The impossible has happened. The Leader of the Tigers along with his cohorts is no more.  The war is over.  The massive infrastructure of a parallel state edifice that Prabhakaran had built has collapsed like a pack of cards, destroying the lives of many Tamils, their property and their livelihoods.  It was not the real estate that mattered that much as the battered souls of the hapless Tamils who put their faith in Prabhakaran to sustain their democratic rights and their dignity in the Sri Lankan State.  Forlorn and denigrated to be the weakest entity in the Sri Lankan reckoning, the Tamils after the pogrom of 1983 remained bleeding physically and in their souls as well.  1983 a landmark in the lives f the Tamils and that of the country is a shameful chapter that could have been avoided only if the leadership of the time had taken control of the situation and acted as any head of State should have, to fulfill his obligations to all the people of the country, irrespective of race or religion..   Many Tamils ( and Sinhalese as well) fled the shores of this country to start life afresh while in Sri Lanka emerged many Tamil leaders who were ready to ‘protect’ the Tamils.  Too soon and to the sadness of the Tamils, the leaders turned, as many of them do today, to be men of clay only interested in feathering their nest.  Prabhakaran the smartest of the lot eliminated all others and remained the sole representative of the Tamils by his own proclamation.  The remaining vestige of parliamentary representation, the TNA came under his overview and the Tamils lost their last chance for democratic representation.

The Diaspora nursed the grudge for 1983 and nurtured the LTTE with their professional and financial strength.  That they nursed a grudge is not to be considered objectionable for they had memories fresh in their minds of their near and dear, many of whom perished in the cruelest manner.  But what is objectionable is that they failed to see when the man who they considered their leader was transforming himself in an obvious manner to become a dictator, a megalomaniac who brooked no objection to his diktats and who had no reservations over the elimination of even his closest allies if his leadership was questioned.  They did not see that it was all about a single man’s ruthless need for Tamil Eelam that cascaded into an emotive cry by many who came under his messianic influence.  Prabhakaran kept the Tamil community captive to achieve not the dreams and aspirations of the Tamils but to carve out for himself and his cohorts a separate nation out of the Sri Lankan State.  The Tamils in their desperate need for a protector did not see that the culture they were taking so much trouble to fight for was being totally distorted to suit the designs of Prabhakaran.  Such is the tragedy of those who supported an organization from the comfort of their homes in the western world. Many of their children did not speak the language they treasured so much but were all the same trained to hate as well.  From the memory of a horrendous experience they continued to sustain an illusion of their making far removed from the emerging reality of the ground situation.   Even if a few woke up to the truth choice was nonexistent.  The strong arm of the LTTE reached out in a vicious grip to any part of the world. 

With the LTTE the culture of violence reached a new crescendo.  If anyone thought they had witnessed the worst in the JVP period the LTTE opened a new chapter on violence levels with the suicide bombing, the attacks on sleeping villagers, the claymore mines and eliminations.  The violence they introduced was deliberately targeted to inflict as wide a spread of casualties and deaths as possible.  Many thousands of lives were lost and the country remained an armed fortress making life for all civilians very difficult.   But the cruelest part of the LTTE strategy was witnessed at the tail end of their defense when they took their own people to be used as human shield in their fight with the army.  It was up to the Sri Lankan army to have most of them released and brought into the no fire zone.

Many who watched the hordes of Tamils wading through the lagoon were reduced to tears– Beggared, battered and left with little dignity, it was pathetic to see hundreds of victims fleeing, pouring into the open in large numbers with little bundles on their head, their only worldly goods.  Some were left only with the little bits and pieces of cloth shading their heads or loosely hanging over their drooping shoulders; shoulders drooping with the hopelessness of their fate. Walking, just walking through the emptiness in front of them, they themselves emptied of the past- their homes, their friends and relations, their livelihoods and just the whole familiar environment.  The panoramic view of the whole landscape filled with teeming thousands wading through the lagoon, walking towards a stretch of land with no end in sight. Amidst the line of soldiers people wended their way looking for any available patch to rest their tired feet, indeed to rest their totally exhausted emaciated bodies.  Women both young and old, children, and very young ones and infants, few men and fewer youth sitting down on the ground wherever space permitted, weary, desolate.  Food comes in the form of biscuits, glucose and some water.  It is heart rending to see hands stretch out for food.  They ‘eat’ the food ravenously, for they are hungry.  Who can tell when they had their last meal or even the last drink of water not to mention the chance to cleanse themselves.  Such is the human tragedy the captive people faced and will have to face until their destiny is worked out in a manner that a repeat of this heart rending images never ever occur again.

