By Raj Gonsalkorale
The Western lecture circuit led by British Foreign Secretary David Milliband has begun where they left just prior to the Sri Lankan government’s emphatic defeat of LTTE militarism. True the victory came at a cost. Not only did terrorists, who are also sons and daughters of the Sri Lankan soil die, but many brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives to the motherland they dearly loved, also died. In the crossfire, many innocent civilians also lost their lives and their homes and their livelihoods.
No war is clinical and precise to the extent that only combatants perish. Surely David Milliband does not think there is such a world? He could not have such a short memory to have forgotten Iraq, where hundreds and thousands of civilians died in a mindless war that his Labor party prosecuted, and where many civilians are being killed now in Pakistan and Afghanistan?
David Milliband, the pretender to the Labour leadership, made many behind the scenes moves to take over from Gordon Brown when the latter was nearly at the brink of being replaced a couple of years ago. He is trying to establish his leadership credentials, and hence his frequent posturing on the Sri Lankan conflict. Since the Conservative party is way ahead in national polls in the UK, Milliband is trying to appeal to some conservative voters by being seen as an imperious colonial master who knows what is good for former Colonial outposts like Sri Lanka, and even India, where he was perceived as an arrogant imperialist after a recent visit. Milliband’s advisers may be of the opinion that some elements in the conservative party would find such an attitude appealing and may switch to him and the labor party at the next election as their own leader David Cameron is sounding more and more like a true Laborite rather than a conservative.
Milliband postured even today that he hoped Sri Lanka will now govern for all Sri Lankans and not for some of them. He obviously knows very little about today’s Sri Lanka. There are obviously many things he does not seem to know.
He does not know that Tamil is an official language of the country and has been for long time, enjoying equal rights with the Sinhala language. He has probably swallowed misinformation fed to him by the LTTE and the Diaspora that implementation shortcomings are due to discrimination.
He does not know that there are two national universities in Jaffna and Batticaloa that have several faculties, including medical faculties turning out doctors to work in Sri Lanka and overseas. These universities have suffered over the last few years, as has the civil society in the North and the East, because of the LTTE. Milliband may not acknowledge that.
He does not know that some of the best public schools are in Jaffna, and that they operated even during the height of the battles in the Jaffna Peninsula. He also does not know that Prabakaran’s own children sat for and obtained their GCE OL and AL qualifications from the Sri Lankan Education Department, free of charge, and that Prabakaran’s daughter even secured a place in a Sri Lankan university
He does not know that more than half of the commercial sector in Sri Lanka, primarily in the Western province which is the hub of the commercial sector in the country, is owned and run by Tamils and Muslims.
He probably does not now that the Mayor of the largest municipality in the country, the Colombo municipality, is a Muslim.
He does not know that Sri Lanka has had, and still have Tamils at the highest positions in the Judiciary, the Police, in government administrative positions, universities, in the cabinet, and in the private sector.
Does David Milliband think that Sri Lanka has a different set of rules for these Sri Lankans?
In terms of the conflict, Milliband does not know that the Sri Lankan government has a plan for peace as much as they did for the war. In the East, soon after the LTTE was defeated there, the government embarked on a reconstruction and resettlement effort, and this is going on. It is being coordinated by a government appointed task force. In the political arena, provincial elections were held and the people of the province were given an opportunity to elect their own provincial council. They have their own Chief Minister, not only a Tamil, but a former LTTE terrorist who gave up terrorism and the bullet in favour of the ballot box. Is devolution adequate? No it is not, but it needs to happen progressively.
Another former terrorist, the former LTTE leader in the East, V Muralitharan or Karuna, is now a central government minister, and what even some Sri Lankans do not know let alone Milliband, is that Muralitharan is now a Vice President of the SLFP, the alleged Sinhala chauvinistic citadel of Sri Lanka!
He does not know that the President of Sri Lanka has appointed a similar task force for the North and this task force has already commenced work to identify priorities in the North, and attend to them as soon as possible. Part of the political process in the North is to have municipal elections in Jaffna, followed by provincial elections as soon as that becomes possible and let the people of the North elect their own representatives to canvass on their behalf.
He also does not know that the President appointed an All Party Conference more than one year ago to provide an opportunity for all political parties to sit together and see whether they can find consensus on a political solution to the conflict. The largest Tamil political representation in the Parliament, the TNA, decided to boycott this conference and deny a voice for many Tamils in such an important forum.
