Peace for the World

Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam

Saturday, August 3, 2013

A Patriotic Citizen And A Military Officer

By Malinda Seneviratne -August 4, 2013 
Malinda Seneviratne
Meanwhile in a parallel universe called Humility…
Colombo TelegraphA patriotic citizen obtains perspective
I supported our troops in their efforts to rid the country of the terrorist menace.  I am grateful to them for many reasons.   I cheered their victories for they were my triumphs too.  I sang their praises for they, most of all, were deserving of praise; they put their lives on line for me.  The immense relief of finally being able to live in a terrorism-free country blinded me to some ancient truths.
The security forces that felled Prabhakaran of the LTTE were the same men and women in uniform who had struggled but failed in their mission for a quarter of a century.  Today, as I reflect on the question ‘why not before?’ I realize that all the equipment, training, numbers, intelligence and synergy among the forces would have come to naught without the green-light, confidence and determination of the political leadership.  On that occasion, for once let’s say, the political leadership did not waver, did not lie, and most importantly shared the sentiments of the vast majority of the people.  I knew that terrorism could only be defeated militarily and was confident that our forced could get the job done.  The political leadership shared this view, obviously.   Our troops delivered.  I cheered.
What I forgot in the rush of joy at war’s-end is that it was produced by a key convergence: the sentiments and aspirations of the masses being shared by the political leadership.  That kind of agreement on one matter does not imply agreement on all matters across the board.                Read More

Weliweriya Incident, Gotabaya, And The Priority List Of The People In The Republic

By Thrishantha Nanayakkara -August 3, 2013 
Dr. Thrishantha Nanayakkara
When I was a child, the famous Sri Lankan artist Victor Rathnayaka held a series of musical shows called “Sa”. I joined my family to experience this show in Galle Town Hall, where all important public events were held at that time. Perhaps that was my first experience in a public event. Apart from the memorable artistic experience, I can never forget how people crowded at the entrance and tried to push each other to get in. As a child I stood no chance, because even the well built up adults found it hard to make their way through that perilous fight to get in. None seemed to realize that everyone of them could have moved much faster with much more comfort if everybody lined up and showed their tickets, following a fair system.
Growing up to be an adult, I could notice that the failure to nurture and protect fair systems worked against Sri Lankans in many fronts. Mass victimization due to this failure range from a higher rate of road accidents, environmental pollution due to industries by-passing regulations, disappointment in school entrances, bribery in government services, to losing their own constitutional right to the rule of law.
The Weliweriya incident is a stark reminder of this victimization process. People, at some point was too obsessed with the promise of a wonder of Asia. They were mesmerized by the rising buildings, expanding harbors, and clustering factories. They neglected the fact that a family and their friends and relatives should not have a separate law than the rest of us. They neglected the fact that economic development is not sustainable if it’s priority comes above respect for rule of law, human rights, and constitutional Government. For me, this is quite analogous to what happened at the entrance to Victor Ratnayaka’s “Sa” musical show back when I was a child. What is more worrying is that even some of my educated friends argued that economic prosperity as a priority comes above Western concepts like human rights, rule of law, etc, in Sri Lanka right now. My attempts to explain that the latter list is not mere Western concepts, but can be found even in Lord Buddha’s teachings were not as effective as what is being propagated by State Media.   Read More