legislation by making Tamil the second language.
In addition to that, there were only two Universities at the beginning and all students who passed the University entrance could not be admitted to the Universities, and the government passed legislation for admission of students according to a percentage system, that affected the Tamil Students.
This caused additional problems vis à vis employment. There were lot of students left without employment. This mostly affected the students from
The notion of a separate
The youths who took to arms became terrorists, murdering moderate Tamils, and intellectuals, and all their opponents. Money poured into the terrorist, from the Tamil diaspora, with which they bought arms and modern armaments, and trained kidnapped young women as human bombs.
The government forces which were not well armed, and lacked equipment to meet the superior armed power of the terrorists became the targets of the terrorists, killing them in large numbers. In this situation, the terrorists not being ready to come for a peace settlement, the government was forced to eliminate them though military action. The government forces had to be revitalised, equipped and trained. This enormous work was undertaken by the President of Sri Lanka Mhainda Rajapakse, with Gotabhaya Rajapakse and the Commander of the Army Sarth Fonseka.
Mr. Fein now has the basic information. The rest that Mr. Fein pretends to know are the feedings given to him by the Tamils, who have developed an anti Sinhala mentality. Therefore before Mr. Fein mixes up the real issues in
Successive governments made all possible efforts to settle the terrorist problem through negotiations, but the terrorist throughout stood firm on their position of the demand for the establishment of a separate
It was then that he called his brother Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who is an experienced retired army officer, from
The government forces led by the Commanders of the Armed Forces, Commander of the Army Sarath Fonseka, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse carried out a successful military campaign against the terrorists and the terrorist only. It was not at all against the Tamil people. Let alone a genocide, it was not even military action against the Tamil people.
In fact the strategy was to destroy, weaken and eliminate the terrorist, without putting the Tamil civilians in the areas controlled by the terrorists, in danger. Basil Rajapakse looked after the possible social welfare of the Tamil people caught in the areas controlled by the terrorist, by providing food, medicine and other necessities, and even education facilities.
Where is then the so called genocide. As everyone knows the greatest danger to humanity today is the wide spread terrorism. The
Mr. Bruce Fein should understand that the use of denigrative terms in describing eminent persons of my country, making false accusations based on unverified facts make him liable for legal action for deformation, libel, and slander.
Jehan Perera and his three parameters for a lasting peace.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
Jehan Perera in the Sri Lanka Guardian of the 12 August,2008 spells out " The Three Basic Parameters for Lasting Peace ". I was happy as at last some one has found the solution for peace and happiness in
He starts by questioning why the government has set an ultimatum for the deserters from the armed forces to return to duty. He says it is an indication of the existing stresses in society due to the intensity of the war in the north. The advancing army needs more man power to secure newly captured areas, that being a bigger problem in the North than it was in the East.
North is mono-ethnic and is different from multi-ethnic east. In the north things want be so easy, for the army Jehan Perera says, as it was in the east . The Sinhala speaking government forces will have difficulty getting information on LTTE movements from the Tamil speaking population.
LTTE resistance will be greater in the north. Here he makes a foolish statement to down play the capability of the government forces, by saying that in the east the LTTE withdrew its army rather than offer resistance. Jehan Perera makes it appear that the army did not win a battle over the LTTE to regain the east, it is he says, as if the LTTE just turned it over to them. He warns the government forces, that they will have more problems in the north as the LTTE has no where else to go and will fight with their back to the wall.
Jehan Perera in his attempt to draw International sympathy to the cause of the LTTE terrorist, does not see a difference between the government forces, and the terrorists. It seems to me that it is with the motive to get the intervention of the International community, that he writes with regard to humanitarian crisis, before he gives his three basic parameters for peace. He says, that as the army advances using their long range artillery , there would be more people displaced from their villages, causing damage to civilian infrastructure, even if they are denied by the military spokes person. However, to show his objectivity he mentions, that LTTE sets up camps in the vicinity of civilian settlements, which may cause collateral implications on the civilian population.