Besides this, had they supported the current government instead of the LTTE, they could have held important cabinet positions and taken part in the country’s governance, along with the Sinhalese and the Muslims. The TNA, without availing themselves of opportunities, in both instances, to give voice to the Tamils in important democratic forums in the country, have obviously got in the ears of Milliband and poisoned him to believing that the Sri Lankan government has been partial in the way they have governed the country.
If David Milliband does not know any of these, what does he know about Sri Lanka and contemporary developments to lecture to Sri Lankans about what they should do? It is even a sadder spectacle when an ignorant Milliband advices the likes of Hillary Clinton and some European leaders to believing that Sri Lanka cannot be trusted with an IMF loan.
The problem with Sri Lanka and its authorities is that they either do not know how to give publicity to their achievements or they are loathe to do so as it is not in keeping with their general nature to spin stories like the British and the Americans.
Spin doctors earn much more than medical doctors in the UK and the USA and are highly sought after in those countries as governance is based on spin and not fact. Maybe a Sri Lankan university should commence a faculty of Spin!
Sri Lanka should not and need not spin stories. They should just publicise the truth. Not for consumption by the Milliband’s of the world or the BBC’s of the world, as they can never be satisfied, and certainly not with the truth, but for consumption by Tamils, especially the younger generations living overseas who appear to be very vocal now about non existent genocide, discrimination, lack of opportunities etc, etc. They fail to realize that many Sri Lankans of all ethnicities lack opportunities in Sri Lanka due primarily to the ongoing conflict with the LTTE that has sapped the country of valuable investment money that could have been utilized for developing the country, including in the North and the East, had it not been for the LTTE.
No doubt Sri Lanka has a huge task before it to repair the bodies and minds of many Tamils who have been the victims of the LTTE led rebellion. This can be done if the lecturing stops and lecturers start working with the Sri Lankan authorities to help the IDPs. It can be done if Tamils who protest and shout themselves hoarse can stop funding the LTTE and direct their money and their efforts to help the IDPs they are concerned about.
In the entire three decades that passed, more than 70,000 people have died. These deaths occurred long before the recent battles with the LTTE although some Western countries and Western media tend to slant the truth to give the impression that "thousands have died in the recent battle with the LTTE".
These western countries and western media do not give publicity to the fact that of the 70,000 who have died as a result of LTTE militarism and terrorism, an overwhelming number have been innocent Sinhalese people who lived in the North and the East. If ever genocide has been practiced in this conflict, it has been practiced by the LTTE in the North and the East as they deliberately decimated Sinhala and Muslim populations in the North, and to a lesser degree in the East. To accuse the Sri Lankan government of committing genocide is indeed the height of cheek and absurdity.
Despite this, for some Tamils, the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan government is a greater enemy than Prabakaran and the LTTE. The litany of murders committed by the LTTE under Prabakaran’s leadership has conveniently been forgotten. These Tamils, hopefully a minority, hold the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan government responsible for the IDPs and their plight as they feel that the enemy of the Sri Lankan government has to be their friend however despicable that friend has been even to them, extorting their money and threatening their friends and relatives.
Their initial frustration and anger at the defeat of the LTTE is understandable to a degree. They probably see it as the death of their cause, as they associated the LTTE with their cause and as the champions who furthered their cause. The LTTE and Diaspora spin doctors have had a field day brainwashing Tamils to believing that Sri Lanka is in a time warp and life there for Tamils is worse than what it was for the blacks in South Africa during the Apartheid era. If only they knew there is no such things and that their cause has been worsened by the spin, they would surely turn their backs on those who were responsible for the spin.
Brainwashing the younger generations of Tamils is the worst legacy that elder Tamils can leave to their children and grandchildren. No doubt some of the elder Tamils have suffered humiliation, some discrimination, have lost some loved ones and have lost their homes in Sri Lanka. Their bitterness is understood.
However, they need to see what has happened since then and what Sri Lanka is today and what the world is today compared to the time they were in Sri Lanka. Notwithstanding that things are far from perfect and there is still much more to done, Sri Lanka is ripe with opportunities to make things better for all communities. This is the legacy that should be left with the younger generations, not bitterness, anger and frustration with the Sinhala people.
The elder Tamils must not get their children to look at Sri Lanka only from their eyes and their experiences, although knowing what they may have had to undergo, but encouraging the younger generations to rise above those unhappy experiences in view of what has happened since and the opportunity now available to do more, would be part of the character building process.
These younger generations must know the truth about the LTTE and what they have done to take Tamils in the North and the East many years back and make their situation far worse than what it may have been before the early eighties. They must know that it was the LTTE and not Sri Lankan governments that prevented the development of the North and the East. They must know that it was the LTTE that widened the schisms between some Sinhalese and some Tamils, although an overwhelming majority of Sinhalese and Tamils did not allow this to happen, and they have lived peacefully and co existed as brothers and sisters since those despicable days in July 1983.