The military combat is over said the Army Commander.  This is a day many thought they will not see in their life time.  Sri Lankan flags are flying and victory tears are flowing all around us.  People are dancing and singing everywhere.  Kiribath and drinks are on offer everywhere.  After years of moving between cajoling with proposals for negotiation and the declaration of hostilities with the LTTE the end came in sight.  Such joy in their victory and such unprecedented level of rejoicing.  The tensions of living under constant threat of an unforeseen hand that will lob a bomb or a suicide bomber who might explode himself or herself in the middle of nowhere are no more.  The leader and his top leadership perished not by taking the cyanide capsule they prescribed to so many of their cadres but by the bullet while trying to make a getaway in an ambulance! 

The President has secured a prize that eluded many a Sri Lankan President before him.   One is hopeful of the future when the President says that we “should live in this country as children of one mother.” When the President spoke in Tamil in parliament it did demonstrate that for the first time a President has taken the trouble to learn the language and attempt to address the Tamils in their language.  President Rajapakse said without any ambiguity that “protecting the Tamil people of this country is my responsibility. That is my duty.  All people of this country should live in safety without fear and suspicion.  All should live with equal rights. That is my aim. Let us all get together and build this nation.” The task for the president is cut out. Many people are skeptical as many such statements have been made in the past only to be ignored soon after.  The Daily Mirror in its editorial of the 20th of May stated that the “nation has matured. It is up to the politicians to match this maturity with prudent politics.” The veracity of this statement is proved by the manner in which the people of this country from the remotest part of rural Sri Lanka reached out with what ever they can to help the people who came into the no fight Zone after being holed up with the LTTE.  The integration of the country as a nation took place with this show of goodwill.  The humanism that is in all of us came to the surface and with no hidden agendas spilt over to help the Tamils in their hour of need.

It is now left to the government and the policy makers to translate the victory into action.  Action must be taken that will result in peace, rehabilitation and most importantly the need to address the grievances of the Tamils and their aspiration to have some control over their destiny through devolution.  This cannot rest for too long.  For the problem that the Tamils have been grappling with has stretched from 1956 and with every passing year the gulf between the communities have widened as a result of  decisions made for considerations of real politick and not on reasoning based on any logical rationale.  Procrastination has slowed our economic growth; the country is loosing on the edge we had on education and health.  While we are ahead of other countries in the South Asian regions in these indicators, we are today seeing a dip in the quality of the service available to the people.  Our infrastructure is one of the worst and backward; a bickering nation cannot attract investments.  Worse still a slow developing country becomes a target for sniping by all and sundry and many are the interventions into our sovereign parameters.  In the recent past too many people offered to mess around the internal affairs of this country while there remain many questionable violations of human rights and other urgent concerns of their own citizens.  The unfortunate example of South India identifying and taking issue with Sri Lanka and her relations with the ethnic Tamils during the recent elections will seem amusing if it was not agitated over with such earnest ness.  The politics and concerns of poverty, water, sanitation of a large number of people living in the South was glossed over in their pursuit of Sri Lankan Tamil issue.  The results of the elections showed the people of Tamil Nadu cared two hoots for the Sri Lankan Tamils and they voted out of sight all the stalwarts who have been parading as the saviours of the Lankan Tamils on the streets of Tamil Nadu.  The people of Tamil Nadu have shown that they were aware of their priorities.  Many in the west too have shown a strange preoccupation with our internal problems. Most of the countries beset with the financial crisis at home perhaps found light refraction by delving onto our local politics!!