He cites statistics, that in July alone there were 50,000 displaced persons, which adds to the previous numbers. The humanitarian organizations are unable to attend to the needs of the IDPs for shelter, water , and sanitation, due to restrictions placed upon them by the government, to stop these facilities finding their way to the LTTE. Jehan Perera speaks of humanitarian organisations without mentioning the efforts of the government to bring assistance to the displaced civilians.
Jehan Perera states, that the welfare of Sri Lankan citizens ought not to be subordinated to military necessities. He deliberately avoids saying, that the government despite all difficulties sends food and medicine, and provides Education and Health facilities to the North despite the fact, that some or most of the food and medicine sent for the civilians are consumed also by the terrorists themselves. He brings in the Catholic Bishop of Mannar to support his painting of a picture of the plight of the IDPs sheltered under the way side trees, forgotten by the government which feeds only its armed forces.
All that Jehan Perera, and the Good Bishop say are again for the information of the International Community. The truth he hides, behind the destitution he describes, resulting from the war against terrorism. He does not speak of the Schools and the Hospitals in the areas controlled by the terrorist, that had been utilised by them as shelters from which to attack the government forces. This is seen from the images sent from the areas captured by the government forces.
So far all what he had said is to minimise the effort of the Government Forces to liberate North from the terrorists, as they did in the East. He insists with his arguments, that what is awaiting the Government Forces in the north, is quite different from what it had been in the East-which was offered to the Government forces by the terrorist, who withdrew its cadre from the east to defend the North.
Lasting peace.
Jehan Perera finally comes to offer his three parameters for lasting peace. But h cannot leave out the pleas of the Bishop Joseph. Perhaps Jehan Perera has forgotten the Catholic Action that was active in 1960s in
It was thanks to Mr. Mettananda and others of the Bauddha Jathika Balavegaya that there was a renaissance of Buddhism, putting an end to the secret scheming of the Catholic Church. Catholic Church had always been against a revival of Buddhism after colonialism. It had been behind the Catholic Army Officers Coup in 1962 to overthrow the government of Mr. Bandaranaike. It will still like International Intervention in
Therefore, it is not necessary to repeat what the Bishops and Archbishops say to substantiate his arguments. They may very well use terrorism to fulfil their failed ambitions of the former times, and will not stand by the Government of Sri Lanka. However, quoting Bishop Joseph, Perera says the military imperatives have taken priority and the government is unlikely to listen to the pleas of the Bishop, as it would not do any thing that can jeopardize its military effort.
This is not true as the planning and execution of the "war" against terrorism has been handed over to the Armed Forces, which act independent of political interference. And the government carries on different development programmes, despite all anti democratic tactics employed by the International Community, the UN and the EU, using "violation of human rights" as a new form of obstacle to hinder the progress of developing countries
Only logical solution for the present impasse for progressive development of the country lies in the elimination of terrorism. To achieve that it depends not only on the Government and its security forces, but also on the people- including Jehan Perera and Bishops of the Catholic Church. They should understand the bonafides, and the sincerity of the efforts of the government , and demand the terrorists to give up their "logic" of resisting defeat, and lay down arms and surrender to the government to save the suffering of the IDPs, and stop further deaths of both the mislead terrorist cadre, and the soldiers of the armed forces.
A war situation whether it is a declared war between countries, or simple incursions into areas occupied by terrorists has unfortunate consequences. The areas under artillery attacks will be special high security areas, and looking for democracy in such a situation is a foolish undertaking, and the rule of law may be in temporary suspension.
During the world wars those who publicly challenged or criticized the "logic of war", and proposed alternative courses of action were considered committing high treason and were imprisoned. It may be necessary for the government to consider similar action to stop critics who through their assumed superior wisdom may put in danger the soldiers and the civilians hemmed between the warring parties.
