Dangerous Signals From The South
June 23, 2012 The Sunday Times Editorial -
Sinha Ratnatunga - Editor Sunday Times
One factor that backfired in the shooting at a legitimate political meeting in a remote village in the deep south last week was that the resonance was heard in Colombo.
The culprits could not have anticipated the fallout. They would have believed it would be just another statistic of unsolved crimes in police records, and a message delivered to the JVP that it has got enemies, and very hostile ones at that.That it happened to the JVP is indeed ironic; that it is the JVP which must complain today of its democratic rights to hold political meetings without being sprayed with bullets being under threat. The fact remains, however, that the JVP has now come clean and is engaged in parliamentary politics. This makes any attack on a JVP meeting undemocratic and a criminal act.
Accusations and counter-accusations are flying like the bullets that night. The Government asks the question as to why it should attack a pocket meeting in a remote village and attract unwanted flak when it is already under the microscope for alleged human rights violations. It was quick to point the finger at internecine rivalry between the Marxist parties.
The JVP was equally quick to pin the blame on a ‘contract job’ executed by hit squads of the Government in a district well secured by the security forces because of the regular presence of the President and his family.