This is not to say that we are not behest with some of the most intractable problems but they are those to which solutions must be found if we are to win the confidence of the Tamil community.  At the moment over 250 -300 thousand people are languishing in camps with no outside contact and even less information about them or for them from contacts outside the camps.  In no way does this comment detract from the onerous task facing the government, that of housing and feeding and providing sanitary facilities to this large number of people.  The necessity to keep the IDP’s confined had its rationale for it was necessary to keep them isolated until they are certain there are no LTTE infiltrators who could still create trouble in the camps and if let loose outside as well.   Having succeeded in winning the war it would be foolhardy to permit conditions for small skirmishes or for organizing underground opposition once again.  Prohibiting access to the foreign individuals requiring confirmation of conditions in the camp and some others who wish to provide humanitarian relief was from concerns of fear of the amazing mix of agendas these information seekers had. Till a semblance of order is restored no government will like to have outsiders moving in and around the camps with possibilities to send some negative vibes amongst the already unhappy people in the camp.  But this situation cannot go on for ever as the people within the camps are citizens and have every right to free movement.  There will be suspicion and mistrust that have become a part of the thinking process of many Tamils who have many times been promised  solutions to their problems only to be cheated of it by the opposition politicians (whoever was in opposition at the time) with the backing of the Buddhist clergy.  It is therefore the task of the government to take quick steps to introduce a constitutionally guaranteed devolution package to the Tamils.  The discussions had gone on from the time of Bandaranaike Chelvanayagam pact in 1956.  Consequently the issues have been thrashed and rehashed many times and to wrap up what has been debated in the APRC will not be a time consuming venture.  What needs to be done must be done fast before frustrations over the resolution of the aspirations of the Tamils takes on once again the portrayal of a vexed issue.  The government in the intermediary period must use all the facilities to infuse confidence in the minority Tamils that genuine attempts are being made to meet their demands. 

The Diaspora can play a significant role this time around in assisting to build the North and the East and demonstrate the potential of the Tamil community to be self reliant and become productive members in rebuilding the 21st century Sri Lanka.

A note of caution must be made at this point to emphasize that there must be concerted attempts to make the celebrations short incase the enthusiasm of the majority community sends the wrong signals to the Tamils.  The end of war should be a day of celebration for all who value democracy, democratic rights and freedom of movement and expression.  Many are very happy for few ever thought the day will dawn when one can claim that the overarching fear that a vast majority of people had of being ‘got at’ somewhere somehow by the LTTE is over.  Of some what the same proportion was the fear of the constant security checks with the face of the army or that of the police peeping into the car even as one rolls down the window.  Necessary precaution but equally daunting moments!  While driving around in Colombo one thing that struck some at least is that no Tamil face has been seen as part of the celebrations on the roads or in any private group celebrations of victory.  This is worrying for this is a national moment and not a majoritarian moment.  So, what’s going wrong here is the question?  And then the answers were gleaned through brief conversation with friends amongst the Tamils which reveals the Tamil mindset.  Prabhakaran is someone whom the Tamils liked to disown but also in whose terrifying presence they had solace of some kind of protection from any unfair moves made by the majority community.  A Tamil who was contacted said, ‘Sin isn’t it that Prabhakaran is dead’.   The response made in horror was, ‘what are you saying? You, who have suffered so much at the hands of the LTTE, or because of them as well.”  There was a bashful silence but no comment was offered.  In pursuing this line of thought another individual was asked for his reactions and he said with grave concern that it was scary when they passed by on the road where people were given to celebrating with enthusiasm.  These are spontaneous responses from two people well placed in life and living in Colombo.   It must also be said that none of these two persons ever wanted any part of the Eelam land to live in.  Some reactions observed at a public institution indicated a similar trend.  Tamils working in this place did not show any signs of joy over the end of the war; in fact they all looked worried.  The thought that comes to one’s mind is, “What indeed is the matter with these people?”  The answer will slowly dawn on those who care to think deeply: that there is a feeling of insecurity amongst the Tamils who fear that the absence of Prabhakaran would leave them defenseless against any possibility of intimidation from any quarter.   It is for this reason that a very definite announcement of a devolution package constitutionally guaranteed is so vital.  This would provide the security the Tamils are looking for.  In the absence of this there appear to be no anchor for them even after the suffering many have undergone for over three to five decades.  The feeling of alienation still remains if nothing is forthcoming soon except mere comforting words.