Apparently Jehan Perera has no parameters for lasting peace, for he borrows ideas from Fr; Tissa Balasuriya. Jehan Perera speaks of draft proposals for peace made by Fr. Balasuriya, one of which had been accepted by a majority of the Tamils, including expatriates, and condemned by the Sinhala considering it Fr. Balasuriya's modus operandi, to keep the LTTE terrorists from being militarily defeated (which is more likely).
Then in a subsequent draft where Fr.Balasuriya had included a commitment to lay down arms by the LTTE terrorists, the Tamil support had dropped. Jehan Perera concludes from this experience of the submission of the draft proposals by Fr.Balasuriya, that on both sides of the ethnic divide the belief in the armed struggle continues to retain its hold.
Finally, as war is the path to endless suffering, which Sri Lanka needs to get off if it is to prosper, proposes his famous parameters for lasting peace: (a) a united country, (2) a federal based political solution implemented by the government, and (3) the laying down of arms by the LTTE
I do not wish to comment on his parameters. But I would suggest Mr. Jehan Perera, to understand: (1) the mentality of the terrorists, (2) Understand the mentality of some of those who try to benefit from a bad situation, (3) demand the terrorists to lay down arms and at least now negotiate a peace settlement, (4) stop putting the blame on an elected responsible government, and (5) help the Government in its effort to eliminate terrorism and use his experience, and the ability write , to work for the unity of the three main Communities of Sri Lanka.
The three parameters I would suggest for lasting peace are (1) eliminate terrorists, (2) work for a real communal unity, without bias towards the Sinhala Community because they are the majority, (3) subordinate communal identity to a larger Lankan National Identity.
It is surprising that Jehan Perera had not used the word "terrorists " even once in his article
Ethnic Problem was the making of the British Colonial Rulers, and the Tamil Politicians.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
A.J.N.Selladurai's article, " Devolution of power is all that is required", which appeared in the Sri Lanka Guardian on 6 August,2008, need no reply as it is only a reflection of his mental hatred and bias against the Sinhala Buddhists majority. But Sinhala being accused for all ills in
Any country has a majority, in
The difference in Sri Lank arose due to the fact that it had been a Colony of many foreign Nations. The Sinhala had always been the majority in Sri Lanka, and the Sinhala had always been Buddhists, since the coming of Venerable Mahinda, until Sri Lanka was first conquered and colonised by the Portuguese in the 16 Century, then the Dutch, in the 17 century, and last of all the British in the 19th Century.
Due to Sri Lankas geographical situation , there had been incursions in to
All that is history. You may accept it as history or reject it. It is immaterial. It is best leave history in the past without making it a barrier for progress now. There had been Tamil invaders, and Tamil settlers who came along with them. However, the Tamils were never the majority in
The British rule was not a happy period for
The British colonialists prepared themselves for a possible uprising against them by all communities lead by the Sinhala majority, by taking the minority ethnic groups into their confidence offering them official positions.
Mr. SWRD Bandaranaike, was preparing to re-establish pre-colonial situation of Sinhala majority living in peace with their Tamil and Muslim compatriots as a nation. removing the ethnic, religious, and the class differences created by the Colonialists.
It was in this effort, that interested parties accentuated the ethnic difference. The Tamil Politicians, like Ponnambalam, Chelvanayagam ,Sundaralingam, developed a certain Tamil supremacism, which exploded into Tamil racism against the Sinhala. This Tamil supremacism manifested in their claim of equal rights for the Tamils. That was the beginning of the ethnic problem.
It is easy to accuse the Sinhala of being supremacists as they are the majority, but they were neither supremacists, nor racists. The Sinhala only as the official language claimed by SWRD Bandaranaike was not an election gimmick. It was his aim to re-establish an independent Sri Lankan Nation, by giving back to the Sinhala people, who were humiliated neglected, and stripped of their rights, that which had been taken away from them.
The intention of introducing Sinhala Only was never to " hit" the Tamils as Mr.Selladurai says. It was interpreted that way by the ambitious Tamil politicians, who dreamt of separation, contrary to the unity that the Sinhala wanted.