President Rajapaksa has correctly articulated the need for a home grown solution to the conflict. This is because the country needs to find its own solution devoid of spin, misinformation and downright falsehoods. Sri Lankans themselves have to find a solution, and for this to happen all Sri Lankans must participate in the process to find the solution. No external personalities, or agencies or countries should be involved in this process, and the likes of David Milliband should no be brought anywhere near that process.
- Asian Tribune -
Comments
Tamils have made enormous
Tamils have made enormous contribution in various fields for the growth and development of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan must realize the importance of future contributions from Tamils and treat them with respect. Buddhists and Hindus have lived together happily and peacefully for ages.
The unfortunate development of this ethnic crisis has been the handiwork of outsiders from the west and as the ethnic conflict has come to an end, we must bury the differences and get back to the good old days of peace and harmony. We must be always careful not to allow western forces to enter the country again, for their entry would result in division and destruction again.
An excellent article. I can
An excellent article. I can add no more than to state that the leading Tamil party TNA was invited by the President in the recent past on 5 separate occasions to discuss issues of importance to Tamils and on all occasions refused to even meet the President.
They have not only let down the tamils, but let down the whole country.
They are worse than the Western Millibands. As the writer correctly stated Milliband could be ignorant of facts, but what is the excuse that TNA MPs have except that they were afraid of getting killed by the LTTE terrorists.
The strategy of the Sri
The strategy of the Sri Lankan Tamil political leaders in their relentless pursuit of a Federal solution has been NON-PARTICIPATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS. While over-represented in Parliament, well in excess of their population, they walked away from any situation in which they could bring positive movement towards resolution of the problems of their people, and complained endlessly of being politically marginalized.
They NEVER bargained for the LTTE to lose the war, relying on Prabhakaran's assurances that suicide terror will win the day. These assurances were bolstered by the West's repeated statements that Sri Lanka's war was an "unwinnable war". So the Tamil politician's approach has been to refrain from doing anything to make things better for their people, while they awaited in vain the promised military success of the LTTE that they believed was inevitable. The LTTE which was supposed to simply deliver the GOSL to the point that talks would yield an ISGA, became more and more intransigent and megalomaniacal and did not waiver from its aim for a separate state which in their hubris they thought was a given.
Now all that is turned on its head. The Sri Lankan military has proved that all the tactics of the notoriously ruthless terror group like the LTTE can come to nought when confronted by a well trained disciplined and professional army backed by political will.
The Tamil community should restart now on a clean slate at this point, stop clinging to frail hopes of international intervention and revenge through ICC etc. etc., and for the sake of the Tamil masses who have sadly been made to pay for the follies of their leaders, come around to participating in the political processes that lead to evoking SOLUTIONS aimed at making better lives for their people within a framework of sustainable development that is compatible with the philosophy and culture of Sri Lanka.
The newer emerging Tamil leaders know what has to be done. Tamil leaders who abide by their old philosophies will be rejected by the Tamil masses who have gone through the worst that Sri Lankans have suffered. The people KNOW what CAN BE their future, and it is definitely not what they have been brainwashed into believing....not when they see what their brethren in the South have been enjoying while they of the North slaved away building bunkers for the LTTE.
In an interview with Al
In an interview with Al Jazeera a Tamil Priest based in India was calling for a referendum on the solution in a joint North/East region with land and police powers. This I thought is the beginning of demands (when the TNA has failed to represent the Tamils at the All Party Conference), once again to scuttle any genuine peace effort. As mentioned, the TNA failed to attend - more likely was told not to attend by the LTTE - and thereby let slip the opportunity to articulate the Tamil opinion on the All Party proposals (even though it might be an LTTE opinion) and any proposal in their absence will very likely be rejected. This will cause more delays and the SL government will no doubt be blamed for the delays as well and I feel that what has been the proposals so far should be aired.
As for western interference, I think the President's call for a homegrown solution is timely and is the right approach. Let the westerners who are embroiled enough as it is in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan find solutions there before they can involve themselves in this issue and preach to us.
What a brilliant article.
What a brilliant article. Let us hope that we can now return to a country at peace, with Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all other ethnic and religious groups living side by side harmoniously, not simply tolerating one another, but respecting one another. It is clear that a political solution to the problem was not feasible whilst the LTTE was in existence, but this is our opportunity to prove that a political solution is viable, indeed imperative.
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