To fuel this atmosphere of insecurity was heard an interview on Rupavahini with a priest, perhaps from the JHU broadcast just prior to the President’s address in Parliament.  This priest expressed his personal views that were contrary to the efforts made by the President to unify the country.  It is difficult to understand why the government media should give publicity to individuals with extreme views on the eve of the President’s speech while there are a number of monks who could give additional reinforcement of the views expressed by the President based on the tenets of the Dhamma of the Buddha expressing compassion to all.  Some inappropriate comments were made that would have made Tamils to think that nothing has changed.  Highlighting this particular interview is to see that healing of minds and hearts remain the predominant concern for all and not the permissiveness of provocative statements that can be a spoiler when all around are making efforts to close the gap and have greater understanding.

Tears turn to anger at the callousness of a system that created conditions for such a situation to arise in the first place.  Anger rises against the majority that behaves like the minority and the minority that plays out the majority perception. Anger rises against the politicians who toyed around with lives, with emotions, with half baked ideas; with countries that played out their geo political interests and created several monsters out of simple minded angry young men and women; many took on the mantle of fighters for the Tamil cause but the ‘many’ was soon to be annihilated by the ruthlessness of a single megalomaniac who put on the mantle of leader and the sole representative of the Tamils and the Tamil cause he espoused.

A single man’s ruthless need for Tamil Eelam that cascaded into an emotive cry by many of all ages who came under the messianic influence of Prabhakaran .  Prabhakaran kept the Tamil community captive to achieve not the dreams and aspirations of the Tamils but to carve out for himself and his cohorts a separate nation out of the Sri Lankan State.  No separate state was going to be possible because nationally and internationally no government ever endorsed the cry for a separate state.  It was therefore from the beginning a non starter. 

It must be said that the Tamils under the leadership of G.G. Ponnambalam whose cry for fifty- fifty raised the alarm bells amongst the Sinhalese.  The Sinhalese feared Tamil dominance especially as they were spread out internationally where the language, the Hindu religion drew its strength from long tradition of a culture that remains nurtured assiduously amongst the people.  In contrast the Sinhalese are domiciled only in Sri Lanka except f or microscopic numbers in a few of the countries where there have been migrations in the recent past. Sinhalese is a local language having no relevance language internationally. Although the fifty-fifty demand was shot down was shot down the Soulbury constitution provided safeguards in the constitution by incorporating Sec.29 which provided protection from discrimination.

Unfortunately for the country’s well being Sinhala nationalism raised its head harking to Tamil and Christian predominance out of proportion to their numerical strength which created animosity among the majority Sinhalese. Added to this was the fact that many who wielded power in the government and the public service were drawn from the western educated elites who it was said had more in common with the colonial masters than the people of this country.  While it may have been possible to have taken correctives to appease the majority the country threw up a suave oxford educated individual in S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, who decided to seek his identity through the Sinhala Buddhist majority and he donned the symbols of nationalism first by abandoning western clothes for Arya Sinhala national attire and then abandoned Christianity which was the faith of his family.  In fairness it must be said that he probably did follow this path out of personal conviction that the leaders of this country’s must draw their identity from the heritage of the people.  In a monolithic society this may not have posed too many problems but he failed to recognize the complexities in a plural society.   The leadership that he gave the people of his community was to espouse Sinhala and Buddhist revival.  This was a great rallying point amongst the people and he was returned to power at the 1956 elections.  He immediately declared Sinhala as the only national language and put the first barrier to national integration as well as to the building up of a common identity for all of the people in the country.  He also ushered political opportunism as an instrument for furthering individual and party fortunes.