SWRDBandaranayake may be seen as a nationalist by those who do not try to understand to what extent our country had been damaged by the Colonial Rulers, by dividing its people, robbing its treasures, forcing a foreign culture, a foreign religion, and bringing coolies from
D.S.Senanayake and the rest of the National leaders who fought for independence, were in a state of mental bondage to the Colonial Rulers, and did not break away from the culture and the political system they inherited. SWRD Bandaranayake observing this lethargic state into which they had fallen, wanted to make the newly won
SWRD Bandaranaike gave back to the people a national pride, a pride of being on their own, independent from Colonialism, and their culture. SWRD Bandaranaike did not pave the way for the ethnic divide. It was the British colonialists who laid the foundation of the ethnic divide. It was then fortified and put on a pedestal by the Tamil politicians who had other agendas.
The Dry Zone of Sri Lanka was once the granary of
Devolution of Political power is not the panacea that will solve all problems. There should be a change of attitudes. The Sinhala Buddhists do not claim superiority over the Tamils and the Muslims. The Sinhala people want to live with other communities sharing the common motherland and its riches, without interfering into each others lives. What would end the ethnic wide is, not the devolution of power, but the sincere, and genuine acceptance of being a part of a Nation, without having any prejudice against each other's ethnic difference.
The Sinhala people live in the South along with the Tamils and Muslims. The Imbalance of development was not a measure taken purposely to harm the Tamil or the Muslim people. The successive governments of
The Tamils should stop untiringly throwing insults at the Sinhala, siting "Mahavamsa mythology" and Mahavamsa mindset. One should think of the Soldiers dying in numbers, to free
Therefore, let us forget all this rantings about the Sinhala Buddhists, sadness of the black July, the Heroes' Day Speeches, and the homeland concepts, to grow into being a Great Nation, where we are all brothers and sisters. We should not forget that those Western Nations who show concern to us are in reality, moving to benefit from our differences and conflicts.
In Mahinda Rajapakse we have the correct leadership to build our Nation. Let us stop parading our little differences and join hands forgetting the past, to build a better future, for ourselves and our children, for that cannot be done alone as Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, but as a one Great Nation –Nation of Sri Lankans.
Wesley Muthiah and Our Left
Sunday, August 3, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
On the 4 August,2008, our dear friend Wesley, parted from us leaving a vacuum among those who loved him, and all those who had come to know him well. A memorial to Commemorate his life and work will be held in
More often, people are taken for granted when they are living and active. But once a person has departed, we begin to see him differently, for what he was in reality, we question, we begin to see what is missing since he had left us, and we measure him from the work, and memories he had left behind.
Wesley seemed to be a man in a hurry, a man who did not waste time with small talk, but came strait to the subject he had in mind, and walked away cheerfully as he came, leaving behind an aura of his endearing personality, friendly disposition, and inherent goodness.
That is how I remember him, when I met him fifty years ago in Matale. He spoke to me about socialism, and having gauged my interest in what he had been talking, and being assured of my political sympathies, invited me to his home to meet a few of his friends with whom he proposed to form a LSSP Group in Matale. He was able to generate the enthusiasm of every one present and the Matale LSSP Group , thanks to him, took wings that day. It turned out to become an active group.
Wesley was a Labour Officer, in Matale, and his work took him to the tea plantations, where he met the poorest of the poor in
Even after leaving
Wesley was a socialists, who did not seek fame, popularity, political position, financial gain or self aggrandisement. He was a selfless man- a kind we rarely meet. He had taken away the " I , and Me " complex, giving himself selflessly to the cause of LSSP. At the time he organised the LSSP Group in
He was dedicated to the cause of LSSP, and stood by it unwaveringly through out its different phases of existence. Even when every thing was bleak , Wesley was looking forward to a resurgence of the LSSP.
