The Discontents Of A Racist Peace

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara
Why is it that the Sinhalese, the lion race find themselves confronted till death do them part,
by the tigers.
S Tambiah !"thnic #ratricide and the $ismantling of $emocracy%
! &ay '(, )*'+, ,olombo, Sri -anka Guardian% .uite apart from sense, sensibility, intelligence
and decency, there is a factual reason /hy Sri -anka should not continue to celebrate the
victory over the -TT".
The long "elam War /as not a /ar bet/een t/o sovereign states. 0t /as not a /ar fought
against a foreign enemy. The long "elam War /as essentially a civil /ar, a /ar in /hich all
combatants, including 1ellupillai 2irapaharan, /ere -ankan citi3ens. The /ars victors /ere
-ankans4 its van5uished /ere -ankans4 its victims /ere -ankans4 its survivors are -ankans.
So commemorate, yes. 0t is necessary to remember. 6ut not celebrate. 0t is bad politics to keep
on celebrating victory in a civil /ar, year after year. 0t prevents the closing of old /ounds,
creates ne/ /ounds and impedes the body7politic from healing and becoming /hole.
8et this simple basic fact is still incomprehensible to the regime. ,ommenting on ,anadas
decision to boycott the 1ictory celebration 9rmy spokesman 6rigadier :u/an Wanigasooriya
;pointed out that ,anada <oined annual 9llied victory celebrations over =a3ism> . The Second
World War /as precisely that ? a World War. 0t /as a /ar bet/een t/o blocs of sovereign
states and not a /ar /ithin a sovereign state. The Soviet, 9merican, #rench and 6ritish people
/ho celebrated the defeat of =a3ism /ere not faced /ith the task of building a common
national future /ith the German people, in the same country.
The regimes continuous !and logically befuddling% inability to comprehend the difference
bet/een a /ar against a foreign enemy and a civil /ar is rooted in the @osts and Guests
concept of -anka.
9ccording to &aha/amsa, -anka is the sole refuge of pristine 6uddhism4 !Sinhala% 6uddhists
are its eAclusive o/ners. "veryone else, Tamils, &uslims, 6urghers, and Sinhala7,hristians are
not co7o/ners but eternal guests, the descendents of occupiers and traders. They are not true
-ankans, but aliens and potential enemies.
0n this &aha/amsa /orldvie/ the "elam War ceases to be a civil /ar and becomes a /ar
against an alien enemy.
The @osts and Guests concept helped create the language issue !Sinhala Bnly /as premised
on the perception of Tamil as a foreign language%, the ethnic problem and the long "elam War.
There is also a direct correlation bet/een this concept and the /ay Tamils continue to be
treated, post7/ar. The incarceration of around C**,*** of civilian Tamils in open prison camps
!not during the /ar, but post7/ar, after the -TT" /as annihilated%, the de facto military
occupation of the =orth and parts of the "ast, the attempts to change =orthern and "astern
demographics and the refusal to implement the 'Cth 9mendment make sense if the enemy is
perceived not as fello/ citi3ens /ho must be /on over but as aliens /ho must be kept do/n.
0n )**D, Sinhala76uddhist supremacism in search of a suitable political pro<ect and the
:a<apaksas in need of a suitable ideology encountered and merged. Sinhala76uddhist
supremacism became the guiding ideology of the #amilial State. The lunatic7fringe found a
home in the corridors of po/er.
The #ourth "elam War /as a &aha/amsa War fought /ith modern technology. The t/in
myths of 6uddhist7holy land and Sinless War /ere used to inspire the Sinhala76uddhist
soldiery. Such a religio7racial /ar could not have led to a national peace, especially /ith the
/ar7makers in charge of peace7building. 1ellupillai 2irpaharan could have created a
TigerETamil "elam but never a democratic, pluralist and socialist "elam.
#ive years after )**F, the country continues to meander from crisis to unnecessary crisis.
Tamils have not been reconciled and &uslims and ,hristian are being alienated. The military is
being politicised and civil society militarised. 9part from the foreign7funded glit3y !and often
unproductive% infrastructure pro<ects, the only development strategy is turning the island into a
haven for the global rich !in actuality ,hinese and &iddle "astern rich%. The ordinary needs of
ordinary people, such as affordable essentials, decent educational, health and transportation
facilities and safety from crime, are being neglected. The rule of la/ is replaced /ith the la/ of
the rulers. Sri -anka is more isolated internationally than she has been since 'F(G4 her
unhealthy dependence on ,hina has placed her in a position /hich may be perceived as anti7
0ndian by $elhis ne/ insular and distrustful ruler. 9n eAtractive and oppressive familial state
is being created from /ithin the bo/els of an imperfect democracy.
The &aha/amsa myths provide the s/ord, the shield and the rationale for this monstrous
transformation.
2sychotic 2olitics
0n &aha/amsa, 2rince Gemunu, /hen asked by his mother about his foetal sleeping position,
repliesH ;Bver there beyond the Ganga are the $amilas, here on this side is the Gotha7ocean,
ho/ can 0 lie /ith outstretched armsI>
This early eAposition of -ebensraum together /ith the myths of ,onsecration and Sinless /ar
form the fundamentals of the Sinhala76uddhist version of the ,lash of ,ivilisations.
9ccording to this rendering, -ankan history is the history of the struggle bet/een pristine
6uddhisms sole refuge and the invadingEencroaching @indu, ,hristian and 0slamic /orlds.
9nd under :a<apaksa rule, this psychotic /orldvie/ informs and shapes nationEpeace7
building.
@o/ can there be a lasting peace or a -ankan nation, if the guiding ideology of the state sees an
enemy in every non7Sinhala76uddhistI 0magine the harm /hich can be done /hen this
perception is diffused through the ideological state apparatuses to the coming generations and
becomes rooted as the ne/ commonsense.
Bur school7system, marred by de facto segregation, is structurally incapable of creating
-ankans. &any schools are ethnicallyEreligiously uniform4 as <ealous preserves of a single
community they reinforce our primordial identities. ,onse5uently, many children spend their
formative years /ithout any association /ith their ethnicallyEreligiously different compatriots.
&ost of them /ould carry their ignorance and its offspring, pre<udice, into adulthood. The
teaching of history as a Sinhala76uddhist narrative has /iped out the role played by non7
6uddhists in building and protecting this island and its civilisation . &onorail religious
education has prevented -ankans from understanding the basics of each others faiths.
@o/ can a -ankan identity be built in such an ignorant and pre<udiced social7soilI @o/ can a
-ankan unity be created /ithout a -ankan identityI ,an a country be kept together by the force
of arms aloneI ,an a genuine reconciliation be achieved /ithout a measured understanding of
the /ar, including its political genesisI ,an peace be built in a pluralist country by alternating
mind7numbing fear /ith triumphalistic sabre7rattling !of the enemy is every/here and /e /ill
defeat the enemy every time sort%I
The mounting ethno7religious discontents in the South are paralleled by increasing socio7
economic problems in the =orth. #or instance, five years after /inning the /ar, more children
are dropping out of =orthern schools. ;&ost of the dropouts are from poor families /ho find it
difficult to make ends meet as humanitarian assistance dries upJ. The situation is being
aggravated by an acute lack of <ob opportunities and rising cost of living.>
9 ne/ generation of /ar7scarred, uneducated, unemployed and unemployable youth is not a
recipe for peace or development. With such a legacy, only the blind can celebrate victory.