Interview with a leading Buddhist priest on whether the LTTE is really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka
Repost This ArticleVikalpa Video asked Ven. Prof. Bellanvila Vimalarathana Thero for his opinion on whether the LTTE was really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka. Ven. Prof. Bellanvila Vimalarathana Thero is the Chief Priest of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya.
This interview was recorded one week ago, before the dramatic events over the past few days. An English transcript of the short interview is provided below for those who can’t understand Sinhala to interrogate the Thero’s opinion on the conduct of war and plans for development and humanitarian assistance to the Vanni, which mirrors that of the Buddhist clergy writ large in Sri Lanka.
Transcript in English
The important issue is not whether the LTTE is finished or not. In our country, in our land, up until now there was a terrorist group that held on to a tract of land as theirs. To free this land of the terrorists was the prime goal of the government’s humanitarian operations. The terrorists had even demarcated boundaries of the land that they said was theirs. We cannot allow in this country groups to divide land in this manner. We are one country. The government has only around 3 ½ km more to go to free innocent civilians from the LTTE’s grip. It is imperative that these areas are rid of terrorism. The government has announced that it will do so without any harm to civilians in these areas. This is the difficulty. Yet defence sources say that it somehow can and will be done. It will be a great and historic victory if this were done. Terrorism has deracinated all aspects of life over 30 years in Sri Lanka.
We must then talk about the problems we have with the LTTE. There is no debating this. Till now, civilians in the North have suffered under the violence of the LTTE, and today they are escaping this vice grip and surrendering to the government. This is very important. All of us, without any division must work together to help our peoples. There are Tamils here. There are Muslims here. There may even be small numbers of Sinhala people. All of them have escaped the LTTE – some with only their clothes as their belongings. They have left everything and come. We need to resettle them – this is a large task. This is not something the Government alone can do. There are a number of international organisations talking about the war and a ceasefire today. These organisations and countries must help in this task, but through the government and not by coming here to do it alone. What we see in many other developing countries and post-disaster situations is that after the crisis, a large number of NGOs come in and start spreading their ideas and ideology.
If you look at this from a humane perspective, these problems afflicting the world and the suffering of people have to be addressed through systematic programmes implemented by government. These programmes should be participatory and transparent. The immediate needs of those displaced should be looked into as well as their long-term development. After 30 years of ravaging conflict, there is no infrastructure in these areas. Schools, hospitals and other institutions require a large scale developmental programme in these area. After, this they can do their agriculture and explore other avenues for economic development. To give them health facilities and everything else to these areas, all must get together, eschew partisan political gain and bickering and ensure the needs of these people are met so that they can live in dignity and respect as one country. Without any North – South divisions, all peoples need to live in harmony and have the freedom to move freely.
These are the fundamental aspects of what needs to be done in the future.
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When 50,000 innocent, starving and suffering civilians are brutally and recklessly attacked with bullets, bombs and shells, and if 25,000 of the civilians are found dead or injured after the attack, it is unequivocally terrorism.
When the injured are left to bleed and die or are shot dead, it is surely ultra terrorism or rather barbarism mixed with terrorism.
When civilians are brutally forced against their will to carry or do something, and especially, when the person forcing to do it carries an AK47, it is undoubtedly terrorism.
Yesterday, after the massacre in “Safe Zone”, the Tamil civilians who were silently mourning in fear, were forcefully instructed to carry and hoist “lion flags”, which Tamils of North East(NE)consider as a symbol of Sinnhala imperialism on them. Even the Sinhala soldiers force on Tamils with that evil intention. Cyclists and house owners were forced with a flag on their hand !!
When the state owned Television broadcasts manufactured lies to humiliate and subjugate the massacred community and boost the ego of the massacreing commkunity, after a terrorist civilian massacre by the state, it is state terrorism.
When any parliament is abused to legislate bills against the protection and legitimate rights of citizens, democracy is absent in that country. But when law makers are shouted down with abusive and threatening words it is terrorism. Tamil law makers are terrorised by Sinhala law makers in the parliament in Sri Lanka(SL) to subjugate Tamils.
Terrorism is not dead in SL. It has risen to new and unprecedented historical heights. It has escalated and is escalating more vigourously now. It is at a major state sponsored level. It is dangerously serious.
When Mahinda Rjapakse returned from Jordan last Sunday, he kissed the ground and said that his motherland was free from terrorism. He was humbugging to the world. His “motherland”, the South, had just concluded the greatest massacre of civilians in the “safe zone” to shock the world to reality.
The UN has mandate to act against terrorism. It is the responsibilty of the UN and the Inteernational Community to protect Tamils with urgency from the existing Sinhala terrorism.
The clergy of all faiths in Sri Lanka should stay completely away rom Polics if we want to live in Peae.
The nation needs to be100% Secular. Thas the only way frward.
While the sentiments expressed by the Monk regarding respect and dignity for the minority communities are commendable, there is a blind faith aspect to it which is better reserved for god than in the government or military of any country, especially the ruthless ones in power currently in Sri Lanka. He says “The government has announced that it will do so (finish the war) without any harm to civilians in these areas. This is the difficulty. Yet defence sources say that it somehow can and will be done.”
The information leaking out in spite of restriction by a government afraid to have its atrocities seen by the world (and its currently euphoric citizens), about the thousands of people massacred in the last days… shows that this faith in the defense sources which said “it somehow can and will be done” was misplaced indeed.
How will you euphoric citizens and supporters of this military and administration reign them in when they, drunk with power, begin to limit and restrict your lives and continue the trend to eliminate independent thought or action among you as well?
As for the question of whehter the war is “over” in Sri Lanka – the tigers may be finished, but the war is far from over. Historical perspective says the war began long before the Tigers came into being and will continue after them – how long and how bad this continues will depend on how soon the majority community snaps out its euphoria and wakes up to see and acknowledge the real suffering and systemic oppression of the minority community which lead to the war in the first place. That is, it will depend on how systems of governance and the thinking of people which creates and maintains the systems are changed. If we don’t do it quickly, than more lives will be lost and the next generation or the one after that will have more healing and rebuilding work to do. Mother Lanka is patient and will mourn for us and patiently wait it out for the lost humans to blunder their way through during our tiny and short lives…
See below link(s) for a historical perspective that can show the way forward:
1) The Tamil Tigers are the product, not the cause, of Sri Lanka’s deadly politics:
http://www.alternet.org/audits/139830
2) http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/21482