Marx's dictum that the religion is the opium of the masses, was taken out of context by the forces against Marxism to make it unpopular. But Marxism stood for a political system that could alleviate the suffering of the poor masses. The world has changed and the Church has evolved. When the Roman rich sought entertainment, throwing gladiators into arenas to meet their death, Jesus spread the words of love and peace to the poor Romans. Significantly, Jesus performed miracles for the benefit of the poor.
Wesley knew to separate religion, from politics. He was a Christian not merely because his father was a Pastor, but because he felt the Presence of God. He did not take issues with any religion. Once when I said that Buddhism dos not believe in a self, he turned to me with a smile and said, "I breath therefore I am".
He with his gentle ways, was able to bring his Church to the cause of socialism. His beloved wife, had even organised needlework, and language classes to the poor members of the congregation of their Church in
Socialism was in his blood, it came from within him. It made him frank, honest and likeable. He was comfortable in a socialist surrounding, wherever it was. He once came to
He was an endearing person, to my knowledge he made only friends, and no enemies. He would hardly say a harsh word, though he liked to tease others, and laugh when they take offence ! He did not impose his point of view. He accepted criticism of the LSSP, and gave possible reasons for the errors committed by the Party. However, if the criticism was not justified he would quote from books, relate incidents and go all out to prove that the criticism was not justified.
The greatest contribution of Wesley, not only to the LSSP and the Left Moment of Sri Lanka but also to future generations of politicians, historians, and students, is his writings. When the Public Records Office of London released the secret files documenting
He contacted late Sydney Wanasinghe, a fellow member of the Party and got him interested in his projected. This partnership, resulted in the issue of the first book, "Britain, World War 2 & the Sama Samjists", in January,1996, followed by, " Bracegirdle Affair" (1998), " We Were Making History", (2002), "The Case for Socialism"(2004), "Two Languages One Nation-One Language Two Nations" (2005), " Socialist Women of Sri Lanka" (2006), and "Colvin R de Silva: Selected speeches and writings", (2007).
These works will stand a monument to Wesley's dedication to the cause of LSSP, and the Left Movement of Sri Lanka.
His beloved wife Tencey- patient and devoted stood by him through out his long service to the cause of the LSSP and the Socialist Left Movement of Sri Lanka. Later on he had the support of his two affectionate sons Ninesh and Romesh, and then his two daughters-in-law Nina and Geeta. He was a happy grandfather, and adored his grandson Rawishan.
May he Rest in Peace
Response to Mr. N.Pullenayagam: What do the Tamils really want ?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
by Charles.S.Perera
Mr.N.Pullenayagam writing to Sri Lanka Guardian on he 30 March,2008, says, that all Tamils in Sri Lanka wants an Eelam is only an assumption. But the Tamils object to being second class citizens, and want to be regarded as equal citizens in every way with the Sinhalaese. Not having this equal status with the Sinhala, the Tamil leadership in desperation asked for Eelam in 1976. Even then "… many Tamils did not sincerely want Eelam. They preferred equality of status in an undivided
This then is the core issue, that has driven
The Tamils seeking a separate Eelam, in not being able to be equal to Sinhala, is a wrong way to settle the problem. There are minority communities living in other countries in the world who have the same problem. The black American Community is a good example. They have been fighting for equality with the white Americans for ages. But in doing so they did not ask for a separate State for the Black Americans. But they sought to achieve it differently, not through displaying their blackness, but using their blackness to be identified also as American.
The Black Americans infiltrated into the white American political system as Americans. They did not organise a separate Political Party for the Black Americans, but joined the political parties of the White Americans. The situation is clear in what is going on today in
Does'nt that open the eyes of the Tamils in
By organising separate political parties exclusively for the Tamils, the Tamils themselves have separated them-selves from the Sinhala. Would n't it have been different if there were the political parties not of the Sinhala or the Tamils, but just the political parties of the people of
UNP, SLFP, JVP, MEP, LSSP, CP , and even JHU are not Political Parties with a racial identity. Why cannot the Tamils join one of these parties, and work together with the Sinhala ? If they do that there would be no feeling of separateness between the Sinhala and Tamils.
