Comments on: I am an enemy of the State https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state Journalism for Citizens Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:53:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 By: groundviews » A friend of the regime https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-42 Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:53:13 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-42 […] I went into some detail about my memories of the only Rajapakse I have known personally because it helps one understand to a degree why who they are and what they say finds a receptive audience, at least for the moment, in the South – a constituency that will continue to support them and their self-styled war on terror. This war (that I have repeatedly said is not in my name) is waged with a vengeance because its ultimate objective, implicit in so much of what the President and his government does and says, is more than just the complete eradication of the LTTE – it is to establish a totalitarian Sinhala, Buddhist regime in the guise of a benevolent dictatorship which does not want to kill you, but will in an instant if you question it too much. It is essentially that which the JVP sought to establish, the JHU would love to see and the UNP today is powerless to prevent the establishment of. I was over a decade ago attracted to the rhetoric and image of a Rajapakse in precisely the same manner as many today are convinced their President holds the key to peace. It is an easy trap to fall into. Recently, I spoke with a leading and committed Sinhala civil rights activist who immediately after an audience with the President was so completely charmed that the person wanted me to tone down and delay the release of a rather strong statement I had drafted against the regime at the time. It was a stark reminder that dislodging this government from power is a formidable task. Further, that my own parents have always voted for the SLFP or JVP and are staunch supporters of this President is a valuable reference point. Though I have weaned myself away from the regressive and exclusive nationalism they believe and I grew up in, I find that I am as much a stranger to them as I am to the rest of polity and society in the South that today continue to support this regime despite the fact that nothing they can and will ever do will bring peace to Sri Lanka. […]

]]> By: Singam https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-41 Sat, 09 Jun 2007 07:22:23 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-41 Rashee. Don’t think of yourself as belonging to a Minority community. Nor should Sinhalese thing of themselves as a majority community. Such phrases connotes that the majority is right and better than the minority. Tamil and Muslim communities are numerically less than the Sinhala community. This does not mean that the community with the larger numbers has more rights or always right. The term minority and majority refers to a decision of a group, association or committee. It has no meaning when applied to a linguistic or religious community. Democracy in Sri Lanka has failed because the numerically overwhelming linguistic community uses the one-person one-vote to subjugate the numerically less communities assuming that more the numbers, more the wisdom!

My advice to your daughter is that her family and the community are her roots. The State, Sri Lanka or others, is an artificial boundary to facilitate governance. Governments change, borders change but the family and the community is continuous. It is her identity. I am from Jaffna, I have travelled the world to compete in sports, study and work. I held a Ceylon, then a UN passport, and now hold a SL passport, but that is not my identity. It is a travel document. My outlook is international but my loyalty is to my family and community. I respect the rights of individuals and linguistic and religious communities. This is the best answer I can give you and your daughter.

]]> By: SH https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-40 Fri, 08 Jun 2007 03:27:40 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-40 Whats next? Will we have to keep stating the fact that Sri Lanka is better than Burma, Zimbabwe or Saudi Arabia? There are many countries at the bottom of the barrel. You can pick and chose.

]]> By: SH https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-39 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 08:58:20 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-39 That indicates a sorry state of affairs, when people have to compare Sri Lanka to countries like Pakistan etc. We seem to have to scrape the bottom of the barrel here.

]]> By: Death by Snoo Snoo https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-38 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 04:46:16 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-38 Interesting question Rashee. Perhaps we could ask someone from a minority group in a Muslim majority country to explain to us what the difference between minority and majority is, and how the minorities should be treated. Maldives, Malaysia, Pakistan… that’s just the countries around us.

Anyway, aren’t Tamils and Muslims the majority in metropolitan Colombo now? That makes the whole question even more complicated. I wonder..

]]> By: Rashee https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-37 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 03:57:39 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-37 I am a muslim (women) and married to a jaffna muslim, now living in Colombo. When there are tensions arising in the area we are very frightened, my daughter asked me one day why we are tensed and I did not know how to explain it but I briefly explained her oneday about the situation (majority vs minority etc.) at once she asked me ‘Are we not born here, are we not Sri Lankans, and where can we go in case of some problem? Actually only then it strike me “Where to from here? “Who are we?” “Where do we actually belong?”
‘CAN YOU ANYONE GIVE AN ANSWER TO THIS?”

]]> By: nadia https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-36 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:13:58 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-36 Why are extreme voices the ones that get heard? Its ironic that your article generated a greater audience because of its sensational heading (re Janius’ comment) because it purports to dispel the notion that polarization is not a good thing. And yet, it seems to sell. Its almost like the public is forced to pick a side and they are more comfortable doing so. Your either Sinhalese or your not. Your either with the govt or against it. The solution is military not political. The grey substances are not interesting to a public majority. Why is that and what can we do to change that?

]]> By: punitham https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-35 Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:26:22 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-35 i’ve come to read sanjana’s articles/reviews eagerly over the last several months – we need scores of sanjanas to get out of the knotty/ugly situation that has been created over the last 60 years.
kumar, just as the diaspora shouldn’t help make the rifts deeper, they also should console those who have been savaged by racial riots and structural violence of the policies and practice of successive governments.

]]> By: Hakuru https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-34 Mon, 28 May 2007 14:33:15 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-34 Just as it was in post 9/11 America, in Sri Lanka today, perception is everything and details are a tiresome bother. Whist Sri Lanka hurtles towards Sirerra Leone, anybody who can get out should! There is nothing romantic about our country except the memories, and they are best preserved.

]]> By: Ajith https://groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-33 Mon, 28 May 2007 04:15:23 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/05/23/i-am-an-enemy-of-the-state/#comment-33 As someone very wise recently said ” The vocal minority is ruling the silent majority”.

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