Publication of Mullivaikal Remembrance Week- 1
Six years past since the annihilation of liberation struggle that was taken hold by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The government that succeeded in the war has been taken away from the regime. Sri Lankan state is now free from the three decades long civil war and the corrupt regime.
With the rise of the voice for change, Mahinda’s regime has been defeated. As the Mahinda’s regime was corrupt and which had dictatorial attitudes, it has been defeated by the Sinhalese whereas it was defeated by the Tamils as it was responsible for the cruelties and atrocities against Tamils in the Eelam war-4. However Sinhala Buddhist supremacy that prevails in Sri Lanka is yet to be weakened. Also, the military dominance occupying in north and east is yet to be left. Sinhala Buddhist supremacism is not merely a political stance that is being adopted or has been being adopted by few politicians. Sinhala Buddhist supremacism is the culture of Sri Lanka. This culture is in the minds of the ethnically majoritarian people. Those Sinhala progressives, who state that the minorities are to be given the power, also speak about the devolution of power, in which their supremacy is not compromised.
If the feeling of supremacy exists in one or in a society, necessary steps should be taken by the respective person or society on its own to get rid of the supremacist feelings from them.
Many people believe that changes are taking place after the victory of the alliance of Ranil, Chandrika and Maithri.
Earning votes by propagating any of the slogans with attractive tone in the election campaigns is a tactic which is being as the universal practice in the recent days of today’s world.
People do not cast their votes by remembering the past performances of the government in the elections which take place once every five or six years.
Through keeping the new images in front of the people by taking the emotional matters and matters that create panic as the talking point, election campaigning movements with the support of Medias keep the people away from their real issues.
If that so, have the changes not been taken place in Sri Lanka?
Changes are taking place. There is no dynamic if there is no change.
But, we have to observe which of the changes are important. Making the people in illusion by enormously promoting the changes occurring in the upper class society in order to keep the foundations necessary for oppression and exploitation, is the universal practice of this world.
Therefore, knowing what kinds of environments in which people were brought is also important. For example, the changes occurred in the society when the free education scheme and when the Sinhala only Act were brought are significantly important. The changes occurred because of the Self-sustaining economic policy is significantly important. Then, the changes took place when Sri Lanka entered into the export and import economies, after abandoning this Self-sustaining economic policy are utmost important. The change occurred due to the entering of television is also important.
With the understanding of these, let us consider some of the important changes that occurred in the history of Sri Lanka.
Societies in Sri Lanka which had been isolated as the kingdoms that have aristocratic practices were forcibly connected as a country by the British imperialism, which is the last colonial power of Sri Lanka. The colonial power was the barrier for natural changes of socio-economics and the interactions between the ethnicities thereby it.
Later, the constitution that formed as a basis for the formation of Sri Lankan state after releasing from the colonialism is still being as basis of the worsened ethnic conflict.
The regime power of the Sri Lanka which is a multi-ethnic country had gone to the hands of Sinhala community when the country came out of the direct influence of the colonial government. Consequently, the possibility of the accumulation of capital and self-development prevailed in the Sinhala ethnicity.
Ethnic inequality grew up.
Independent Sri Lanka faced insurgences of Sinhala youth twice. Meanwhile, in the 70’s, Tamils began to move slowly towards the demand for a separate state.
Consequently, state power of Sri Lanka went to the dynamics of preparing its state structure with the intention of political repression, instead of focusing on the socio-economic changes in Sri Lanka.
In addition to the restriction of the growth of capitalism possibly caused by the accumulation of domestic capital due to the growth and influence of multi-national companies, Sri Lanka transformed as the country which has the state structure that was being operated by those, with feudal caste structure and religious identity, who have no democratic values. Here it should be recalled that this was the common feature of colonial countries.
Tamil nationalism that had been sprouted in the areas where Tamils had been living as the majority started struggling with the demand of separate state and developed its own territory by paralyzing the military and power of Sri Lankan state. This was an important change for the Tamils. Tamils started analyzing themselves not merely being disassociated with the Sri Lankan government but also with the outside world. They started questioning about the social values and thinking of the separate state for them. The economy returned to the basics of survival. Though both social equality and democratic culture which could be conjointly grown with the liberation struggle were not grown, some other sort of collective consciousness started growing in the Tamil society. This collective consciousness was caused because of the image created by propaganda, militarism and the myths about genetics. It was made possible as we isolated from the outside world.
Following to this, significant change occurred in 2002. Ceasefire and peace talks were organized. During this period, a speech delivered by Anton Balasingham was so important.
“Though our boys came here with the name of peace talks, once the peace talk finished they would go for shopping.” What he dramatically may have wanted to express by stating as mentioned in the quote was, without being trapped in the snare made by the Sri Lankan government, they paid their attention on shopping.
Either Ranil or Western world who brought the Tigers to the peace talk did not expect the Tigers to make use of the field of negotiation to assure the existence of the politics of Tamil nationalism through understanding the universal politics. What they wanted was the Tamils and Tigers who were engrossed in the war and undemocratic feelings should come for shopping in the open market that is administered by the power determined by the 20th century’s multi-national companies.
As what they predicted, Tigers did not make use of the peace talks as the political platform with the diplomatic means for keeping the existence of Tamil nationalism alive by understanding the reality of the world.
This is an utmost important change which led to the annihilation of LTTE in terms of physically and politically and the recession of Tamil nationalism at Mullivaikal.
Sinhala chauvinism that, realized the necessity of stepping up to stabilize the sovereignty of Sri Lanka by alienating the Tamils from their demand for separate state, gained its victory now.
Important issues such as regaining the appropriated lands, release of the political prisoners, commemorating those who dead and accountability for those who were disappeared lost its political intensity and constricted as the personal issues of those affected and eventually shrunk as the issues that accepted the Sri Lankan sovereignty.
It cannot be said that the solution for the above mentioned important issues can only be provided by the alliance of Ranil, Chandrika and Maithri. Even Mahinda Rajapaksa could provide solutions to the above issues. The solutions for these issues would not be able to threaten the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. It is not wonder that Mahinda family was being as a mob that had no political maturity to perceive this.
The alliance of Ranil, Chandrika and Maithri want to strengthen Sri Lanka by stepping forward the changes occurred.
Will the Sinhala extremists or those so-called progressives who never ready to give up the Sinhala supremacy allow the amendment of very fundamental constitutional changes so as to change the state structures as it is necessary for starting the action plan, that accelerates the socio-economic changes in Sri Lanka with the intention of stepping forward towards the cultural changes which respect the ethnic identity and independence while losing the ethnic supremacy?
There are persons who keep on say that the possibility of above mentioned and desired change is extremely rare as how the possibility of Eelam is.
As the Tamil leaderships understand the message delivered by the Imperialism to the oppressed nations around the world and the experiences they had due to the three decades long war, they are in a state of mind of associating with the soft- trend of Sinhala supremacy. This is also an important change.
As the political circumstance prevails like this, alienating from the people from the pro-ethnic politics by pulling the people in an open market where anything can be bought and sold is possible. The policy makers of the current regime realized this well.
In case, the alliance of Ranil, Chandrika and Maithri win the upcoming election and the military obstructions reduce thereby, then the Tamil Society itself would enter into these changes faster.
Affected people will only struggle whereas others will do shopping or taking selfie.
Society being privatized, feeling of self-consciousness, loneliness of people and the destruction of collective consciousness will increase.
Actually, we people are changing rapidly.
Theva Abira,