Mr. Pullenayagam says, " ……
It may be urged by some Sinhalese that there is, in fact, no discrimination against the Tamils. This may appear to be so in theory, but if the Sinhalese were to make private enquiries from their Tamil friends they will soon realise that, rightly or wrongly, the Tamils and other minorities, feel a sense of discrimination. It is this feeling of discrimination that must be set right."
This feeling of a sense of discrimination comes from the fact that the Tamils are seeking a separate identity from the Sinhala. But if the Tamils were to be like the Black Americans, and were to work politically together with the Sinhala in the same political parties, wouldn't it be easy to be equal in every way to Sinhala, and one day have a Tamil President in Sri Lanka ?
Response:The Minorities have suffered enough.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
by Charles S. Perera
"The world is fast changing, but
This is how the Sri Lanka Guardian begins it editorial of the 6 March,2008. It is a strange editorial because it speaks of a different
It is true that in most of the countries in the world the minorities have been absorbed in to the larger majority. But to be accepted and accommodated as a part of their nation's society and embracing them as people in an accommodative way, the minorities have also contributed by making an effort to change their minority back ground , by learning the language of the majority, accepting the culture of the majority and by taking an oath of being respectful and loyal to the country of adoption.
In
What has gone wrong with
The writer of these scathing remarks, has forgotten it is more respectful to leave the religion out of political discussions. Many minority Tamil writers do not stay with their criticism of the majority for their political rivalry, but goes on to criticise and belittle every cultural and historical aspect of the majority, when they write of the plight of
An army which was a decade or two ago, a mere decoration of a developing country humiliated and indiscriminately attacked by a terrorist group, whose armed forces were developed through purchase of modern equipment from the contribution of a minority diaspora full of hate towards the majority, is today not second to any army in the world. This modernised army of Sri Lanka Government, has made the mythical well equipped terrorist forces a dilapidated tin army running away hiding their tails between their legs to hide in their holes, from which they will soon be hunted out.
That is what the modernised army of Sri Lanka- the little drop in the world map, has done. No body, neither the minority diaspora, nor the minority sympathisers of the Terrorists believed that it could happen, and now that it is really happening the minority pro terrorists are raising their voices about a Sri Lanka majority that is alienating and marginalising the minorities. How can the
The writer of the editorial, sees Somawanse's and Weerawanse's as religious bigots surviving on defunct words. What has religious bigotry got to do with the alienation of the minority from the majority. Who is really running away from transforming the different societies, to an inclusive society in
After sixty years of independence, despite a 30 years of a terrorist "war", Sri Lanka is at last seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and progressing in many ways possible despite the high stakes against terrorist war that no body ( except perhaps a few of the minorities) wants.
It is not correct to make general remarks such as that "
This excerpt from the Guardian Editorial, " Tamil terrorism is the manifestation of the unwilling majority Sinhalese rule to accommodate the minorities with open heart and dignity. Unfortunately, the Sinhala mindset is yet to change significantly to accommodate the minorities magnanimously with due respect and provision of power sharing to manage themselves within the island nation of
The majority in
This idea of an ethnic problem is new. The only areas that one could point out as an ethnic problem areas, are the language and the University admission at a percentage rate according to the population. But those are matters that could easily be settled.
Unlike in other countries like
In France Muslims girls were not allowed to enter schools with the chadors. There are no separate schools for French people of Arab , Chinese, Vietnamese, or African origin. In
In
This could happen in
JHU and JVP are not extremists, they are not against the minorities. The extremists in
The Guardian Editorial is well written, and it would be a great boon, if the editor would write editorials without racial hatred , to bring the communities together to build a harmonious Sri Lankan Nation of all our people, rather than to keep them divided, and apart from one another.
